Monday...

Good Morning!  I am on the train headed to the office and feeling good.  All is well.  I have my breakfast and lunch packed so it should be a zero spend day unless I can stop by Macy's just to get some proactiv cleanser.  That's a need vs. want.  Since yesterday was a high spend day, I have to be very diligent this week with planning and saying No!  Not just to myself but to my coworkers who wan to go out for lunch and friends who want to go for Happy Hour, etc. 

It's going to be a good week. 

Day 6...

I had a spend day. After struggling through 11 miles this morning, I went to the grocery store to stock up on fruit and to get a loaf of bread. I had leftover alcohol from a party, gatorade, condiments and bottled water in my fridge. That's all folks. I don't really even drink. I need to give that away to my brother-in-law but then my fridge would look super empty. lol

They sent out a blast last Friday that the fridge wasn't working properly. We had to take everything out until it can be repaired. So I stocked up on fruit and grabbed some bread to make PB&J's this week. Why is eating healthy so expensive?!?! I purchased apples, nectarines, grapes, watermelon, melon, bananas and bread and I spent almost $50. Man! The grapes alone were damn near $10 and I didn't buy organic. Oh well...I am going to be a fruit eating sister! I really want to watch what I eat over the next two weeks until the marathon is over. Two years ago, I got food poisoning the day before the race and couldn't run. All that training and I couldn't lace up the sneakers. Not this year! 

After church, I swung by to meet up with my BFF. Her ex husband got remarried today and it was just one of those days when you should have someone with you. She wanted to go to Chili's so we went to Chili's. Not terribly expensive but when you top it off with the groceries, it was a spending day!

Day 5...

I had a really great day. I am always better when I'm surrounded by family and love. My condo feels so stale and hollow when it's just me but when my friend comes into town it feels like home. I grew up in a tight knit family so living by myself isn't great. I like my alone time every now and again but then I'm ready for company. One day, he'll relocate to Chicago and Chitown will be a happy lady.

It was another good spending day. We spent the day visiting his family member who is here for cancer treatment. His Cousin is an awesome man with a great sense of humor. He is battling this disease with such a force and spirit that I will never forget. It saddens me when tough things happen to good people but when you see them get knocked down and then get back up and say "now what?!?!", it just shows the strength of the human spirit. If he can fight this battle, surely I can fight the battle against this debt. 

I spent $20 on lunch so I just squeaked over the $100 threshold. Not bad for my first week. 

Debt Sucks...

Student loans suck! Credit card debt sucks! Being under water on my mortgage sucks! 

It's literally feels sometimes like the debt is choking the light and the life out of me. I keep a smile on my face though. Smile through the pain. Stay Positive! Stay Optimistic! Knowing I pray everyday that my debt is zero balanced so I can be free and really reach my full potential. Sooner rather than later. $228,000!!! I do believe in miracles. I know I'll be free one day.  In the meantime, I'll keep busting my butt and of course...I'll keep smiling. =)

Day 4...

Good day! $10 on food for breakfast and dinner. $30 for pedicure including tip. I am at $93 for the week so far. One more day to go. =)

On a pretty awesome note, my friend decided to join me on the spending fast. He's not in the same position financially. He's in a much better position and he has a solid head on his shoulders. After digging himself out of debt many years ago, he enjoys freedom from a debt free life. He wants the same for me. It's always nice to have a partner in the journey. =)

Weight Watchers Cancelled....

I cancelled my WW subscription today. I rarely use it and there are a couple of other free apps on my phone that I think are very good and helpful. I will say, WW works if you are diligent and have the time to input your foods. I would give it a thumps up!

TGIF!!!

I will admit it...I am thankful for my job but not crazy about it so I live for Fridays. On weekends, I am free from the Bank and can chill, relax and have some fun. Because I live for Fridays and have for years, I know banking isn't for me. It feels like work. Every day and every second.

I didn't run this morning. I've been dragging so much lately and super tired during the day. I know it's because of what I've been eating and these extra 10 lbs I'm carrying. Ugh!!! I am most comfortable in my skin around 160. 

I am a little nervous about the upcoming Chicago Half Marathon. It's 2 weeks away and I may have 9 miles solid but I really need 10-11 miles solid. I'm just not motivated because it's really hard and boring to train on your own. Every run has been solo. I look forward to the weekend runs because at least there are other people on the trail. I am such a dork. I get so happy to see people, I'm waving and saying "good morning" throwing off my steps and breathing. lol Oh well! It is what it is...2 more weeks and I will knock out this race but I'm not where I'd hoped to be physically by now. Kind of disappointing. 

