Weekly Spending Report – 2/15/10 to 2/21/10

Total Amount: $439

$150 – Professional Fees (Tax Preparation)
$100 – Business (Law Fees)
$95 – Food & Dining
$80 – Gifts (Dad’s 62nd Birthday)
$13 – Grocery
$1 – Transportation

Facebook...

I am going to put it out there to my 400+ friends on Facebook that I do real estate closings on the side. Hopefully I can generate some additional income throughout the year. 

I want to eventually become a Banking/Finance associate at a firm. I should be able to leverage off my 10+ years of Banking experience in large corporate, middle market, small business and loan workout.

We'll see. Other than paying for the professional writing course, I am trying to make it another no spend day. My tax refund is $3,600 so I am going to put $3,000 into savings and use the $600 to pay for the course which costs $595. 

I should have my return direct deposited within the next 2 weeks.     

No Money Day...

I didn't spend any money today. Gold star for Chitown. =)

Looking for a Blogger Like Me…

Anyone know of another blogger trying to fight off he debt monkey? As you can see from my blog roll, I read a lot of PF Blogs but none of the writers are like myself.

Can anyone direct me to someone also trying to get debt free and achieve a positive net worth?

Thanks a lot!!!

2009 Tax Return...

I finally filed my 2009 taxes and I will receive a decent return. I will get back a little more than I expected so I am going to be able to fulfill my $10,000 short-term savings goal. I currently have $7,000 in short-term savings with HSBC. I will transfer another $3,000 once I receive my return and keep the entire $10,000 balance out of reach. I also have $2,000 in an Emergency Fund at a local bank.

I don’t have a clue right now how I am going to fulfill my $20,000 long-term savings goal but once the $10,000 short-term goal is met, I am going to shift my focus completely to debt reduction.

Painfully Slow Process…

Getting this debt monkey off my back has been a painfully slow process but I have a goal to improve my net worth each month. Unfortunately, I also have a mental block. I am having trouble with slow progress even though I know slow and steady wins the race. Often times I try too hard to push progress that all I do is end up doing more damage. So, I am going to make a constant effort to be content in the short-term with making progress (even if it’s small) and recognizing the small victories.

Cost of Continuing Legal Education…

Well I have been out of law school for 2 years now and working in a non traditional position at a Bank. Since I do not work for a firm per se, I have to pay for my own continuing legal education. A partner at a firm that I work with, strongly suggested that I take a writing course to keep my skills sharp. He says it is one of the biggest criticisms for attorneys that have been out of the practice of law for some time. The class that he suggested that I take starts in March and costs $595. Ouch!

It was not just a mere suggestion either…it was a strong suggestion, particularly since I am trying to network and find a position and he is assisting. He’s asked me about the course several times and I have to bite the bullet and register. I don’t want to give any impression that I am not willing to put in the work when he is sticking his neck out for me in terms of making connections.

I am troubled that so early in the year, I already have to hit my savings for almost $600. Time to file my tax return...

What I Want…

I am going to write here what I really want….My Dream List.

• Associate position in a mid to large size Chicago firm.
• Minimum base salary of $125,000.
• Budget that works within the 60/40 formula.
• Contribute a minimum of 10% to retirement savings.
• Zero credit card and student loan debt.
• Free of student loan debt by age 40 (currently 32).
• Minimum of one year of living expenses in an emergency fund.

2010 is my year...

Well, 2010 is my year to get it all together. I am making some good connections and I hope to land a law position within the next 12-24 months. My current job is stable.

• Current base salary is $72k.
• All CC debt is consolidated at 3% until 1/2011.
• All private student loans are in repayment.
• 1/2 of my federal loans are in repayment.
• The remaining 1/2 goes into repayment in June 2010.
• I have savings from my annual bonus.

Goals for 2010:

• Use only cash and debit cards.
• Live below my means and within my budget.
• No more debt and no credit card use.
• Continue networking to land law position.
• Work to find avenues to increase my income.
• Use savings and not credit for emergencies.

February 2009 versus February 2010…

I just looked back at my sole post for February 2009 when I reported that I was credit card free. I am just so disappointed. I refinanced my home for no good reason only to run up my credit card debt again. Ugh!!! I will make this right.

January 2010 Monthly Report…

January has come to a close. My annual bonus was received and savings allocated. With the bonus came a large $10k improvement in my net worth. I have $9k allocated into savings with the following breakdown: $2K - Emergency Fund and $7K - Short-term Savings. My spending is a lot better and I am looking forward to making progress in 2010.

