Revisiting my thankful place...

First let's start this post with the required, "I'm terrible at updating this thing...blah blah blah...I swear to post more...blah blah blah".

The past few weeks I hit a bit of a rough spot. Just felt really bummed about my place in life. I'm 27 and I'm no where near these big life events that I think I should be. Luckily, I'm feeling so much better and happier and I realized that it's been far too long since I posted things that I'm thankful for. I spend so much time on this blog complaining about my debt and my bills and I should focus more on the riches I do have.

What I'm Thankful For:
1. Paying off my debt: in the past three months I have paid off THREE times as much of my principle debt than I have in the past year. The first year that I was paying off my college loan I only knocked off about $1200 in principle now I'm knocking off around that much each month. It's been incredible hard to see so much of my check go each month to bills but I know at the end of this year I'll be so much happier and that much closer to ultimately paying my debt off.

2. My friends and family: I have such supportive and amazing family. That really all there is to it. In this wild and crazy world I have so many people that I love that love me back and that's really very special.

3. My boyfriend: Yeah, he gets a number all his own. I seriously love this guy. I never thought I would live with someone again and now I can't imagine living without him. When he's not home I get so sad and when we're together it's the best part of my day. Our work schedules are completed jacked and we sometimes go days with only seeing each other briefly at night but last night we actually went to bed at the same time and it was so nice. Just to lay with him and laugh and fall asleep together.

4. My job: I really do love my job and even on days where it's hard I'm still so luckily to do what I love.  I was able to go from a job with low pay and terrible treatment to a job with amazing pay, great hours, and awesome co-workers. I'm really blessed.


There's a million more daily things I'm thankful for: great weather, good running trails, Dr Who on instant Netflix, insane genes that allow me to eat my weight in sugar and not get diabetes, sunshine, laughter, and so much more. Even though it's taking me a few months to save the extra cash I'm finally going to be able to buy a sewing machine and I'm so excited to start sewing again. I want to try my hand at DIY clothes/up cycling and quilting. I'm hoping to be able to post more about cheap DIY projects.

Day 4

It's Day 4 of my no sugar challenge and it's going surprisingly well. Last night was Girls Night and there were cookies and other sweets around but I managed to avoid the temptation. I'm still feeling slightly sluggish and off but I know it'll get easier in the next couple of days. I'm excited to see what changes might come in the next few weeks as my body adapts to life with out desserts.

I've also decided to make a change (already!) to my new years resolutions. After some research I've found that it's better to make more than one monthly payment instead of making a large chunk payment.

This is the plan:
Make my usual $745 payment on the first of every month
Make ANOTHER payment of $745 on the 15th of each month.
Put the remainder of the $1000 I had planned on saving (around $255) into saving for a future down payment on a house.

This way, instead of most of my money going towards interest I'm really working at slicing it every two weeks AND I can save for a house. My hope is that I'll have enough paid down and enough saved up that when I turn 30 I can start looking at buying a house. I've already pulled up mortgage calculates and a house valued around $160,000 with a 30 year repayment plan at 7% has a monthly payment of around $1100 a month which is something I could totally swing in 3 years.

I finally feel like I have a chance to pay off my loans and still save for a house of my very own.

Changes!!!

So I'm really gung-ho about making some positive changes in my life right now. First step: I've changed my "About Me" from "Broke ass wino trying to get out of debt" to "Broke ass wino trying to improve my life in every way without the use of money". After my life semi-depressing entry I started to really think about what I wanted and how I could get it. My whole life I've been poor and it's never really bothered me because I'm (usually) a happy, healthy, and thankful person. But there's this idea in modern American culture that the ONLY way to improve ANY part of your life is by spending money. Want to get fit? Better dole out lots of cash on expensive gyms and organic foods. Want to be happy? You need all of the latest gadgets and gizmos and a big fancy house. IT'S CRAZY.

Just because I'm broke (and I mean seriously broke, I have less than a $1 in my bank until payday this Friday) doesn't mean that I can't live the best possible life. I can get fit, I can have happy relationships, I can have a beautiful home. Yes, it would probably be much, much easier if I had money but it's not impossible!

So! What's my plan?
1. Get Fit: I mentioned in my last post that I wanted to lose weight/get fit. How can I do this without money?? The two main parts of fitness are diet and exercise. I joined a gym years ago and the $30 bucks it costs me a month completely works in my budget. BUT it's also possible to workout with out a gym. The internet is amazing. Go to Youtube and find exercise clips, go to a free park and do lunges and situps. Run around the local high school football field. Honestly, the only reason I even joined a gym is because running outside in the Texas heat can cause some serious damage to a girl as pale as I am.

There's this idea that eating healthy has to cost a pretty penny. You know what makes grocery shopping cost  a lot?? Poor meal planning. Right now it's summer and fruits are incredible cheap. Last time I went grocery shopping I got a whole seedless watermelon, nectarines, beans, quinoa, and a few other items for less then $20 bucks. Shop the bulk food and whole food sections. A bag of beans costs $1 and makes 4 times as much as 1 can of pre made black beans. It also has less sodium. Right now I'm chowing down on 1 cup cooked quinoa and 1 cup cooked black beans all for about 442 calories.

