An unexpected event + new understanding of loan issues + WIFYR registration = reworking of my previous plan outlined in this post.
It's frustrating, but that's just how finances work.
I'm just over 30% finished with Step 2 since my laptop issue. I desperately want to finish that, but it's going to have to take a back seat for a moment.
First off, I totally forgot about saving up to attend WIFYR next year. I'm going to attend one of the Five-Day Workshops. In it, I get the chance to participate in a group reading of novels that's overseen by a published author as well as a group pitch session with an agent. It's a golden opportunity to get my foot in the door for eventual publishing and it will motivate me to write. Unfortunately, it's $505 but it will be worth it. So for the next while, any extra money is going toward paying that off.
Next is the unexpected financial obligation, which I'll put all extra money into once WIFYR is paid off. Only THEN will I be able to get back on track toward my Month Ahead. So the revised format looks like this:
(1) [COMPLETED]
(2) -$505 (WIFYR)
(3) -$$$$ (Unexpected)
(4) $2,600 (32.1% completed)
(5) $15,600 (9.1% completed)
(6) -$$$$ (Student Loans)
(1st) [Completed 6/30/2016]
(2nd) Plasma/OT/Babysitting ~~> WIFYR Registration (finish mid-January)
Loan Extra ~~> Student Loans
(3rd) Plasma/OT/Babysitting ~~> Unexpected (finish February)
Loan Extra ~~> Student Loans
(4th) Plasma/OT/Babysitting ~~> Month Ahead Budget (finish April--June)
Loan Extra ~~> Student Loans
(5th) Babysitting ~~> Emergency Fund
Plasma/OT/Loan Extra ~~> Student Loans
The reason why my MAB completion time has a wide window is because I can only plan out/sign up for overtime no more than two months in advance. Chances are extra overtime will cut my time significantly.
There's also the matter of tax refunds, but that will be going into one of my student loans. Ideally, I'll be able to finish the one I'm snowballing on, which will give me the opportunity to pay off two, possibly three next year! As previously mentioned, in 2015 I paid off my Wells Fargo college loan, this year I paid off my credit card debt, and next year I should pay off 2-3 Federal Loans.
Fingers crossed!
Friday, December 30, 2016
Saturday, December 3, 2016
Unfortunate financial hiccup
Regrettably, on November 30th my laptop died.
I'm certain I've had it for at least (if not more than) 5 years. I planned to buy a new one with my tax refund, but my laptop had other plans. Being a writer with various other hobbies, my laptop is somewhat of a livelihood for me. I needed another one straight away.
Thankfully I'm blessed with a computer-savvy dad and brother-in-law, so the experience of choosing a new laptop wasn't stressful. Plus, my brother is going to be amazing and pull off all my old files so I can avoid a company overcharging me for it.
Finance-wise there is good and bad news. The good news is that because I've been working on Step 2, I had enough to cover the expenses. The bad news is that I lost 55.84% of what I had been saving. I'm now at 24.2% of my goal.
I'm not going to lie, it's a depressing setback. I was hoping to start off 2017 budgeting on last month's income but those dreams are no longer possible, especially now that we're in the holiday season.
Yet it's moments like these that remind me of why I'm doing this in the first place. I can't imagine how stressed out I would be had I not a savings to dip into for this emergency. All I can do is keep moving forward and continue to hone my financial know-how. It will get easier as time goes on.
I'm certain I've had it for at least (if not more than) 5 years. I planned to buy a new one with my tax refund, but my laptop had other plans. Being a writer with various other hobbies, my laptop is somewhat of a livelihood for me. I needed another one straight away.
Thankfully I'm blessed with a computer-savvy dad and brother-in-law, so the experience of choosing a new laptop wasn't stressful. Plus, my brother is going to be amazing and pull off all my old files so I can avoid a company overcharging me for it.
Finance-wise there is good and bad news. The good news is that because I've been working on Step 2, I had enough to cover the expenses. The bad news is that I lost 55.84% of what I had been saving. I'm now at 24.2% of my goal.
