I paid off my debt! I am debt free! All $53,000 left of my student loans are gone!
Ha, I wish. April Fools. It’s nice motivation to actually practice writing that, though. March wasn’t as stellar as I expected. I ended up going out more than I should and enjoying life a lot. Not that that’s a bad thing, I’ve had a lot of fun, and have been working my tail off, but sad to say my going out budget was an epic failure. It’s the only real area that I ever fail at, because let’s face it my luxuries are pretty lean. I never buy clothes or makeup, spend almost nothing on transportation and entertainment and it’s just so easy to justify a meal or drink out. This is especially true when you’ve worked 26 days in a row without a break!
I’m glad to report for my sanity that this weekend I slept in, cleaned, wrote, went for a bike ride, watched movies at home and overall just reveled in being productively lazy.
Now, it’s April 1st and I am motivated to get back to kicking ass. I have to admit, I am so inspired by Budget and the Beach’s challenge to not drink or go out to eat for 30 days. I really want to join in, as I know this is my only problem area. To be honest, I am even scared to write it though, because I feel like I am setting myself up for failure. I don’t have a problem with alcohol or food, but I absolutely love a nice cocktail or meal. Also, I have several birthdays coming up and it just takes one long day at work and being unprepared with lunch for me to go out. It’s so easy to fail! I guess that means I just need to work harder. I am going to give it a try.
Now, to the awesome fascinating numbers:
Job income: $1,297
Side hustle income: $423
Debt Paid off in March: $1,150
I spent about $800 total on rent, groceries, laundry and going out more than I’d like. As you can see, with those numbers, it’s a pretty tight ship! Not much room for leeway, unless I am willing to further deplete my savings, which I am not. I am happy that I was able to pay off $1,150 in debt, but let’s be real; it’s not as impressive as my valiant efforts of throwing about 2k per month in January and February. However, my contract is ending in 5 weeks and I am getting more nervous and want to prepare myself and continue to hustle. I have two more interviews this week, which is a good sign! The previous position I interviewed for, I haven’t heard a peep from, so I am just writing that one off. Also, I am still waiting on $450 in checks from side hustles.
Hopefully April will be a better month for income, debt payoff and hopefully job success! Cheers to that….um, actually, I am not drinking, so cheerio! lifts up pinky and drinks tea
- Talking About Money and Mental Health - September 12, 2022
- Dear Debt, We’re Better Apart - June 27, 2022
- Announcing The Mental Health and Wealth Summit - May 4, 2021
19 comments
Going out will definitely kill a budget. Have you read “Your Money or Your Life”. If not, you definitely should. There is some really amazing information in there about how to continuously find better and higher paying employment.
I will check that book out! Sounds helpful 🙂
Hahaha! Good one! Wouldn’t it be sweet? Good luck with your interviews and your challenges!
Thanks, day 1 success, lol!
Great job on the debt payoff – that’s a significant amount! I agree that going out is such a budget buster – best wishes for your April goal and interviews! Will you be staying in Portland or moving elsewhere?
Staying in Portland for at least three more months, but nothing is set in stone. Unless, I get a job somewhere else which some of my interviews are for out of state positions. We will see….I really wouldn’t mind staying here sometimes, I just need to find stable work!
Lifts up pinky and drinks tea to your debt success this month! Some months will be better than others. I couldn’t not drink or go out for 30 days but props to you for trying lady! Good Luck!
Thanks, I will need some luck, and hard work! We’ll see how this goes….day 1 completed. blah….
I’m so glad I could inspire you to try the challenge! So you’re on board? We can keep each other motivated. Yeah for me it’s just that nice glass of wine with dinner or just having a cocktail with a friend type of thing. To be honest it’s not going to have a HUGE affect on my wallet (since I would always buy 2 buck chuck) but hopefully more on my waistline. Your march sounds like mine as far as spending so it’s a serious money diet for me too, especially if I have so save a lot for something like surgery. Good luck!
I’m on board! My March was awful….so many dinner parties, work happy hours, etc. it was fun, but too much! I also LOVE two buck chuck! This 30 day alcohol/spend detox will definitely help the wallet and waistline for sure.
I did the 30-day no drinking challenge in Feb. and it was great though not easy. Good luck!
Awesome, I saw that on BATB. So inspiring! Sounds like you had a great time in Thailand and wanted to detox afterward. I know it’s not going to be easy, but I am curious to try. It is such a staple of 20 something social life and I want to see if I notice changes in my body, skin and energy.
Why not take the challenge? The best outcome is that you are able to save a lot of money by not drinking when going out. Worst case is that you save a little bit of money because you still drank but likely not as much. Win Win 🙂 Here’s to April and success!
You are so right! Day 1 is completed and I am feeling good! haha, much more to come.
Nice work on the debt paydown! Soon it won’t be an april fools day joke it will be real!
I believe you can’t be a rock star every month. Sometimes, you have to be content with a more modest accomplishment. Especially if your contract us expiring soon, it’s better to be focusing on having the money to pay your bills next month.
Agreed! I can’t just continue to pay down my debts at that rate, if my employment situation is so uncertain. It will be better to have it in savings and rest well knowing I will be ok until something works itself out.
You’re doing a great job of growing your side income. What types of things are you doing? Sometimes you have to do things to re-energize your soul and going out and connecting with people is a great way to do that. Keep up the good work.
I am mostly doing brand ambassador work (working events), finding random gigs on craigslist and taksrabbit, selling used books, etc. If you want more information on how to get started doing brand ambassador work, email me.