After Pay Day

Things have been so hectic. I'm still in the middle of trying to refinance my student loan and it's extremely frustrating. Wells Fargo keeps saying the my Mom doesn't qualify for a cosigner (even though she's my current cosigner). At first we thought that Wells Fargo looking at her debt to income ratio and not considering that most of her debt comes from this particular student loan. Then, in one of my many, many delightful chats with a rep they said that Wells Fargo makes sure not to consider the loan they are currently holding against someone if all they are trying to do is refinance. My mom had already faxed in a few credit reports showing that the only outstanding debt she has is this loan. Of course I tried to explain that to them and they did their usual, "well I can't discuss this with you because you're not the cosigner" bullshit so I had to get off the phone, ring up my mom, and have her call back.

So, she calls back and gets another rep who tries to tell her all sorts of nonsense but luckily I told me mom to request a supervisory review because they were clearly being misleading. We should know if the next few days what they decide. The thing that's REALLY frustrating about all of this??? It's probably all worth nothing. All I want is a low, fixed rate. When I first started paying back this piece of shit loan I wanted a fixed rate because over the long run it's the smarter choice (and Lord knows I'm a stickler for consistency) but all they could offer me at the type was a variable rate of 8.5% versus a fixed rate of 13%. That's so freakin' ridiculous. That's credit card rate ridiculous. This time around I do qualify for a fixed rate as low as 7.49% and I would love that! All I want is to be able to plan down to the penny where my money is going, to not live in fear of this slimy, fat cat banking hiking up my rates on whatever whim they like.


What I have:
Checking: $51.12 (after rent + student loan + lots of ice cream this weekend)
Savings: $1800.41

What I Owe:
Wells Fargo Student Loan: $82,888.05
Credit Card: $58.76

During my lovely chat with Wells Fargo I also decide to cancel my auto withdraw. I'm so sick of being broke every first of the month. I end up with like 20 bucks left over so I have to rely on my credit card or dip into my savings and I hate doing that. Since I'm so ahead in payments I have some wiggle room to figure out a way to pay back a lot but not in such a way that leaves me scrambling.

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.

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. 

Pay Day Check In

Today is pay day so I'm checking in with all of my finances and bills.

What I Have:
Checking Account: $1,313.28
Savings: $1,823.94
Wallet: nada

What I Owe:
Student Loan: $84,162.72
Credit Card: 248.55

Where my money is going:
I'm paying my typical 1st of the month loan payment of $745.60 and rent is $400, that leaves me with $167.68. I'm going to make a $100 payment on my credit card. I might pay off the rest of the card from money in my savings.

Why is my card so high? OKAY. So I know I'm on a vague-ish spending freeze. However, there are some things in life that I really, really, reallllllly want to do. Bucket list things (I plan on making a post about them later!). One of them is laser hair removal. I know that sounds lame since most people's bucket list items are like, climb a mount, see Spain, blah blah blah. Well good for you but I don't want to ever shave my armpits again. A bunch of people I work with have had it done and I felt the results and they are so freakin' amazing. I'm not sure what I was expecting but I was totally blown away by the quality of the work. Anyway, I had pretty much made up my mind that I wanted it done and then just yesterday I get an Amazon Local deal saying I could get 6 treatments on a small area for only $99. That is absurd. Most places charge any where from $600-$1000 for small areas. I checked online and the places reviews are good and I called and asked a bunch of questions. As I was talking to the lady I ended up just purchasing the package.

Yes, I should spend $99 towards bills or food or gas or whatever but I have ZERO regrets about doing something awesome for myself. Especially because of how much money I'm saving. I go in for my first appointment tomorrow. I've already decided that once this area is all done I'm going to do my legs (at least the lower half) sometime next year. Because I'm broke/cheap I'll wait until there's a great deal but when that deal comes up I won't feel any guilt about getting it :)