I'm not going to lie, it's a depressing setback. I was hoping to start off 2017 budgeting on last month's income but those dreams are no longer possible, especially now that we're in the holiday season.
Yet it's moments like these that remind me of why I'm doing this in the first place. I can't imagine how stressed out I would be had I not a savings to dip into for this emergency. All I can do is keep moving forward and continue to hone my financial know-how. It will get easier as time goes on.
Friday, November 4, 2016
Month Ahead Check-in
As you can see by the image on the bottom left side of the screen (scroll down a little bit) I'm nearly halfway through saving up for my Month Ahead Budget. Hurray!
I must admit I'm disappointed that Step 2 is already taking more than twice as long as Step 1. To be fair though, Step 2 is a greater sum and in comparison, it's far better that I spend more time saving up than paying off. Not to mention the fact that with two family trips my availability for babysitting, donating plasma, and overtime has been shortened. Then there was the Emergency Preparedness . . . I suppose I actually have done a decent job at this. I just need to be patient.
There's also the matter of the holidays coming up, and while I have a Christmas sinking fund, it's still going to be a stretch. However, I AM doing all I can to make homemade presents this year, so hopefully that gives me a bit more wiggle room. Plus, my parents have ever so graciously allowed me to take over my brother's phone while he's on his mission, so that's ~$60/month I can allocate elsewhere!
My plan is still to finish Step 2 by the end of this year, end of January if I really have to. It might end up being the low end of my monthly budget (because my total is a high end approximation), but it'll still count. As I've said before, once I can start budgeting on what I earned the previous month, I'll have a far easier time of controlling my finances.
Oh--one quick tip I found! I'm going to research which credit union would work best for me and then put some money into a checking account. This would serve multiple purposes. First, it will safeguard my money so it's not all in one spot. Second, I can bring that debit card with me on road trips, so in case my purse gets stolen they don't have access to all my money. Third, I can use that debit card purely for my Etsy business. (Maybe I should use two credit unions? One for travel and one for my Etsy business? I'll have to dwell on that) I got the third idea from reading one of Dave Ramsey's articles in the newspaper. Quite ingenious.
I must admit I'm disappointed that Step 2 is already taking more than twice as long as Step 1. To be fair though, Step 2 is a greater sum and in comparison, it's far better that I spend more time saving up than paying off. Not to mention the fact that with two family trips my availability for babysitting, donating plasma, and overtime has been shortened. Then there was the Emergency Preparedness . . . I suppose I actually have done a decent job at this. I just need to be patient.
There's also the matter of the holidays coming up, and while I have a Christmas sinking fund, it's still going to be a stretch. However, I AM doing all I can to make homemade presents this year, so hopefully that gives me a bit more wiggle room. Plus, my parents have ever so graciously allowed me to take over my brother's phone while he's on his mission, so that's ~$60/month I can allocate elsewhere!
My plan is still to finish Step 2 by the end of this year, end of January if I really have to. It might end up being the low end of my monthly budget (because my total is a high end approximation), but it'll still count. As I've said before, once I can start budgeting on what I earned the previous month, I'll have a far easier time of controlling my finances.
Oh--one quick tip I found! I'm going to research which credit union would work best for me and then put some money into a checking account. This would serve multiple purposes. First, it will safeguard my money so it's not all in one spot. Second, I can bring that debit card with me on road trips, so in case my purse gets stolen they don't have access to all my money. Third, I can use that debit card purely for my Etsy business. (Maybe I should use two credit unions? One for travel and one for my Etsy business? I'll have to dwell on that) I got the third idea from reading one of Dave Ramsey's articles in the newspaper. Quite ingenious.
Tuesday, November 1, 2016
NaNoWriMo Participation!
This year I am officially entering the National Novel Writing Month!