January 2010 Update…

I am only a couple days away from receiving my annual bonus and this is the first year that I will be putting it into savings instead of paying down debt. I no longer carry any credit cards in my wallet but I have adequate funds in my Checking/Operating Account for any Irregular Expenses.

From my bonus and a little extra money that I put aside, I am going to deposit $2,000 into a separate emergency fund and $7,000 into my HSBC account for Short-Term Savings. I have a $10,000 goal for Short-Term Savings so I will be 70% to goal. I plan to deposit any tax return that I receive into this account as well so I should be close to 100% by summer.

All of my $23,000 in credit card debt is consolidated on one card with an average interest rate of 3% through 1/2011. I plan to reduce this balance by $500/month through 2010. That is the best that I can do with my current budget.

All of my student loans will be in repayment by June 2010. Right now, over 75% are in repayment with a monthly payment of $850.

Status Update...2010

This is a big month and a big year for me.

I consolidated all of my little credit card debts onto one card at 3% until 1/2011. At month end, I will receive my annual bonus which will net after taxes approximately $6,400. I have a small emergency cushion right now a little in excess of $2,000 so I removed all of my credit cards from my wallet with the goal of no more debt. 66% of my student loans are in repayment. The remaining 44% in federal loans will enter repayment in June 2010. That’s it for now. Stay tuned...

Federal Student Loans...

I downloaded the federal forbearance form yesterday to find out that my lender only allows you to forbear for 3 years. Guess what??? I am already in year 3. So…I haven’t figured out my exact plan of action. About ½ will go into repayment in January 2009 and the remaining ½ will go into repayment in June 2009. Total monthly student loan payments will be approximately $1,300 per month.

$1,300 is a small fortune for a single woman making $72k per year with a monthly mortgage payment that is also approximately $1,300.

Whatever my budget will be…it will be tight. Very, very tight.

Returns & Debt Payments...

I returned $422 worth of new merchandise to stores last night. The amounts were credited to my credit cards reducing the overall balance.

I got paid today. I scheduled the following payments for November:

$233 reduced CC#1 by $200
$530 reduced CC#2 by $530 (no interest for 6 months)
$300 approx. in returns reduced CC#3 by $300
$158 to pay off CC#4
$641 reduced SL Debt by $250

Overall Debt Reduction (thus far) for November: $1,560 (including returns)

Cancellations...

I called to cancel my efax service but instead accepted a permanently reduced rate to $12.95 from $19.95. I can still cancel if necessary.

I also called to cancel my World Vision Donation which really hurt my heart. I will sponsor another child as soon as possible.

November Plan...

I get paid once a month. Here is the plan for November. I get paid on Thursday.

Reduce CC #1 by $200.
Reduce CC #2 by $550.
Return approx. $300 in merchandise and pay the min on CC #3.
Return approx. $200 in merchandise and pay off CC #4.
Make $640 private student loan payment.
Submit application to defer federal loans for one year.
Temporarily cancel charitable contributions and efax service - $50/month.
Bring lunch at least 2 times per week.

Time to Get Serious...

I am officially back and will be coming here more often to really give you the deal on my finances and my plan to get out of debt and save. I am really serious about getting this debt monkey off my back so stay tuned and see it happen.

Here is my current breakdown. I don’t need any criticism on the current state of affairs but feel free to criticize me on any of my future choices and to cheer on my successes. Thanks a lot. =)

*** Rounded Figures

Emergency Savings – $2,000
Credit Card #1 – $10,900 (Promotion APR of 3.99% fixed through 12/2010)
Credit Card $2 – $3,200 (Furniture Account – 6 months deferred to 3/2010)
Credit Card #3 – $1,900 (Revolving Account – Variable 7.99% rate)
Credit Card #4 – $300 (Revolving Account – Variable 17.99% rate)
Student Loan Debt – $232,000
Mortgage Debt – $122,300

First Student Loan Payment

I made my first student loan payment yesterday to the tune of $641.00. It’s definitely time to get focused and get out of debt. I have a solid plan so now it’s just time to execute.

Stash the Cash…

I decided to save my year end bonus in my HSBC account (if I get one) and to keep 2 separate savings accounts going forward. My hope is to continue to stash away all of my bonuses over the next 5 years which should leave me with roughly $25k if all goes well.

My plan is to also forbear my federal student loans for one more year and divert any extra money towards paying off my credit card. If I get the anticipated salary increase, the credit card will be repaid before the promotional APR expires and before all of my federal loans enter repayment after the forbearance period.

In the meantime, I will continue to make my private student loan payments and save $300/month into my savings account. If I receive any kind of tax return, I will put that money into my operating checking account so that I can pay for things like birthday gifts and other irregular expenses throughout the year.