I looked at my budget yesterday and I going to make some more cuts. Cable is going, I am going to increase my insurance deductible and I am going to cancel my weight watchers subscription since I don't use it. That's close to $200/month in savings. 

It's been a decent spending week. If I take the whole week into account, I am at $50 so far. I brought my lunch today but I need to get a pedicure after work. That and my eyebrows once a month are the only things I don't do myself. I stayed up last night and gave myself a no chip manicure. My hands are saying "thank you!" 

That's about it folks.  I am on target to spend less than $100 this week. Have a great Friday and a great weekend! 

Day 3...

Money

$5 people!!! Day 3 was another really good day.  I brought leftovers in for lunch and purchased a bagel with cream cheese for breakfast. I did also buy some soup from the cafeteria to hold me over through my lunch meeting. Who the heck schedules a meeting from 11-1 in Chicago with people in Florida? I tell you! It's lunch time people! Anyway, I made it through my meeting and I am doing so much better with my doodling! I am almost an expert! LOL

My Mom is cooking dinner this evening and invited me over. I am not a fan of big dinners (love big lunches) so I will probably munch a little and grab some leftovers for lunch tomorrow. Can you tell...I love leftovers!!! 

Exercise

I got my 40 minute workout in this morning! Oh yeah! I have to get up again in the morning and crank out some miles. I am thinking 5 miles for a maintenance run.

Work

I am a member of The Illinois State Bar Association. Today I signed up for two free training classes on using FastCase which is a legal research service offered free through the ISBA as part of my membership. This cuts down on the need for expensive research services like Westlaw and LexisNexis and is a great tool for small law firms.

There is lots of work and prep that needs to be done to get Chitown Law Group back up and running to earn additional income. I know I have fielded several calls and emails for legal help this year. I referred all of them out to other practicing attorneys in my network. Wouldn't it be nice to keep some of that income for Chitown?!?! Absolutely!!! So, I need to get working to network, market myself, brush up on the law, attend court to observe, reconnect with mentors in different law areas and get the basics like a work laptop (eventually), business cards and a basic website. My laptop is DEAD, by business cards have stale information but I have everything else already set up and in place. In the meantime, I can use my iPad and work laptop until the legal work really starts coming. 

That's about all folks...$5!!! Day 3 Baby!!! =)

Personal Care Items...

I am a lady!  As such, I need my personal care items.  Unfortunately, the products I found that work best for me aren't the most inexpensive.

I gave up going to my hair stylist weekly to get my hair done back in 2010.  That was costing me $180/month.  Now, I just go 4 times a year to get the ends of my hair trimmed.  I embraced my naturally curly hair and I use Mixed Chicks hair products in the larger size liter bottles.  The deep conditioner combined with the leave-in conditioner costs me approximately $100 every two months.

The other product that I use is Proactiv and I've been using it since 2003.  It simply works best for me. When I deviate to try other products...look out!!!  It's not so good. LOL  Proactiv costs me about $60 every two months.

So why am I telling you all of this?!?!  I happened to realize that both products will need to be replenished either this weekend or next week.  Utilizing the need based approach, I won't feel bad about making the purchases.  However, I just wish they didn't need replenishing at the same darn time! =)

Morning Workout...

After snoozing for about 45 minutes, I finally got my tail up to exercise before work. I was going to skip it but then I was just talking about my weigh in yesterday and how I needed to get moving in the morning. So, I cranked out a quick 40 minute workout and now I'm on my way to the office.

Weight this morning was 170!!! Ouch!!! I was 164 just a few weeks ago and 174 on the scale at the doc yesterday so I'm all over the place. Despite the scale gain, I'm still swimming in my pants so I know I've lose inches even if the scale went up a bit.

I managed to go straight home last night and make dinner. I wanted take-out chicken enchiladas with chips & salsa but found all the ingredients at home to make a quick jambalaya from an old Paula Deen recipe. I even found some chips & salsa at home to snack on while dinner was cooking. Now, I have leftovers for lunch today. My Mom invited me to dinner this evening so it should be another easy spend day. 

Here are the pics for my jambalaya from the beginning to the end product. Yummy! 

End Product

Beginning Product

Day 2...

I am sitting here on the train and my stomach is growling every few seconds. I am so hungry. I missed a real breakfast because my train stalled this morning. I just grabbed some canned fruit I had in the fridge for emergencies at work. Then I grabbed a quick bite at Wendy's before I went to the doc for my annual physical. It was a busy day. I was just sitting here thinking about the chicken enchiladas with chips & salsa that I want and will order when I get off the train. Then I remembered...that would cost close to $20 from the restaurant even for take out. So...I will be taking my butt home and finding something there to prepare.