Now, the hard part about dieting and getting fit is you have to find what works for YOU. I've mentioned before I really love The Token Fat Girl and she posted today about how, for her, counting calories is a waste and leads to counter productive eating. For me, I need to count calories because I can become SO consumed by my competitive nature and try to eat less and less that I end up GAINING weight because my body isn't getting what it needs. It seems odd that in order to lose weight you have to eat more sometimes but it's true. If you're body is working out too much and not getting the right nutrition your metabolism is going to shut down. I have a handy (and FREE!) app on my iPhone that helps me keep tabs. It's insane that I can snack all day and then when I check my calories I'm still a few hundred away from my goal.

2. Get out of Debt: This one is hardy and will take the longest. Right now I'm in a rough spot. Life has been doling out the usual stuff (dead car battery, dentist, bad tire, etc) and, like I said above, I have $1 left in my account. I'm just really thankful that my apartment is taking their sweet time to cash my rent check so hopefully I can make it until Friday. But by the end of this year I'm hoping that I'll be in a much better spot: paying less in rent and paying more towards my loan. This loan isn't going to go away over night and with the interest rates the first few years are going to be the hardest but I know that I can pay it off.

3. Be Happy: This one is pretty ridiculous but I don't see any reason why I can's live an awesome and fun life  just because I'm broke. My situation is a little different because my boyfriend has money so I still get to do fun things because he can pay but even if he wasn't around I think it's entirely possible to be poor and happy. I'm lucky that I live in Austin that has so many fun and free things. Free movies in the park, gorgeous rivers and green belts open to the public, opportunities to volunteer to help others, the list goes on and on. Yes, I'd probably be REALLY happy if I had millions of dollars and could pay off all of my debts and travel the world but I don't NEED money to be happy.

ALSO:
I just finished two really amazing books that I want to recommend. I mentioned that I joined a library a few months ago and they've started to offer eBooks to rent. Afterwards by Rosamund Lupton and Never Look Away by Linwood Barclay. Plus this helps me reach my goal of two books a month! I figure, those two books can take care of June and sometime tonight I'll see about downloading two new books for July. 

Positive Changes

Things are going much, much, much better :) My boyfriend and I had an amazing talk and we're on a good path again, I've come to terms with my current crazy schedule, and I'm making more of an effort to see friends.

I haven't really shared much about my work for a few reasons. This is the internet and frankly, while I put a lot of stuff on this blog, I really don't want anyone knowing who I am. I like my privacy. But I can share what is bringing me down. I work in a 24 hour unit. The schedule that I was hired for is evenings but recently (as in the last 6 months) we've had a major shortage and I've been switching back and forth from evenings to overnights. Overnights aren't that bad really but when you switch back and forth it can be a killer on your mood/psyche. Also, there is no set schedule. Sometimes the schedule is only released a week at a time and there's even been a few times I've only been informed of my shifts the night before they start. It's been rough to deal with and I know that it's caused me to become depressed which has negatively affected my relationships with my friends and boyfriend.

BUT there is hope. While I've been applying for other jobs there are two lead positions open at my work. One is for the graveyard shift. I know no one really wants that one and I think I might go for it. It would mean more money, a set schedule, and it would look amazing on my resume. While it is sort of shitty to use a promotion at your job to get another, different job my work place has been incredibly shitty to me and my sleep pattern. So suck it work.

BUT OMG THERE IS OTHER BETTER NEWS.
Today I (or my mother but whatever, you don't know me) made the last payment on my loan from UT. It's alllllll gone!!! GONE!!! GONE!!! Sorry.

I can't believe it's gone and in only 5 years! I'm so freaking happy :) This plus my raise at work PLUS other things being payed off means that in a few months I can (hopefully) refinance my awful Wells Fargo loan in a few months.

I guess the thing that I've learned in these last few months is that things can always be worse and they can always be better. That's just life. No one has it easy. Take this guy. Student loans ruined this guys life. He doesn't have a home because he wanted to get a job in a field he was passionate about. That's crazy. That's unfair. I have it rough but I have a support system.

I'm hoping that the future gets better. My boyfriend and I are thinking about moving in together which is not only awesome because more time with my boo but I would be saving a bundle. Plus, I really want to be able to do sweet stuff for my man. He does so much for me and he takes care of me and because I'm always broke I feel like I owe him so much. I know he doesn't care but I do. At least if we lived together I would be able to cook and clean and organize to "pull my weight". Those are things that I enjoy and are free :) Honestly, I'm super excited because I'd be able to pay more on my student loan PLUS buy a sewing machine. Yeah, I live the crazy life.

Oh Happy Day

1. Tomorrow is pay day
2. I got all my insurance stuff in the mail so I can finally get a check up
3. Tonight is my friends birthday party

This is how I feel: