Update on My Work Situation

Hello my lovely readers!  Did you miss me?

First off, apologies for the absence.  I haven't been blogging the past few weeks because (1) I was stressed about work and was attempting to find a new job; and (2) I took a quick trip to NYC to meet with my consulting client.

Second, I HAVE GOOD NEWS IN THE JOB DEPARTMENT!!!!  After some back and forth, I ended up getting transferred to a new department at work, so looks like I won't lose my job in the foreseeable future.  Woohooo!  :)

I'm so happy it turned out this way.  I hate updating my resume, writing cover letters, and spending tons of time on trying to find a new job, especially when you feel like you need a new job ASAP.  That pressure really does not help things!

Anyway, I will keep you guys updated on my debt repayment progress, although July was a really difficult month in terms of income and payments on my loans.  Hopefully I can get back on track starting in August.

Let's do this!

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Open a New Capital One 360 Account by July 3rd and Score Some Cash!

I hope you all are enjoying the summer beaches and sunshine!

In celebration of the upcoming long weekend and 4th of July, Capital One 360 is offering some extra bonus cash if you sign up for a new account with them!

Here's what you need to do to score your bonus cash:

1. Open a no-fee 360 Savings® account between June 30th and July 3rd (with a deposit of$500 or more).
2. Snag a $76 bonus and start earning interest

What are you waiting for?  Go ahead and sign up now and get your bonus money!

What are your plans for the upcoming weekend?  My boyfriend and I are staying local, spending time with friends and family, BBQing, drinking lemonade (which may or may not be spiked! ;), and generally relaxing.  I can't wait!  :)

{Note: this post contains my referral link.  If you sign up through my link, I will also receive some cash.  It's a win-win!}

July (Negative) Net Worth Update: $-115,461.81 [Up $3k!]

I can't believe it's already July 1st!  Time has been flying over here!

Here's my net worth update, compared to last month's figures:

Assets	July	June		Difference
Cash	$15,265.47	$13,683.23		$1,582.24
Investments	$28,125.55	$27,070.91		$1,054.64
Total Assets	$43,391.02	$40,754.14		$2,636.88
Liabilities
Student Loans	$157,211.06	$158,036.78		-$825.72
Credit Cards	$1,641.77	$1,461.99		$179.78
Total Liabilities	$158,852.83	$159,498.77		-$645.94
Total Net Worth	-$115,461.81	-$118,744.63		$3,282.82

I'm up over $3,200, thanks to my freelance income.  My hours have been reduced at my regular job, so I am really REALLY grateful for my side hustle income.  I am also actively looking for a new job, since my current one is not looking too promising at the moment.  This has been keeping me quite busy, as I'm setting up meetings with friends, old colleagues, and other people in my network to try to find something that's the right fit.  

Fingers crossed I'll find a new place to work soon.  I really don't want to dip into my savings, but it's nice to have as a cushion if I need it.  I may also be able to get a lower payment amount with Income Based Repayment on my federal loans due to my lowered income, but this won't stop the interest from accruing on those loans.  In the meantime, I am just paying the minimum on my student loans.

Man, there's a lot to think about right now, but I am committed to remaining optimistic that something good will work out after all this.  Wish me luck, my lovely readers!!

  

Actively Looking...

Sorry for the lack of posts as of late.  I just submitted the first draft of my freelance project this week, which means I'll have more time to read blogs and write on my own!  Yippee!  :D

As for an update, not much is new in the debt repayment department.  I am currently thinking about slowing it down, as I'm not sure how long my current employment situation will last.  Things are really slow at work, which worries me.  I am now actively seeking new work opportunities and will be dedicating much of my free time to that.  Fingers crossed that something good works out.

My current situation is probably a good reminder to myself and some of my readers out there why an emergency fund and multiple streams of income is so important, and why you need to tailor financial advice to yourself.  Having an emergency fund and having a freelance consulting gig both make me feel way more secure than I would have felt if my day job was my only source of income and if I only had $1,000.00 emergency fund, as some financial gurus suggest.

Paying off debt won't help you in emergency situations, but having liquid cash will.  Balancing your different interests, priorities, and goals, and tailoring advice to your unique situation is the most important thing when it comes to personal finance.

June (Negative) Net Worth Update: $-118,744.63 [Up $7k!]

Here's my June net worth update, up by almost $7k:

Assets	June	May		Difference
Cash	$13,683.23	$11,667.40		$2,015.83
Investments	$27,070.91	$26,577.43		$493.48
Total Assets	$40,754.14	$38,244.83		$2,509.31
Liabilities
Student Loans	$158,036.78	$162,744.62		-$4,707.84
Credit Cards	$1,461.99	$1,111.34		$350.65
Total Liabilities	$159,498.77	$163,855.96		-$4,357.19
Total Net Worth	-$118,744.63	-$125,611.13		$6,866.50

Slowly but surely inching upwards!  My previous goal was to increase my net worth to -$115k.  My new goal is to increase it to -$99k by the end of the year and to be in the black by early 2016!  That might be a pretty bold goal, but it's nice to see things change over time.  Even if I don't meet those goals, I think I'm headed in the right direction by trying to pay down my debt.