It's a free challenge where writers commit to writing a 50K novel during the month of November. It's a lot of work and I have absolutely no idea WHY it's held during the holidays, but what can you do? In years past I've merely committed to writing more, but this year I'm aiming for the full 50K.
I want to attend WIFYR this next summer and in order to do that I'm going to need something to actually submit. Participating in NaNo will give me something to work with. What I'm going to end up with won't be pretty, but if I do it then I'll have about 4 months to polish whatever is required for the group workshops I intend on participating in. But that will only work if I actually write.
I've done well so far! I wrote 2,015 words today! Granted, it was a bit of a cheat because I used a lot that had already been written in my previous drafts, but I'm starting over from scratch for this one, so there it is. As the days pass the writing will get easier and I'll make it. As a safe number, they say it's best to write about 2,000 words per day so you reach your goal.
Fingers crossed!
It's a free challenge where writers commit to writing a 50K novel during the month of November. It's a lot of work and I have absolutely no idea WHY it's held during the holidays, but what can you do? In years past I've merely committed to writing more, but this year I'm aiming for the full 50K.
I want to attend WIFYR this next summer and in order to do that I'm going to need something to actually submit. Participating in NaNo will give me something to work with. What I'm going to end up with won't be pretty, but if I do it then I'll have about 4 months to polish whatever is required for the group workshops I intend on participating in. But that will only work if I actually write.
I've done well so far! I wrote 2,015 words today! Granted, it was a bit of a cheat because I used a lot that had already been written in my previous drafts, but I'm starting over from scratch for this one, so there it is. As the days pass the writing will get easier and I'll make it. As a safe number, they say it's best to write about 2,000 words per day so you reach your goal.
Fingers crossed!
Saturday, October 22, 2016
Stepping up!
While I've had a Fitbit since April or so, I hadn't participated in any sort of Challenge until two weeks ago because I didn't know any friends who also had a Fitbit. Then my roommate got one and we learned a mutual friend of ours also had one. Our mutual friend invited us to a "Work Week Hustle" where you compete to have the most steps Mon-Fri. I didn't do so well last week because I was on a difficult and long work week.
However, this past "work week" I totally won! Not only that, but I almost got 10,000 steps every day! My step totals were 10,629; 10,708; 12,936; 6,552; and 11,972! I'm so proud of myself! Granted, two of those days were achieved through basic things like hula-hooping for 2hrs or bouncing on a medicine ball to work on my core, but it's still something. None of it was intense, hard workouts but something is better than nothing. It got me going which is all that matters.
It's my goal to reach at least 10,000 every day (with the exception of Sundays on my work week). That means I'm out and about, and once I've gotten in the habit then I can work my way up to strenuous exercises instead of simple walks and the like.
While I don't consider myself a competitive person, participating in Challenges like this with other people makes me accountable. If I'm aware that others will see my step count it motivates me to not skimp. "Beating" others isn't my goal, but in a small way it's an even greater sense of accomplishment. I'm excited to see how this next week turns out!
However, this past "work week" I totally won! Not only that, but I almost got 10,000 steps every day! My step totals were 10,629; 10,708; 12,936; 6,552; and 11,972! I'm so proud of myself! Granted, two of those days were achieved through basic things like hula-hooping for 2hrs or bouncing on a medicine ball to work on my core, but it's still something. None of it was intense, hard workouts but something is better than nothing. It got me going which is all that matters.
It's my goal to reach at least 10,000 every day (with the exception of Sundays on my work week). That means I'm out and about, and once I've gotten in the habit then I can work my way up to strenuous exercises instead of simple walks and the like.
While I don't consider myself a competitive person, participating in Challenges like this with other people makes me accountable. If I'm aware that others will see my step count it motivates me to not skimp. "Beating" others isn't my goal, but in a small way it's an even greater sense of accomplishment. I'm excited to see how this next week turns out!
