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
Sunday, February 28, 2010
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.
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...
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
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!
}i{
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Saturday, February 28, 2009
Ballin'
Sent in the payoff amount for the second debt in the Sallie Mae debt snowball today. :-) Two down, two to go and Sallie is history.
Its gonna be a rough next month, alot going on and two weekends off of the Roadhouse, but I'm hoping that I can still kick Sallie out in May.
Yeah, I'm ballin'....snowballin'!!!
Its gonna be a rough next month, alot going on and two weekends off of the Roadhouse, but I'm hoping that I can still kick Sallie out in May.
Yeah, I'm ballin'....snowballin'!!!
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
Life Happens
I found out on Sunday afternoon that one of my best friends' dad passed away suddenly. I have been close with this girl since kindergarten, and he was like a daddy to me too.
What does this have to do with anything?
I'm from Ohio, and I've lived in Texas for just over a year. The funeral and the service are in Ohio, and I'm in Texas. So besides being upset about his passing, I'm 1500 miles away.
I got a text last night with funeral information (this Friday and Saturday), so I looked online, and lo and behold found a fllight for $341 on Expedia. The price alone was enough to make my jaw drop, especially only four days in advance. Thanks to Northwest Airlines and Expedia.com, I'm going home this weekend.
But the best part? I started SAVING money for plane tickets back in November. I had been saving it up for some weddings this summer, but as it turned out, I needed it now. Only the $41 will have to come out of the budget this month.
Pre-Dave Amy (or pre-had-a-clue Amy) would have thrown it on a credit card and dealt with it later.
When I talked to my mom this morning, she said she had been looking at flying me home for the funeral or at least splitting it, when the cheapest flights she found were $700+. She said she'd still split it with me, which is insanely sweet of her, but I'm going to try and talk her out of it. (You know how moms are though...)
All I have to do now is get my shifts for Friday night and Saturday night covered at the Roadho. Everything has worked out to my advantage so far, and I'm hoping this will also.
So not only do I have peace in being able to go home and be with my friends, but I'm doing it without going into debt, sticking to my budget.
What does this have to do with anything?
I'm from Ohio, and I've lived in Texas for just over a year. The funeral and the service are in Ohio, and I'm in Texas. So besides being upset about his passing, I'm 1500 miles away.
I got a text last night with funeral information (this Friday and Saturday), so I looked online, and lo and behold found a fllight for $341 on Expedia. The price alone was enough to make my jaw drop, especially only four days in advance. Thanks to Northwest Airlines and Expedia.com, I'm going home this weekend.
But the best part? I started SAVING money for plane tickets back in November. I had been saving it up for some weddings this summer, but as it turned out, I needed it now. Only the $41 will have to come out of the budget this month.
Pre-Dave Amy (or pre-had-a-clue Amy) would have thrown it on a credit card and dealt with it later.
When I talked to my mom this morning, she said she had been looking at flying me home for the funeral or at least splitting it, when the cheapest flights she found were $700+. She said she'd still split it with me, which is insanely sweet of her, but I'm going to try and talk her out of it. (You know how moms are though...)
All I have to do now is get my shifts for Friday night and Saturday night covered at the Roadho. Everything has worked out to my advantage so far, and I'm hoping this will also.
So not only do I have peace in being able to go home and be with my friends, but I'm doing it without going into debt, sticking to my budget.
Tuesday, December 9, 2008
DS within a DS
Yesterday I found out that instead of applying my last "big" payment to the smallest of my student loans, it took the payment and split it up amongst all four of the smaller ones that encompass what is my Sallie Mae loan. Which is all fine and good, except for that payment could have almost completely eliminated one of the smaller (and higher interest) ones.
So I did some calling. Turns out that if I split all of my loans into seperate billing groups, I can pick which one I want my extra payments to go to each month, while the others will just get my auto debit minimum payment.
Now I have a debt snowball WITHIN a debt snowball. Its gonna be HUGE!
I'm actually quite excited because I was worried that I would start to lose motiviation if I didn't progress as quickly. I mean, this loan is three times as big as my biggest credit card. It was just a loooong straight haul. Now I feel like its more manageable, and I'll be able to see definate progress over the next few months. I like small steps...it makes me feel like I've accomplished something. :-)
So I did some calling. Turns out that if I split all of my loans into seperate billing groups, I can pick which one I want my extra payments to go to each month, while the others will just get my auto debit minimum payment.
Now I have a debt snowball WITHIN a debt snowball. Its gonna be HUGE!
I'm actually quite excited because I was worried that I would start to lose motiviation if I didn't progress as quickly. I mean, this loan is three times as big as my biggest credit card. It was just a loooong straight haul. Now I feel like its more manageable, and I'll be able to see definate progress over the next few months. I like small steps...it makes me feel like I've accomplished something. :-)
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