Million Dollar Journal

Month 2: Finished, and not a moment too soon.

First, I’ll reveal this months results, then I’m going to take it down a notch so I can have a life again.

Month 3:
Total Debt: $6644.45
End of Month Goal: $5844.00

Result:
$5300.00 

So I beat my goal by $544.00, not too bad. This month had 3 pay periods which is lucky because I desperately needed some new jeans and work clothes. I spent a little more than I should have, but I don’t regret it.

These last couple weeks have been difficult. Work has been super stressful, and I didn’t get the job that I thought I was a shoe-in for. My French exam is coming up soon, and I spent all my time preparing for the job interview which turned out to be a waste and am therefore completely unprepared for my exam. My PartyLite business hasn’t gone anywhere, and I haven’t had any sort of social life in more than 3 months. The combination of all these things are making me grumpy, irritable and sort of depressed. SO…

Starting this month, I am dialling back the extreme budget. I realized that I don’t have to live like this. I make a good living, and I don’t think it’s fair to punish myself the way I am.

Today I went car shopping… thats right! Car shopping! I’m ditching Ottawa’s terrible public transit system, and couldn’t be happier about it.

Going forward - I will put what I can towards my debt and continue to keep a log if it on here to stay accountable.

Sorry to disappoint y’all.
kp. 

Yep.

(via my-diamond-eyes)

I paid off my last credit card today!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lT9v2QjcbRE 

One student loan to go…

Mint

I believe I’ve stumbled upon THEE most useful budgeting too IN. THE. WORLD.

If you’re serious about creating a budget or crazy (like I am) about knowing your entire financial situation at all times, this is the tool for you - highly recommended.

kp.

Month 3 (weeouuu!)

March should be nice for my bank balances. I mentioned this in my last post but, March has THREE pay periods rather than the usual two because of how the Fridays fall. I will post my original goals for month 3, although I suspect my month-end results will far surpass the goals this month (yay!).

Month 3:
Total Debt: $6644.45
End of Month Goal: $5844.00

There are going to be a couple temptations this month:

• The Ottawa-Gatineau auto show is this month and I’ve already be itching to buy a new car; add some sales pressure to the mix and who knows what could happen.
• iPad 3 is to be released next week, so… nuf said.

I think my will to surpass my month-end goals will be enough to keep me from buying anything stupid, but wish me luck anyways.

kp. 

Month 2: Done
This year is starting to slow it’s self down to a crawl :/ I already want this to be over… These were my stats and goals for the month of February:

Month 2:
Total remaining debt: $7,462.80
End of month goal: $6,662.00

Result (drumroll please…)

$6644.45 

OMGWTFBBQ!!! I actually beat my goal again. Although I don’t feel like I was particularily frugal this month due to a couple frivolous nights out. (“Curiouser and curiouser.”)

So, I’ve managed to pay off roughly 21% of my debt in 2 months… Feels good, but I’m starting to lose will power. I REALLY want to purchase a vehicle again.
Public transit: stop sucking!!

Anyways, March has a couple added bonuses that I didn’t factor into my debt repayment plan:

1. There are THREE pay periods, rather than the usual two because of where the Fridays fall, which is good for me since I budget all my rent/bill payments based on 2 paycheques a month. I’m still going to pretend there are only two pays this month, and 100% of that extra cheque will go directly to my evil creditors.
2. It’s tax season, and in typical Karl style, I’m probably the first one in Canada to have my taxes filed and assessed for a return of almost $400. (w00t!)
3. Actually, those are the only two things… I’m not sure why I felt the need to create a bulleted list… ahem…

More to come in March, I’m going to bed. 
Farewell for now,
kp. 

So this month I really haven’t done anything special to save money but I’m still ahead of my goals for the month in terms of my debt repayment :)

In February, I’m going to focus on starting up my new business in selling PartyLite products… Hopefully I can make something of it, I really like these products, so it’s not hard for me to sell it to potential customers. If anyone out there in internet land would like to help me out you can like my PartyLite facebook page or visit PartyLite my website.

Well, we’re already into month two of 2012, and only 327 shopping days left until christmas! Better get crackin’.

January was an interesting month, I exceeded my goal by 2% and it was easier than I imagined, mostly due to the fact that I started paying for EVERYTHING with cash. It’s less convenient but… I, like many others have always used the excuse that “I can track my spending better if I use a credit card.” The problem with this is that you only get to see past transactions and it doesn’t help you make decisions about current and future spending. I dont know about you, but it’s soooo much harder for me to hand over a bill.

Anyways, keeping myself motivated and accountable to all you people following me out there in the interweb land - my current net-worth and my goal for the end of the month:

Month 2:
Total Debt: $7,462.80
End of Month Goal: $6,662.00

Also for February… definitely keeping my fingers crossed for any word on the new job I applied for in January. Perhaps I’ll be changing that end of month goal ;)
Try not to give too much of your money to Hallmark & Lindt this month, friends. 

Wish me luck!
kp. 

The first step to  getting money is understanding money (where it comes from and how it works). This is a cool little cartoon I’ve watched a couple times, it’s entertaining and educational. Edutainment!

Enjoy.
kp. 

So I guess this would be my first ‘weigh-in’, or so to speak. These were my stats and goals for the month of January:

Month 1:
Total Debt: $8412.95
End of Month Goal: $7600.00

Result (drumroll please…)

$7,462.80 !!

I am worth 12.7% more this month; that’s 2% more than anticipated. Hurrah!

If you missed my earlier post about snowballing, this is tool that I’ve been using to keep track of all the numbers: Cost Calculator - it’s completely free, and if you create an account you can keep track of all your additional debts, payments, totals, etc… Highly recommended.

Happy Friday!
kp.

Alright, big day today RE: taking care of my finances. Today I:
-Downgraded my internet service from unnecessarily fast plus to just plain unnecessarily fast, for a savings of 11.30/month… I may take another step down in another month or two. We’ll just see how this goes first.

-Completed a $2600 balance transfer from a 19.99% APR account to a 0.99% APR account, for a total savings of ~$40/month.

-Began Selling PartyLite products as a consultant in an effort to supplement my income.

-Applied for a new position that just opened up in my department which would increase my income by ~$10,000/year (I’m not going to get my hopes up about this, but I’m totally qualified and have a pretty good chance I think.)

It’s only January - so this all sounds nice… but let’s hope I can keep this momentum going for the whole year. Tomorrow is payday (the last payday of January), so stay tuned for my end of month net-worth results.

Stay fiscally responsible!
kp. 

Alright! I cut up both my credit cards this week. It’s a pretty great feeling actually - highly recommended. To be honest, I can’t even remember why I ever felt the need to have two bank issued credit cards in the first place.

In my adult (18-25) life I’ve had anywhere between 1-4 credit cards at one time (including store cards) and have paid out thousands of dollars in interest which, in hindsight, is totally outrageous! Thank [insert deity of choice here] that I’ve come to my senses early, and a shout out to my parents for dealing with my lavishness when I lived at home… I would have strangled me a long time ago!

8 Reasons Debt is Harmful Pt.2

8 Reasons Debt is Harmful Pt.1

This guy makes a lot of sense, this is the kind of logical thinking that will keep me going on my quest to be debt free. I thought I should share, it’s very motivating.

Snowballing

This the tool I used  to help me come up with my 11 month repayment plan. Snowballing is about paying your debts in the correct order, starting with balances that have the highest interest. Give it a try for yourself if you’re looking to work towards financial freedom, too.