I got on the scale at the doc and OMG!!! What the heck have I been doing the last month?!?! My butt doesn't need enchilada anything!!! Back to morning workouts. I won't even tell you the number on the scale...it's way too painful!!! 

I took a bag of clothes over to my mom for her to ship back to Victoria Secret yesterday. I went on a mini vacation to FL in July and I purchased some pj's and swimwear. The sizes were too big so I ordered smaller sizes and I need to send the wrong ones back. I tallied and its close to $150 that will go back on my card. I'll take it!!!

So here is my tally for the day. Not bad!

Day 1...

I have to go to the grocery store this weekend. Before I go, I have to plan because the grocery store is DANGEROUS!!! Keeping to a list has been near impossible historically.

$400/month is keeping my spending under $15/day. So here's spending for Day 1. This was breakfast, lunch and dinner. 

Day 1

Debt Reduction Plan..

The plan has me paying off my debt in 5 years with the current projection at 63 months.  I will remain at the Bank, look for opportunities to increase my income and apply all extra payments, income, bonuses, tax returns, vested stock options, etc. towards debt.

Emergency/ Reserve Fund

I will be keeping my December 2013 year end bonus as an emergency and reserve fund.  I am hoping that my car will be able to survive another year or two but I just don't know.  I am also simply uncomfortable with just a $1,000 eFund. My car repairs this month alone were $1,050.  A $1,000 eFund is enough for small things but it is not sufficient for larger emergencies.  I am staying firm on that because I know I have been in a panic and unable to sleep with the no reserves.  It's a BAD feeling.  No good for me.  Others are okay with having a small eFund but I would be more comfortable with $10k-$15k in savings.

Acceleration

Of course I will be able to accelerate my debt reduction plan if I am able to earn extra income doing law work, etc. or if there is a life event like marriage where I will be able to share household expenses, reduce my overhead and direct free cash flow towards debt.

Chart Explanation

I used the free snowball calculator from Vertex. The link is on the side of my blog.  I am now at management level so I receive stock options annually with my bonus that vest in 3 years. My first allotment vests in December 2015 so you will see an extra $10k bump to the annual bonus amount. The Bank is performing well and the stock value is strong so I don't anticipate large fluctuations over the next couple of years. With the change to bi-weekly pay, twice a year I will receive an extra monthly payment. That will go directly to debt repayment. What isn't in the chart is tax returns because I do not know what those amounts will be on an annual basis. I will apply those as they come.

Payoff Methodology

I have 1 credit card, 7 private student loans with virtually the same interest rate and 3 federal loans at different interest rates. I will focus on paying off the credit card first because I keep having to transfer the balance each year to take advantage of a promotional rate. The transfer fee last year added $800 to the balance. Payoff progress on the credit card has been slow although I make monthly payments. So I'm hoping to knock that off first and snowball to the private loans. I will attack the private loans by the lowest balance first since they have the same interest rate. I will continue to snowball and then attack my federal loans by the highest rate first since they're fixed rate.

All of the numbers are rounded and this is a rough estimate but it will give you some idea of the plan. 

Total Loans & Target Payoff Dates

Snowball Schedule

Monthly Budget...

Here is my monthly budget which includes the $100/week challenge to keep personal spending at $400/month.  This is going to be so hard for me because I am not a fan of budgets anymore.  Why?  Because the darn things never work for me.  Hopefully, it will be different now.

I started my 401k contributions back this month.  I contribute 5% to get the maximum match.  The Bank matches 100% up to 5% of my salary.  I don't want to give away free money anymore so it just means I have to tighten my spending belt more. Since the beginning of the year, my take-home has gone from $5,700 to $5,000 with the roll back of tax cuts, change in pay frequency from once a month to bi-weekly and now my 401k contributions. Huge adjustments and changes.

The Beginning...

Tomorrow is Day #1. I'm nervous. Yep. Chitown is nervous. I'm facing a lot of challenges financially and personally and everything ties together. I need to come up with a challenge. I was doing the $200/week challenge but that's way too liberal. $100/week?!?! It's a start. If I keep my spending under $100/week only buying what I need, then that could mean $800+ per month extra towards debt. I'm nervous but that right there sounds awesome if I can do it!!! Wish me luck!!! 

Spending Fast and Car Update...