Friday, October 21, 2016
Shop Run-through
I had the wonderful opportunity to gain some first-hand experience selling items in a "booth." It was at a secondhand sale where I was essentially just selling things to get rid of them and free up some space. It wasn't too serious of an event and I was able to do it with my roommate who also had some items to sell.
An interesting thing to note is that since I had to pay an entrance fee, I actually "lost" about $4 since I wasn't able to sell everything I brought. However, I don't consider this a poor business move because the experience I gained was worth it. Plus I'll have the opportunity to sell the leftover items at a later date (with no entrance fee) so I'll easily earn back those $4 and then some.
But as I said, the experience was worth it. The secondhand sale was minor and I hadn't invested anything into the items I was selling. Attending some sort of craft fair with the items I plan to sell in my Etsy shop, now THAT will be a different story. I'll have to be extremely organized, and this run-through was the perfect way for me to see what I need to do.
So here's the list of what I learned:
An interesting thing to note is that since I had to pay an entrance fee, I actually "lost" about $4 since I wasn't able to sell everything I brought. However, I don't consider this a poor business move because the experience I gained was worth it. Plus I'll have the opportunity to sell the leftover items at a later date (with no entrance fee) so I'll easily earn back those $4 and then some.
But as I said, the experience was worth it. The secondhand sale was minor and I hadn't invested anything into the items I was selling. Attending some sort of craft fair with the items I plan to sell in my Etsy shop, now THAT will be a different story. I'll have to be extremely organized, and this run-through was the perfect way for me to see what I need to do.
So here's the list of what I learned:
Friday, October 7, 2016
Funk
I'm not entirely sure why, but I've been in a bit of a funk lately. There are just too many things to do in a day and I'm struggling to find the best way to accomplish it all. I've also been suffering from a feeling of constant nausea for the past three days. Tums don't help, it's not food poisoning, and I can't seem to find a way to alleviate the mild discomfort/pain. It's not debilitating, but it's certainly a mild handicap in trying to function throughout the day. I talked about it to a coworker and she said she experienced the same thing last week so perhaps there's something going around.
Although I suppose part of it could be caused by stress. I did suffer from acid reflux during high school so I know I'm capable of making myself ill that way. There's certainly been enough stressful matters happening, but it's mainly because of me. I'm trying to do too much at once so I end up not doing anything because it's like an information overload and my brain/abilities shut down.
What's more frustrating is that I'm aware that my window of opportunity for being single is dwindling to the end, and I'll no longer be responsible for just myself. I won't be able to devote all my time to my endeavors so I need to utilize my time perfectly. Of course, that just exacerbates my stress.
What I need to do is calm down, then spend a number of hours creating "business plans" to achieve all I want to and break it down to manageable pieces. I also need to do this at a library or somewhere NOT at home. Thinking about it, I've been spending all my time at home or at work, with a handful of trips to the grocery store and the like. I'm either working or at home, where I'm doing everything else. When it's my home, I'm doing EVERYTHING there and I think it's killing my motivation and creativity. It's causing me to feel trapped and it's causing me to fall into the same pointless routines.
I need a change of scenery. My mind isn't being stimulated. It's seeing the same thing over and over and over again. That's got to be it. I've been confused as to why I feel like I'm struggling more in this way now than I did in college, but it's because things were constantly changing. I lived somewhere different each year. I had multiple spots around campus that I enjoyed studying in. I had routine but it was still varied, and I'm not getting that now.
Can't wait to try this out! What's even better is that even through this I have something to blog about in my other future blog!
Although I suppose part of it could be caused by stress. I did suffer from acid reflux during high school so I know I'm capable of making myself ill that way. There's certainly been enough stressful matters happening, but it's mainly because of me. I'm trying to do too much at once so I end up not doing anything because it's like an information overload and my brain/abilities shut down.
What's more frustrating is that I'm aware that my window of opportunity for being single is dwindling to the end, and I'll no longer be responsible for just myself. I won't be able to devote all my time to my endeavors so I need to utilize my time perfectly. Of course, that just exacerbates my stress.
