Money, Money, Money
I'm trying to get my finances back under control. I'm not at real liberty to explain why they got so craptastic in the last year quite yet, but I'm sure you can get the drift by the Infographic I've posted... relationships cost money.
(via dropdowndeals.com)
It isn't that I was forced to go into debt, but it seems to be a rather common theme with me... get into a relationship and get into debt. No more I tell you!At the beginning of September I decided that debt sucks. Not that I had tonnes (I'm not going to end up on an episode of Princess any time soon), but I had more than I was happy with. I make decent money, and should totally be able to afford to live within my means... all the while saving up for the things that I want (travel, a condo, new technological gadgets).
I started off September 1 with the following debt:
Line of Credit #1 (6.5% interest) = $2100.00
Line of Credit #2 (6.5% interest) = $4500.00
Credit Card (19.99% interest) = $1400.00
I guess the good thing was that I never paid interest on the credit card, I would "at least" pay it off with my line of credit so the interest wasn't so bad. Although I know that isn't a smart strategy, it was working in the meantime (I can hear Gail Vaz Oxlade yelling at me in my head).
So I started off two months ago with $8000 worth of debt. I've been tracking all of my spending through the Mint website (you can load in your bank accounts and credit cards and assign spending to different budget areas), with the exception of my cash withdraws (to which I'm limiting myself to $200 per month at most for small purchases and miscellaneous).
I am now happy to say, that after two months, I am now only $3250 in debt. I've managed to pay off almost $5000 of my debt in just 60 days, due to the diligent tracking of my money. I should be a little less than that soon as I do have an outstanding debt to me that should be paid shortly. I'm hoping to go into the new year less than $2000 in debt. I think that is reasonable.
I'll admit that all of the money didn't come from just saving... I did
manage to see a good $1000 worth of stuff that was sitting around my
house on kijiji and eBay... and honestly I have about another $500 worth
of stuff still for sale. All of the debt just gave me a kick-start to
actually get rid of the stuff that I no longer needed and/or used!
I haven't done without! I've bought tickets to three different NHL hockey games and tickets to two travelling Broadway shows that are coming through town. I've donated $100 to charity. I've bought myself an iPhone 4S. I've gone out for dinner a few times, and bought myself some new clothes.
I've also set aside more than enough money to cover all my spending money that I will need on my cruise at the end of the month.
It can be done, if you watch what you spend and are smart with your money. I'll write a post later about what I'm budgeting each month so you can see how a single girl really can live on one income in the city.
1 Comments
Good for you! I am also on this great journey of financial freedom! Relationships do cost money and im kind of excited at the prospect of not buying someone special a christmas gift this year too.
ReplyDeleteyoure doing fabulous, keep up the good work!!!