Here's my debt repayment update:

Student Loans	Amount Owed	Amount Paid Off	Interest Rate	Monthly Payment	Payoff Date
Federal Loans	$119,166.13	$5,000.00	5.75%	$1,093.65
Private Loan 1		$11,344.15	5.00%	$0.00	3/7/2014
Private Loan 2	$9,916.89		3.01%	$81.18
Private Loan 3	$11,545.69		3.21%	$84.77
		$10,749.01	3.71%	$0.00	4/16/2014
	$8,861.99		3.71%	$73.47
	$8,543.63		3.71%	$66.50
		$2,137.82	3.72%	$0.00	2/28/2014
		$2,123.74	3.72%	$0.00	2/28/2014
Total	$158,034.33	$31,354.72		$1,399.57

I paid a total of $6,399.57 towards my debt during the month of May!  That's including my regular monthly payments of $1,399.57 + a $5,000.00 chunk from my savings towards to my highest interest debt.

I have now paid over $32k towards student loans in the past 4 months!*  I was only able to do so because I had a head start with a large amount of cash in my savings in the beginning and because of my freelance work which is helping me make payments in large chunks at a time.  I'll admit it's really hard to see $5,000 just go with seemingly nothing to show for it, but I consider it an investment in my future.

What are your financial goals?

*That's including my minimum monthly payments.

Strategies to Pay Off Debt Faster: Accountability and Support

One of the major things that got my butt kicked into making some serious payments on my student loans was meeting my boyfriend.  When we were discussing me possibly taking a new career path last winter, he asked me what was holding me back and I replied that one of the major concerns was my student loans.  He asked me how much I had in student loan debt and I was embarrassed to tell him that I didn't know.

This was in December 2013.  That conversation felt like the kick in the butt I needed to get motivated to find out exactly how much I owed.  I knew it was above $150k but less than $200k, but I knew little else about my student loans.

After I had my "getting to know you" session with my student loans, listing them out on a spreadsheet, complete with interest rates and monthly payment amounts, I realized I had some major work ahead of me.  As my boyfriend and I were talking about a possible future together, I didn't like the feeling of the student loans hovering in the background or coming up in our conversations.  I realized that I needed to do something about it because they weren't going to magically disappear on their own (as much as I fantasized about it...  :).

In addition to crunching the numbers and coming up with ways to pay off more debt, I realized that I needed two other things: accountability and support.  While my boyfriend provides the accountability and support I need to get moving on this goal, I thought starting this blog would add to that, and I would learn some cool things and "get to know" other PF bloggers in the process.  

Accountability to my blog readers has already helped prevent me from making some silly decisions, and support from readers and my boyfriend have been so helpful in moments when I just want to give up altogether and book a one way flight to Mexico.  ;)  

So while I recommend getting started with the logical steps of listing out your debts and coming up with payment plans, I also recommend that you have accountability and support from someone you trust (perhaps also the PF blogging community!) to help you on the emotional side.

As we all know, debt repayment on a huge debt can feel like an emotional roller coaster at times, so having that support really helps.  

What about you?  What strategies do you use to pay off debt faster?

Rethinking Your Money Beliefs

I watched a Marie Forleo video a while back doing an interview with Kate Northrup on changing your money beliefs which I thought was interesting.  Kate talks about the 4 money beliefs that may be holding you back from reaching your financial goals.  Some of these may have been ingrained from your family upbringing.  None of these are excuses for bad finances, but rather provide a means from which to examine our relationships to money and our issues relating to money that we may have internalized from a very young age.

Being mindful about our financial and personal habits can help us reach those seemingly impossible financial goals.  For me, that's paying off my large student loan debt.

Here are the 4 money beliefs Kate talks about:

1. "Someone else should or will do this for me."  People with this money belief do not take responsibility for their actions, if they have the power to do so, and are willing to give up their financial power to someone else.  This includes hoping that Mr. Right or a parent or someone else will save us from our financial troubles.  If you have this money belief, you should remind yourself of your agency - you have what it takes to take control of your finances.
2. "I'm not good with money."  This money belief is one way that some people set themselves up for failure.  By thinking that they're not good with money or numbers, they simply avoid dealing with them, and it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.  To counteract this, try checking in daily with your finances through websites like Mint or Personal Capital, and manually inputting transactions in your budgeting software (I recommend YNAB) so you can be aware of what's going on.
3. "People with money are greedy or it's not spiritual to have money."  Judging others for having money or having their finances in control will block you from becoming wealthy or getting things under control.  To counteract this, try to see money as a reflection of the value that you are adding to someone else's life.  
4. "I'm not ________ enough."  Whatever limiting belief you have about yourself or invisible assumptions you make about your abilities will hinder you from achieving your goals.  These beliefs reflect low self confidence, which in turn is perceived by others who will not have as much confidence in you.  Remember, no one will value you more than you value yourself.

What Kate gets at, and what is really consistent with my own personal philosophy, is that having control over our finances allows us the freedom to be fully present to more creative, service oriented purposes.  Whether that be volunteering more of your time, sitting down to write that novel, or giving more time to family and friends, that freedom benefits you and the world around you.

Check out the video here and let me know what you think!