Step 2

I finally got my medication on the 19th of August. It grates my nerves that it took so freakin' long but there's no point stressing about the past. Now I'll just be more prepared. I've set reminders to refill my prescription early so I can get it right on time and avoid missing the expiration. I'll also be sure to set up my follow-up appointment as soon as I have a better idea of my schedule 6 months from now.

So as I outlined in this post, I'm currently on Step 2 of my financial goals: Month Ahead Budget. So far I've saved up $400, which--while great--should be more. Extenuating circumstances (such as no meds) are partly to blame. My deadline is February 2017 but I'm pushing to get it done earlier.

As a note, another personal goal of mine is to pay off at least one loan a year. In my first year of repayment, I paid off my Wells Fargo loan. I was hoping to pay off my smallest Federal Loan this year, but instead I chose to pay off my credit card. It still qualifies as a loan though so I met my quota.

After crunching some numbers, I've determined I can save up (at minimum) $2,168 by the end of the year. This doesn't include babysitting or overtime, so it's safe to say I'll be able to start out 2017 with a Month Ahead Budget in place. I desperately want to use that money to pay off a Federal Loan, but this will be worth it in the end.

My greatest hindrance in budgeting and saving right now is the fact that I'm living paycheck to paycheck. With the way pay periods work, some weeks I have a fair amount leftover after paying the immediate essentials, whereas the following week I'll be in the red. Being paid every other Friday never cushions a month perfectly. I can't budget by month. Despite my best efforts I mess up.

Once I have the means to budget on last month's income those problems will (mostly) go away. I can start out the month knowing exactly how much I have to spend and can budget accordingly. Then I won't have to hold off on putting my extra income into loans in the off chance I need it for groceries or fuel for my car. No longer will my student loan debt be compounded with the stress of making sure I have enough to get by.

I can't wait to be done with Step 2!

Medical Insurance Migraine

It's been about a month and a half since my last update, sorry about that.

I recently went on a vacation with my family which was a blast. I'll do a catch-up post on that later. But the real reason why I haven't updated is because I haven't been able to take my narcolepsy medication.