Private Student Loans

I've had terrible luck with Wells Fargo (they are the worst, the absolute worst) but I'm in the middle of an application process that could potentially lower my rates. Of course, the entire time Wells Fargo has dragged their heels and are trying to use my current debt (i.e. the student loan they have) against me so I can't get a better interest ray (fuckin' cunts).

BUT I'm sending out energy and prayers that maybe, just maybe the universe and God will smile down upon me and help me get something amazing like a 7% (or lower!) fixed interest rate. If you're in any way spiritual or religious send a prayer out for me?

6 Month of Loan Payments

I have put off the entry forever. Which is strange because I'm very proud of what I have accomplished. I think I'm just being utterly lazy.

Let's review! I had originally wanted to save 1k a month until I could make a chunk $10,000 payment. However after some research I realized I would get slightly better results by making two monthly payments. So it began, I have lived off of only a few hundred (if not less each month). I pay rent, student loans, bills, gas and grocery and whatever left is mine for either saving or fun. Most months I end up with around $20 bucks in my account before payday.

What I Paid in 2012

                      Amt Toward            Amt Towards
                          Principle                   Interest
January                $6.54                     $739.06
February             $116.89                  $628.71
March                 $96.05                    $649.55
April                   $75.11                    $670.49
May                    $118.89                  $626.71
June                    $95.05                    $650.55
July                    $117.29                   $628.31
August               $97.19                     $648.41
September         $97.89                      $647.71
October             $119.47                    $626.13
November         $99.46                      $646.14
December         $120.99                     $624.61
TOTAL           $1,160.82                  $7,786.38

Seriously, look at January, only $6 bucks towards principle!!?!?!? Fuck you Wells Fargo. I didn't really keep track of my payments during the first year, I set up automatic payments and just didn't deal with it. I didn't want to think of what was going to principle or how much I was paying in interest or even how long it was going to take. I didn't feel like I had the power to, even if I knew what kind of financial trouble I was in there was nothing I could do about it. Once I got a new (and much, much, much better) job I was able to have the extra cash to take care of business.

What I Paid in 2013 (so far!!)


                      Amt Toward            Amt Toward
                          Principle                   Interest
January               $101.04                   $644.56
January pt2         $708.44                   $291.56
February             $394.37                   $351.23
February pt2       $712.04                   $287.96
March                 $459.96                   $285.64
March pt2           $715.86                   $284.14
April                   $403.41                   $342.19
April pt2             $719.51                   $280.49
May                    $427.72                   $626.71
May pt2              $723.25                   $276.75
June                    $412.41                   $333.19
June pt2              $446.45                   $253.55
TOTAL             $6,224.46                $3,949.14



                         Payment    Amt Toward            Amt Toward            
                               MAde                     Principle                   Interest
July                        $745.60                   $415.81                  $329.79
July pt2                  $600.00                   $                             $
August                   $                              $                             $
August pt2             $                              $                             $
September              $                              $                             $
September pt2        $                              $                             $
October                  $                              $                             $
October pt2            $                              $                             $
November              $                              $                             $
November pt2        $                              $                             $
December              $                              $                             $
December pt2        $                              $                             $
TOTAL                $1345.60                 $414.81                  $329.79


I am so proud of what I've been able to do with this loan. I've paid close to 600% more in just 6 months than what I paid in my first year. I will end up paying close to the same amount of interest (if not slightly lower) this year even though I'm paying so much more. I sometime's get so discouraged because I have so far to go but I just have to remind myself that I'm only 27 years old and I've only been at this for 6 months.

Some much needed motivation....

19 Successful People Who Had a Rough Time in Their Twenties

It's not easy being 27 (fast approaching 28) living in a rented house with a boyfriend. Even the most empowered feminist can feel down when you don't get to experience the big "life things" that most people do. Articles like this make me realize that the people that I admire the most definitely had a delayed life start because they worked for years on their dreams. Such positive motivation to keep my chin up :)

After Bill Pay

Found this while online, isn't it terrifying? This is why I'm so aggressive when it comes to wiping out my debt.

What I have:
Checking: $225.05
Savings: $1800.64

What I owe:
Credit Card: $17.31**
Student Loan: 83,303.86

Like I said in a previous post instead of my usual $1000 chunk payment I went a little soft this time so I could catch up on bills. I'm still really excited because my next payment should knock me down to 82k which is so freaking exciting. I can't believe how much that I have paid off in just 6 months. I still get a little bummed when I think about how far I have to go and how many roadblocks that I might face but I just have to keep staying positive. The one thing that I do know is that I have more student debt than most people and that with all my hard work I will pay off my debt faster than most people even dream about <3

**I seriously paid off my entire credit card and then the auto payment went through for my gym membership.

Pay Day Check In

I love pay day :) However this pay day is going to be slightly different than previous pay days. I really have to catch up on bills. As awesome as it feels to pay off so much from my student loans it is terrible to realize you only have $50 bucks to live off of for two weeks and some how try to stretch groceries and gas out of that.

What I have:
Checking: $1289.22
Savings: $1800.63


What I owe:
Utilities: $150
Credit Card: $185.86
Student Loan: $83,750.31

My Plan:
-Pay off Credit Card
-Pay Utility Bill
-Pay $700 to student loan

Once the dust clears from that I'm planning on going grocery shopping and purchasing my father a Father's Day gift. After all that's done I should have around $100-$50 remaining. I want to put some additional funds in my savings. I really prefer at least $2,000 in savings and I want to eventually grow it. I think I need to work into my budget a monthly savings contribution.

