Sunday, February 28, 2010

DS Update

I love the last day of the month! Its always fun to rock the DS.

In February I managed to pay *almost* $2500 (51.2% of income) towards those pesky Direct Loans!

I am OFFICIALLY below the $20,000 mark, WOOOOOOO!!

Total debt as of March 1, 2010: $19,081.88

Monday, February 22, 2010

Taxes

Yesterday, I was feeling motivated before the Roadho. So I decided to attempt to get my taxes done.I used Turbo Tax's basic online edition (http://turbotax.intuit.com//) which is between their federal free edition and the deluxe edition. I don't have kids or a house or investments, so maximizing my deductions isnt really an issue for me. I wanted a little extra help, since this was the first time I was doing this truly on my own

Last year, I got over $2000 back on my taxes and used it to make a big dent in my DS, so I was hoping to get something back this year...maybe not as much, but SOMETHING

Yeah, right. Between federal and PA state taxes, I owe over a grand. What. the. HELL!

I called my parents, hoping I had made a mistake, and they're like "You make a lot of money and you have no deductions. Sounds about right. Thats nothing, really." And I guess that all makes sense logically. But it left me feeling really...defeated.

Went to Dave's website and saw this picture...I feel EXACTLY like the tortise...



Last month, it was $1000 for new tires and car maintenance and then I lost my whole budget. This month, its $1000+ for taxes. What's next? Its KILLING my debt snowball! I've been working two jobs for a year and a half and living on a budget and doing all the right things, and I've just reached a point where I feel like I've stalled.

Whining alert: I'm tired of missing out on life. I'm REALLY tired of the Roadho (but thats a different post). And its not just the DS that is melting...I honestly feel like my whole life has stalled. There are other things I want to focus on in life but feel like I can't move onto ANYTHING while I've got this burden of debt on my shoulders. Most of it requires two things...time, which I dont have, and money, which I dont have available. I guess I'm just frustrated at these setbacks, and its seeping into the rest of my life.

I really wanted to be out of debt by this summer, and when I relocated with AP, I wanted to NOT have to get a second job wherever I went. I really don't know if thats going to happen anymore and that makes me sad. I dont know what to do to get my intensity back...

Thursday, February 18, 2010

I Suck At Blogging

...but I guess when you work two jobs, you don't have a whole lot of time to do stuff like this.


So life is pretty much the same except that I moved to Allentown PA in July 2009, and here I am for another few months until my job rotates me again. Lucky, lucky me, there was a Texas Roadhouse less than a mile away from my other job, and they hired me, so the Gazelle Intensity continues. Except for riding less than I like, life continues as before...with one difference...


I NOW DRIVE A PAID FOR CAR!!!!!


I paid off my car on 12/31/09. Only took me 23 months to pay it off, and let me tell you what, it drives so much better now that its mine



(And yes, I'm a dork and I made my brother get out of the car and take a picture of me mailing the check!)

I'm *hoping* to be debt free by July 2010...before I leave Allentown. Keep your fingers crossed for me!

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