End of the Month Debt Tally: June

Greetings from Canada, fellow bloggers and readers!  As some of you may know, I started this blog to chart my progress in eliminating my obscene amount of debt.  While my priorities have shifted a bit--I also have ambitious savings plans for the short and long-term future--I still want to post my monthly debt progress.  It's high time I get my head out of the proverbial sand and know exactly where I stand in my quest against debt.  So here goes:

Remaining Balance on Student Loans: $37, 306

Remaining Balance on Lending Club Loan (for credit card): $1, 862.84

Remaining Balance on Car Loan: $6, 498.92

Total as of June 27th, 2012: $45, 667.76


The goal is to shrink that number to $45,000 by the end of July.  Though I am not comfortable with having $45,667.76 in debt, I know it is infinitely better than the 5,009.53 that I started this journey with.

In between posts on fashion, summer travels and general life in Austin, TX, I will continue to post my debt load monthly.  But for now, I am going to enjoy the balmy 80 degree weather and scenic views in Southern Ontario.  Hope ya'll are having a fantastic summer!

Oh, Canada!

Good morning fellow bloggers and blog readers!  Yesterday was my last day of teaching ESL summer school.  Today, I finish packing and running errands before my Saturday morning flight to Toronto, Canada.

My mom, stepdad and I will be enjoying a week at a Toronto area resort.  So while I will be taking a hiatus from the 23rd-30th, be on the lookout for various travel and Canada-related posts (including my mad carry-on packing skills, personal style on a limited travel wardrobe, and our adventures at the resort).

Hope ya'll are enjoying your summer, as well!

Senorita B

Happy Summer! I'm Making Some Changes

Ahh, one of my favorite reasons for being a teacher is here....summer vacation!  It officially began yesterday, and I have been celebrating by sleeping in (FYI-for a teacher "sleeping in" means getting up no later than 9am) doing Pilates followed by eating Cheetos, utilizing our new apartment's outdoor grills and enjoying domesticity with my man.

Since becoming a teacher, I've found that summer is also a natural time for me to reflect on my life and personal goals.  It's a low-stress time to make changes and establish routines that are easier to stick with once the hectic school year begins.  This summer, I have a goal of walking at least 10,000 steps a day (keeping track with an Omron pedometer) and alternating between running and Pilates/Yoga.  I will also devote at least one hour a day towards planning, reading, researching and/or creating something that will help me become a better teacher for the next school year.  And I will write at least two new blog entries per week.

Which brings me to the next change: the focus of my blog.  I started this blog in January to chronicle my journey in paying off consumer and student loan debt.  I imagined a life of noble sacrifices, eating rice and beans for weeks on end, and obliterating at least a thousand dollars of debt each month.  But through the course of this journey dear readers, I have learned a couple of things.  1) I enjoy reading about personal finance more than I like writing solely about it  2) though I am still committed to getting out of debt and securing a financially stable future for myself and my partner, it's going to be a long, slow and steady process.  And my concept of financial well-being now includes building up a more robust emergency fund and actively saving for retirement.

I thoroughly enjoy blogging, but I am expanding my scope to include personal style, interior decorating, education, travel and/or pretty much anything else that's on my mind.  Dear readers, if you are looking for personal finance inspiration, thank you for reading my previous posts and no hard feelings if you do not stick around.  But you are more than welcome to tag along with me as this blog changes and evolves throughout the summer.

End of the Month Debt Tally: May

First of all, Happy Memorial Day and thank you to all of the veteran and active military members for serving our country!  It has been a loooong and eventful weekend filled with moving, unpacking, buying items for our new apartment and celebrating summer with close friends.

But more later about the joys of moving in with your significant other.  Here is the breakdown of my three debt categories, as well as my total debt load.

Remaining Balance on Student Loans: $37, 451

Remaining Balance on Lending Club Loan (for credit card): $1, 953.18

Remaining Balance on Car Loan: $6, 901.82

Total as of May 28th, 2012: $46, 306

I have eliminated $535.02 since April and I hope to make even bigger strides in the upcoming months (lifestyle inflation be damned--I will be using my September salary raise to save for retirement/emergencies and pay more towards debt!).  In the meantime, I'm gearing up for summer: trips to Canada and Illinois, planning the dual language program for next year, and enjoying domesticity with my boyfriend.

Your Turn: What are your plans this summer?  Are you making progress towards eliminating debt?  