What I need to do is calm down, then spend a number of hours creating "business plans" to achieve all I want to and break it down to manageable pieces. I also need to do this at a library or somewhere NOT at home. Thinking about it, I've been spending all my time at home or at work, with a handful of trips to the grocery store and the like. I'm either working or at home, where I'm doing everything else. When it's my home, I'm doing EVERYTHING there and I think it's killing my motivation and creativity. It's causing me to feel trapped and it's causing me to fall into the same pointless routines.
I need a change of scenery. My mind isn't being stimulated. It's seeing the same thing over and over and over again. That's got to be it. I've been confused as to why I feel like I'm struggling more in this way now than I did in college, but it's because things were constantly changing. I lived somewhere different each year. I had multiple spots around campus that I enjoyed studying in. I had routine but it was still varied, and I'm not getting that now.
Can't wait to try this out! What's even better is that even through this I have something to blog about in my other future blog!
Tuesday, September 20, 2016
Small Delay
Just checking in with an update on my Month Ahead. I'm up to $525.50, meaning in less than a month I've saved up $125. It's good but not great; however, I don't regret it.
See, a good portion of the money I could have used for Step 2 has gone into Emergency Preparedness, specifically my 3 month food storage. There was a case lot/10 for $10 sale at a local grocery, and my roommate and I bought a decent amount of food. For the 3 month supply, it's supposed to be food you use every day, not long-term storage. It's for brief emergencies, such as being short on cash and the like. With this and a different grocery run at Winco, I'd say I've spent around $150 on food.
Yes it's a bit much for one person at once, but now I'm set for 3 months. Similar to how it was more important to get out of credit card debt first, it's more important for me to have food to live off of in case of an emergency. I'll have to keep refilling it as I go, but now I can focus more on Step 2.
See, a good portion of the money I could have used for Step 2 has gone into Emergency Preparedness, specifically my 3 month food storage. There was a case lot/10 for $10 sale at a local grocery, and my roommate and I bought a decent amount of food. For the 3 month supply, it's supposed to be food you use every day, not long-term storage. It's for brief emergencies, such as being short on cash and the like. With this and a different grocery run at Winco, I'd say I've spent around $150 on food.
Yes it's a bit much for one person at once, but now I'm set for 3 months. Similar to how it was more important to get out of credit card debt first, it's more important for me to have food to live off of in case of an emergency. I'll have to keep refilling it as I go, but now I can focus more on Step 2.
Monday, September 12, 2016
A Second Blog
So this idea has been festering in my brain for months now, and the time is finally right to put it into effect. I'm going to write another blog! Not a personal one like this (but I won't abandon this one so don't worry my nonexistent readers) but an informational one. A blog created partly for the purpose of making money, partly to help others, and then myself.
The topic will be about self-discipline, self-reliance, and emergency preparedness for single adults. So far the working title is "Single Reliance."
When I first got the idea to write a blog, it was going to be about how to build your own small business. Since I'm going to eventually open an Etsy shop, I thought I could kill two birds with one stone by blogging about what it takes while motivating myself to actually do it. But I don't know enough about the topic nor would I enjoy writing about it since it's not a strong enough passion of mine.
Then I decided to write one geared toward being productive. It's something I've researched on my own multiple times, and by crafting a blog around it I would be better able to implement these ideas myself. It still didn't feel quite right though, but it was my best option.
Finally, I came up with the perfect topic. Last Monday my roommate and I got serious about Emergency Preparedness. With what's happening around the world, particularly in Flint and Louisiana, and the sheer fact that Utah is overdue for a major earthquake, being prepared is high on our priority list. Since then we've been doing a lot of research and brainstorming. Not only that, but we decided to request a calling to serve on the Emergency Preparedness Committee in our YSA church ward. This way we can fulfill a church calling AND get prepared at the same time. Plus, through our efforts we can ensure our ward is prepared for a disaster and we can band together for safety.