With the help of my friend, I got my car fixed and avoided a new car purchase.  I am very thankful for the help and that it was generously offered with no strings attached.  I found it difficult to accept the help or to even ask for help.  Stubborn pride.  Pride that will mess me up and put me in more of a financial bind.  So, I have more time to pay down debt and save for a new car.  Thank God!  I had to get the leak in my car fixed which was done by the body shop who originally did the work for NO CHARGE!  Yes!!!  My friend paid for me to get a complete new brake job (front and back rotors, brake pads and calipers) because the steering wheel was shaking when I went to brake.  Also I needed new drive belts because the car was making noise upon acceleration.  My 11 year old car needed some serious maintenance but what's most important is that I get to ride in a safe car.  So thankful!

I am on a debt reduction mission!!!!  I know it's ambitious as all heck but I want to pay off my debt in 5 years.  Yes....$228k in 5 years!!!!  I can do it!!!  I can do it!!!  Shhh...I will be 40 when it's all paid off!!!

My personal fun life is going to suck but I get my freedom back and I get to do cartwheels in 5 years!!!!  How am I going to do this?!?!  A serious spending fast!!!  I am going on a spending fast like no other spending fast.  If it's not needed, I don't get it.  No more eating out, vacations, etc. unless I am being treated.  Oh dear! I can do this right?!?!

I HAVE TO!!!  This debt is keeping me hostage and up all night.  It weighs on me like a ton of bricks!!!  I have to kick the debt monster out of my life for good!!!  Pray for me guys!!!

All bonuses, extra paychecks, cash rewards, tax returns, etc. go towards paying off debt.  I will ask myself with each purchase if it's needed or wanted.  I will have to report my victories and my shame right here on my blog.  Oh dear!!! Here goes!!!

I will post my spending daily.  My monthly budget and plan will be posted here shortly.

Chitown Needs a New Car...

I need a new car!!! My car is a 2002 Nissan Altima and it is dying a slow and painful death from rust corrosion. I fought Nissan last year and I was able to get the rear subframe replaced but not the floor boards. Instead of replacing them out of pocket, I had them reinforced at the body shop. I was in danger of being like Fred Flinstone last year! Anyway, the last two weekend, we've had rain here in Chicago and I noticed that the passenger side floor was soaking wet. I pulled up the carpet on Friday and to my absolute horror, I found a pool of water under the carpeting but no obvious sign of where the water was coming through. I used my phone to take pictures underneath and sure enough, the corrosion is back with a vengeance. I don't want to put any more money into the Altima because once there is rust present, it will only get worse. Plus, I need additional regular maintenance on my 11-year old car with 126,000 miles. I was hoping it could wait until next year but looks like my time may be running out.

Since the beginning of the year, I have lost about $700 in monthly cash flow with the roll off of the middle class tax cuts, increased utility costs from the water leak and the switch to bi-weekly pay. Chitown needs a break I tell you!Here are some pics of the car. I have the windows down to dry out the carpeting and padding.

Chicago Half Marathon...

In addition to trying to get my finances in order, I am also working on my health & fitness. Since June 5th, I've lost just over 10 lbs and a full pant size doing Insanity and Hip Hop Abs from Beachbody. I even wore a bikini in FL for the first time in years just after the 4th of July.

A few weeks ago, I started running again and decided that I will run the Chicago Half Marathon in September. I have just over 7 weeks to train and I ran 9 miles on Sunday so I think I can get there by September 8th. Finger crossed! I feel a lot better and I have more energy and focus. Wish me luck!

My goals are:

1) 8 hours of sleep
2) A gallon of water a day - minimum 1/2 gallon
3) Water only and no beef or pork
4) Stop eating 3-4 hours before bedtime
5) Exercise 5 times a week

Weekly Spending

I am back to trying to spend under $200/week. Although I spent more than $200 last week, $130 was to get my air conditioning unit cleaned which was an absolute must. Eliminate the $130 and I was at $144 for the week. Not bad at all.

Change in Pay Frequency....

There is so much change going on with my Organization. I have been employed with the Bank for 13 years. They key players are almost unrecognizable especially since the merger that occurred a couple of years ago.

The most recent change is the change is in pay frequency. For the past 11 years, I have gotten paid once a month which some might find difficult but I am comfortable after all this time. Starting this month, the Bank moved all employees to bi-weekly pay and my monthly take home decreased substantially since it is spread out over 26 pay periods versus 12 pay periods. My monthly income decreased $460!!! Ouch! Sure I will get two extra paychecks in a year but that is a drastic change. So, I am back to the budget to see how I can make it all happen and let me tell you, I am trying to plug numbers in here and there and it's just super TIGHT!!!

Ouch is an understatement!!!