Monthly Progress Report - March 2014 #NoMoreStudentLoanDebt Last month I paid $50.00 on my student loans. This month I paid : $391.05 #winning Every month Ill detail my #NoMoreStudentLoanDebt pay-off progress report. WHY? Because goals are accomplished when they are tracked. That being said this is what I did to support my goal. 1. I created a Mr. Miyagi payment to support consistent payments and focus my attention. With everything that happened this month in terms of potential expenses this one action was truly my savings grace. After my computer and hard drive failed, the starter on my car went out. So in addition to losing virtual access to my business I also lost my ability to transport myself from one place to the next. All around it was a sucky, financially stressful month. BUT I didnt lose focus because everyday I made a payment of $5.50. This small payment gave me satisfaction to know that if I didnt do anything else but make this payment I could pay at least $2k off my loan in one year. This slice of daily satisfaction kept me motivated and focused. WHY do I call it a Mr. Miyagi payment? Many of us who have massive student loan debt have seen the original Karate Kid. There is a scene in the movie when Mr. Miyagi makes the karate kid wax on and wax off a dirty rusty car. The karate kid is frustrated and pissed off that he appears to being doing nothing when hes suppose to be learning karate. That is until one day, Mr. Miyagi trys to hit the boy and his arm immediately swipes up in a wax on motion. Essentially the repetitive motion of waxing on and off the car unconsciously created a rock solid foundation for learning how to fight his opponents. I know right now $5.50 a day seems like Im doing nothing relative to $160k target. But one day Ill have $20k sitting in the bank and when its time to make a payment Ill simply wax on. 😊 Additionally Im training my mind and body to make student loan payments instead of making Starbucks, lunch, and snack payments. Making the payment everyday focuses my attention and gives me strength to say NO for the rest of the day to spending on unnecessary things. 2. Next I searched for additional sources of income. Inbox dollars - hasnt really panned out maybe a glitch in the auto responder. $0.00 Checkout 51 - this works well Im up to about $12 which again isnt a a lot but Im making cash back on grocery I already purchase so its like getting a cash back reward. These checks are sent in $20 increments. $0.00 Mystery Shopper - this hasnt panned out either simply because I havent found a shop that fits my schedule $0.00 Meal Prep - this was exciting and helped with my thinking for next months grocery budget and meal planning Earned: $75.00 Tithes: $7.50 Taxes:$22.50 Payment: $45.00 Plasma Donation - I donated twice this month my goal was twice a week. Im going to switch centers so Ill earn $25 a donation as oppose to $15 a donation. If I make it twice a week as planned thats $200 extra a month on my loans. Earned: $30.00 Tithe: $3.00 Taxes: $7.50 Payment: $19.50 Bonuses/Tips Earned: $120.00 Tithe: pre-calculated Taxes: taken from hourly wage Payment: $120.00 New Job - still waiting on my second interview. Earned: $0.00 Pay-off Breakdown Minimum Mo. Payment Total Paid: $50.00 Previous Month: $50.00 Difference: $0.00 Mr. Miyagi Method (aka $5.50 a day) NOTE: I missed 6 days this month Total Paid: $137.50 Previous Month: $0.00 Difference: $137.50 Change Jar Total Paid: $19.05 Previous Month: $0.00 Difference: $19.05 Misc Income/Bonuses/Tips Total Paid: $184.50 Previous Month: $0.00 Difference: $184.50 Total Paid: $391.05 Loans 1. $3,235.74 --> $2,844.69 2. $65,738.43 - same 3. $86,323.2 - same 4. $8,234.00 (interest) - same Starting Debt: $159,664.00 Ending Debt: $159,252.95 So far I am super proud of myself. I increased my debt payments by nearly 400%. No Im not deceiving myself with this statistic I am celebrating my big, SCARY, AUDACIOUS step on to this course. The sound bite for these musing could very easily be: a mompreneur of two pays off $160k of student loan debt in less than a year by paying $5.50 a day and $391.05 in her first month, read on to learn how she did it! Wouldnt you be more likely to read that story than this story: a mompreneur of two pays off $160k of student loan debt by winning the lottery and paying debt instead if spending her winning, read on to learn how she did it! The former is a TON more realistic, doable, and hopeful. My point is: this is a very real thing that Im doing and as one commenter said its nice that Im not paying off my debt with one magical lump sum of money. 1. I dont have a magical lump sum of money sitting around 2. When I had a fairly nice lump sum I didnt pay debt because I wasnt taught to pay debt as a priority systematically over time. Lastly, Ive come to realize in the 13 posts that I wrote this month the reason why I was inspired to go on this quest publicly was to inspire HOPE. I want my generation and peers to be hopeful about the future we are creating. I want as to know that hope is powerful enough to dig ourselves out of a $160k holes weve created. So no I dont have a magical lump sum of money but I what I do have are principles and precepts that say if I operate according to His word the King will open a window and pour out a blessing. What I do have are many (underused) talents. What I do have is time and a fierce determination to reach this goal. So this month I am proud of me! Moving upward and onward... At my current burn rate it will take me FOREVER to pay off this debt. So Ill have to get really radical this next month to get my debt snowball rolling faster. Payment goals for month 2 1. Pay off loan #1 at $2,844.69 2. Double Mr. Miyagi payment to $11 a day 3.Secure an additional earned/passive income. Im curious for those of you actively making student loan payments, how much did you pay this month? #NoMoreStudentLoanDebt
Posted on: Fri, 28 Mar 2014 16:37:13 +0000
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