After Bill Pay

Ugh, right now my finances suck. Not really terrible pleased with where I'm at currently.

What I have
Checking: $17.68
Savings: $1823.94

What I Owe
Student Loan: $83.750.71
Credit Card: $165.86

I realized something the other day. My spending freeze is like an extreme diet. Instead of going slow and steady, hitting the gym and watching my intake I'm starving myself and running marathons. I'm really proud of how much I've paid off on my student loans but right now I need to work out a livable budget.

I've tried to balance too much on too little. My budget is perfect when things are going right but when they're not or when something comes up (car issues, birthdays, computer problems) it leaves me scrambling and without any money (example: I have $17 bucks to live off of for the next two weeks).

When I get paid again on the 15th instead of immediately paying a huge chunk payment and living off the rest, I'm going to pay off my credit card and pay any remaining bills (I think my utilities should be due around that time) with the remaining I'll then get food and maybe a tank of gas AND THEN I'll pay a chunk towards my student loan. I'm bummed because I won't see the huge decrease I like but I'm getting so tired of being so stressed and broke. I realized the other day that I'm not really broke at all, I make awesome money and I'm causing myself financial hardship by living outside of my means with my student loan repayments. Living within your means doesn't just refer to spending habits but saving habits and debt repayment habits.

In happier news: Can you believe how freakin' close I am to paying off 10k in principal on this loan?!?!?!?! Realistically I consider myself only in repayment for this year (I think the first year I only knocked off something sad like $900 in principal). In 6 months I have paid off $6,250 in principal!!!!

Resolution Check In: Halfway through 2013

I can't believe that this year is almost over with. Time is seriously zooming past. Since this year is halfway over I wanted to check in on my New Years Resolutions to see if I'm making any progress or if I need to re-evaluate my goals.

New Years Resolutions:

1. Run Capital 10k in one hour or less: Sort of? I ran the Capital 10k in 1 hour and 4 minutes which is (obviously) 4 minutes longer than 1 hour but it is 10 minutes less than the first time I ran the Cap10k. I still want to improve on my speed for running but I'm happy with my performance in the race.

2. Complete Fun Run: I ran the Color Run a few weeks ago and it was a blast. I honestly think it was some of my best running time too. One of the people in my race group had an awesome pace and I kept up the entire way. I definitely think I broke my usual 10 minute mile.

3. Weight train more: YEP. I have fallen in love with Body Pump at Gold's Gym and I honestly think that I've gone at least once a week for the past few months. I love how strong it makes me feel and it's a perfect break from long runs. 

4. No desserts for the month of January: I did really well at this goal. I was surprised too because I'm such a sugar addict (for example, during this 2 day weekend I got ice cream 3 times). I've definitely had a few bad days in my diet recently but for the most part I'm happy with where I'm at health wise.

5. 50 squats a day during the month of January: Loved and hated this challenge. This plus weight lifting completely changed my legs. I'm a classic pear and I thought it was impossible to lose weight from my thighs but weight training has made them more toned and sexier. I think it's incredible funny/ironic that itty bitty 90 lbs girls long for a thigh gap and I have one now simple due to how wide set my thighs are.

6. Save at least $1000 a month for Student loans and make a $10,000 chunk payment: This was my original goal until I crunched the numbers and realized I would see better results with more payments. I plan on making a post about my success over the last 6 months in repayment. I'm already down around $7000 :)

7. Get a new driver's license: Never doubt the power of allowing yourself to accomplish easy goals. Feeling accomplished and driven is so good for the psyche.

8. Go to the gyno and try to find a birth control I like: Going to the doctors this week, not sure about birth control. Obviously, I don't want a baby right now because they're expensive and I have no money but I have never found a BC pill that I like. I figure I'll discuss with my doctor my options and see if I can find one that works for me.

9. Go to the eye doctor/look into lasik: Went to the doctor and got new glasses and contact prescription but right now lasik just isn't in the cards for me. I still need to do a lot of research on how much my insurance will pay and how much out of pocket I'll owe. 

10. Sign up for the Capital 10k: Obviously couldn't complete Goal #1 without this but seriously, allowing yourself to accomplish easy goals or tasks is so motivating.  

11. Redecorate my bedroom: Found an amazing deal for an entire new bed set for only like $200 bucks. God new curtains and new bedspread and the room looks so much more grown up now. 

12. Write a short story of book: My computer crapped out months ago and I just don't feel comfortable writing on my boyfriends computer. I'm hoping to get my computer fixed soon and I definitely want to start writing again.

13. Reupholster my ugly painted chair: I honestly don't know if I'm ever going to do this. The chair is gorgeous to look at (very rustic and shabby chic) but soooo gross to sit on (crunchy fabric paint). 

14. Learn more hairstyles than the same bullshit I constantly wear: Nope :( However this is the healthiest my hair has been in 10 years. I haven't dyed my hair in over a year (maybe longer) and I've cut off all the processed stuff. My hair is much lighter in color than I had anticipated but I look pretty good. Sometime it's hard to fight the urge to dye it all of the time but I just remember how annoying upkeep is and how expensive constantly dying it can be. 

15. Cook new recipes: Yes? No? I've definitely tried new things but not on such a level that I feel it justifies crossing this item off. I had a completely lazy weekend where I spent hours on Pinterest so I have lots of new recipes to try. 

So true......