And now by writing a blog on the topic, I'll be killing three birds with one stone! A rather impressive management of time if I do say so myself. You learn better by teaching and I'll be teaching through two methods, in person and online. And while I don't expect to make a substantial amount of money from it, I'll at least make something. Actually, it's more like killing five birds with one stone now that I think about it. I'll be earning money + fulfilling a church calling + getting prepared myself + getting out to interact socially + providing service for those who read my blog! Also, the great thing about this topic is that I can include posts about how to be productive.
So yeah, I'm thrilled about this idea. I've finally whittled it down to perfection to be as efficient in as many areas as I possibly can. There's still a lot of work ahead of me to get this thing underway, but it will be worth it.
The topic will be about self-discipline, self-reliance, and emergency preparedness for single adults. So far the working title is "Single Reliance."
When I first got the idea to write a blog, it was going to be about how to build your own small business. Since I'm going to eventually open an Etsy shop, I thought I could kill two birds with one stone by blogging about what it takes while motivating myself to actually do it. But I don't know enough about the topic nor would I enjoy writing about it since it's not a strong enough passion of mine.
Then I decided to write one geared toward being productive. It's something I've researched on my own multiple times, and by crafting a blog around it I would be better able to implement these ideas myself. It still didn't feel quite right though, but it was my best option.
Finally, I came up with the perfect topic. Last Monday my roommate and I got serious about Emergency Preparedness. With what's happening around the world, particularly in Flint and Louisiana, and the sheer fact that Utah is overdue for a major earthquake, being prepared is high on our priority list. Since then we've been doing a lot of research and brainstorming. Not only that, but we decided to request a calling to serve on the Emergency Preparedness Committee in our YSA church ward. This way we can fulfill a church calling AND get prepared at the same time. Plus, through our efforts we can ensure our ward is prepared for a disaster and we can band together for safety.
And now by writing a blog on the topic, I'll be killing three birds with one stone! A rather impressive management of time if I do say so myself. You learn better by teaching and I'll be teaching through two methods, in person and online. And while I don't expect to make a substantial amount of money from it, I'll at least make something. Actually, it's more like killing five birds with one stone now that I think about it. I'll be earning money + fulfilling a church calling + getting prepared myself + getting out to interact socially + providing service for those who read my blog! Also, the great thing about this topic is that I can include posts about how to be productive.
So yeah, I'm thrilled about this idea. I've finally whittled it down to perfection to be as efficient in as many areas as I possibly can. There's still a lot of work ahead of me to get this thing underway, but it will be worth it.
Saturday, September 10, 2016
Future Perspective
In the interest of motivation and obtaining a realistic view, I used this site to calculate how early I'll pay off my student loans.
I'm utilizing Dave Ramsey's Snowball Method, where I focus on the smallest loan first. I pay the minimum on all others except the lowest balance. Then once that loan is paid off, I still pay that loan's monthly fee but put it toward the second smallest one. It's perfect to keep you motivated because the little victories help you feel accomplished.
My contracted end date is December 2024. With just the Snowball Method, I should finish in December 2022. That's 2 years early! Impressive, but I'll be able to pay it off even sooner by saving and using extra income. My ultimate goal is to pay it off in 5 years or less, chiefly to save money but also to avoid having to raise a family while being in debt.
We'll see how that turns out!
I'm utilizing Dave Ramsey's Snowball Method, where I focus on the smallest loan first. I pay the minimum on all others except the lowest balance. Then once that loan is paid off, I still pay that loan's monthly fee but put it toward the second smallest one. It's perfect to keep you motivated because the little victories help you feel accomplished.
My contracted end date is December 2024. With just the Snowball Method, I should finish in December 2022. That's 2 years early! Impressive, but I'll be able to pay it off even sooner by saving and using extra income. My ultimate goal is to pay it off in 5 years or less, chiefly to save money but also to avoid having to raise a family while being in debt.
We'll see how that turns out!
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