Rejuvenation

So...it's probably no secret that I've fallen off the debt-repayment band wagon a bit.  The past few posts have detailed mini-shopping sprees and weekend getaways, while my end of the month debt totals have become markedly less impressive.

I was so gung-ho about debt repayment in January, February and part of March.  Then, my resolve started to falter.  I missed "treating" myself to different things.  After I crunched the numbers on my impending apartment move with C., it became somewhat easy to abandon the debt repayment action plan.

But then I read about a fellow Austinite (Yahoo article link here: http://finance.yahoo.com/news/wiping-out--90-000-in-student-loans-in-7-months.html) and Harvard Business School graduate who obliterated 90K of student loan debt in a mere 7 months.

Now, I am not a Harvard graduate and I make a modest teacher's salary.  I do not think that I can feasibly expect to erase my debt within the next seven months.  But I have become downright lazy with my debt repayment action plan.

I think part of the problem was that I got caught up in consumer fervor while looking for apartment furniture and decorations.  Another part of me doesn't want to "miss out": I want to be a young, hip 20-something with the polished wardrobe and the dinners out and the domestic and international vacations.  If I don't whip myself into better financial shape before C. and I get married and start a family, then we are all going to be "missing out" as 30% or more of my paychecks will be going to debt repayment.

So, I started by lowering the amount that I save monthly (sorry Dave Ramsey, I am a saver and cannot completely go cold-turkey) and I threw an extra $80 towards my car loan.  I'm planning on cutting out fast food and specialty coffee drinks indefinitely, and once I'm in my new neighborhood, I can walk to the nearest grocery store.  And if I start to waver or fall off the bandwagon again, I'm going to read stories like the one mentioned above to regain some inspiration.

Updates!

 After a couple of weeks sans computer, I write from my roommate's ancient PC.  This overdue post is 1/3 fun in central Texas, 1/3 debt repayment progress; 1/3 exciting news and changes.

So, this past weekend, my boyfriend C. and I celebrated our two year date-aversary as well as the impending changes we are about to make as a couple.

We went to Fredericksburg, TX, a small Hill Country town proud of its German heritage and renowned for its superb wineries.  We drove 85+ miles on Saturday morning to stay at a bed and breakfast (via travel reward points from a credit card that is used for planned expenses and paid in full EVERY month) and sample wines along Highway 290.

It was an absolutely perfect weekend: riding cruiser bikes in the countryside,  homemade peach cobbler and ice cream, wine tastings at three local wineries, dinner and a soak in the oversized whirlpool bathtub.  And the best part?  We each spent about $75 (including gas) for our getaway.

Onto the debt: Because of said trip and various apartment expenses (application fees, deposits, utility set up fees, etc) debt repayment has not been as impressive this month.  The getaway could have come at a better (or worse) time, but since we had already re-scheduled once due to a family emergency, May 12th was one of the only open weekends.  And apartment fees have only been marginally negotiatble, as Austin's renter population is exploding.  But enough with the excuses, I need to hack away at all other variable expenses to throw at my debt.  I've been crunching the numbers, and should have a modest amount of money left over after moving (in TWO WEEKS!!) that I can chuck at my student loans.

And in other news: I renewed my contract at my school and will be a bilingual elementary teacher next year!  I am passionate about bilingual education and am anxiously awaiting this transition.  And since bilingual education is a high-needs subject in the state of Texas, I will receive a stipend on top of my raise, and will be eligible for student loan reductions in school years.  Though I have a good idea of what my gross income will be , I will mostly likely be waiting until the end of September until I revise my debt action plan.

Nine more school days!  I hope to be a much more active blogger during the summer months when I have ample free time and the relentless Texas heat forces me to stay indoors.  In the meantime, have a great evening!

End of the Month Debt Tally: April

   I write this entry approximately four months into my journey, on the eve of my 28th birthday.  So far, I have had some triumphs (like paying one small, annoying student loan debt completely) and minor setbacks (a particularly nasty bout of bronchitis).  I've worked to whittle down more than $50,000 in debt in the midst of a hectic school year and planning a move with my long-term boyfriend.

But enough waxing poetic; here are the numbers:

Remaining Balance on Student Loans: $37, 555

Remaining Balance on Lending Club: $2, 042.89

Remaining Balance on Car Loan: $7, 243.13

Total as of April 30th, 2012: $46, 841.02

Not my most impressive monthly total, since I diverted much of my disposable income towards apartment-related items, as well as a few too many splurges (oops).  As I begin my 28th year of life,here's to continuing to learn, grow and change my financial mentality as I work to become debt-free.