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2015 Goals: (In order of priority, highest to lowest) #1 - Under no circumstances have children or buy a house. #2 - Pay down $45,000 of principal on my wife's student loans. Stretch Goal: Pay off the remaining $14K too, and be debt-free! #3 - Grow side-business income by 33% ($91K revenue). Stretch Goal: Grow side-business income by 75% ($121K revenue). #4 - Do one stress-reduction activity every month (massage, art therapy, whatever). This might not seem like a financial goal, but I stressed myself out in 2014 to the point of medical intervention and was unable to run my side-biz for five months. It's better for my careers if I stay sane. #5 - Keep or lose my day job as best fits the monetary goals above. I hate the damned thing, but money is money until my wife's loans are paid off.
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Dec 17, 2014 15:49
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| # ¿ May 10, 2024 18:30 |
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Creative writing jobs are the best jobs.
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Jan 12, 2015 20:08
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Sundae posted:2015 Goals: (In order of priority, highest to lowest) #1 - So far so good! #2 - It's only February, but so far, I've paid down $4000 in January and another $1,000 in February. I'm planning on dropping $17K next month after I'm certain that all my taxes are sorted out, so this is on-pace. #3 - Off pace: $11,000 in side-biz revenue through February. I'm expecting about $7.5K in March, but I'm going to need to do better on this. #4 - FAILED. I failed to take time off for stress-relief activities in January, and I BS'd it in February. I suck. #5 - Sticking with the job through July, minimum.
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Feb 23, 2015 01:14
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pig slut lisa posted:How do you plan on enjoying time away from work in March? I have a gift certificate for a one-hour massage at a local spa that I've been sitting on since October. Once I get back from my day job trip during the first week of March, I'll finally cash the damned thing in and use it.
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Feb 23, 2015 02:39
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pig slut lisa posted:How do you plan on enjoying time away from work in March? Just following up on this. I scheduled (and attended) a 90-minute massage session ($95 before gift certificate, $35 afterward, all of it tipping the therapist) on Monday last week, and I've booked out Thursday and Friday of this week as a 4-day weekend to go spend time with my family. I am back on track for the stress-reduction side of things.  I've tallied up my paychecks, annual bonus, and royalty checks for this month. I'll be making somewhere between a $15,000-19,000 payment on student this month depending on the outcome of one medical bill dispute next week, so I should still be great for keeping ahead of the game on loan repayment. Also, side-biz is back on track with last month's royalties for >33% growth YoY.
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Mar 9, 2015 17:28
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quote:2015 Goals: (In order of priority, highest to lowest) Final Update for 1Q2015: #1 - NO BABIES. Tada! #2 - AHEAD OF PACE. I just wrote a check for $14,706 for the month, bringing my total loan repayments for the first quarter to $20,206. This is ahead of pace for the primary goal and roughly on pace for the stretch goal. I wanted to pay between $15K-19K, but I ended up losing the medical bill dispute rather badly. gently caress my insurance company, but at least it's "only" $9,300 and not something that will bankrupt me. #3 - ON TRACK (or close enough). $13,691 in side-biz revenue received so far this year, but 2/3rds of checks received are Net 60 from last year's sales. I'm averaging $8K a month for YTD sales and growing rapidly, so I'm perfectly okay with where this is going. #4 - ON TRACK. I got March back in control again for stress reduction, and I have relaxing plans already scheduled for April. Yay. #5 - RESOLVED. Retain job through at least July, revisit goal then. This fits current monetary goals and avoids the indenture penalty associated with leaving my current job. When I started the crazy-accelerated loan repayment in January of 2014, the combined balance for my wife's loans and my own was $141,900. We have only $39K left now. I'm so close to being done with that loan that it's starting to drive me batty.
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Mar 26, 2015 21:43
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Fantastic job and great update.
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Apr 18, 2015 12:46
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quote:2015 Goals: (In order of priority, highest to lowest) End of April Update: #1 - NO BABIES. Tada! #2 - ON PACE. I wrote a check for $2,500 for April on the loans. This is lower than I wanted to, but I had to help my brother out financially. Still on pace after the March overpayment. #3 - STRETCH GOAL AHOY. I just turned a nearly $12K month in April and am on pace for $14K-18K this month. Fingers crossed for continuing success! They arrive on a net-60 schedule, so June and July should be fantastic loan payment months. #4 - ON TRACK. I had a wonderful 90-min massage in April, and I'm about to leave for a week-long vacation in Florida. One nice thing per month keeps me sane. #5 - Will Review in July. So far, so good! I'm really excited for the side biz growth. If this keeps up, I'll be done well ahead of schedule with all my goals.
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May 6, 2015 02:21
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quote:2015 Goals: (In order of priority, highest to lowest) End of May Update: #1 - No babies. Yay! #2 - ON PACE. I'm writing a check for somewhere between $6,000-8,500 tomorrow on my wife's student loans. Makes up for the lower April payment. (Note to future generations: If you consolidate your daughter's student loans at almost 10% interest rate, don't act all hurt when her eventual spouse curses your name once a month. I could seriously buy a loving house with the money I've thrown at this thing.) #3 - STRETCH GOAL AHOY. I am turning $13.5K this month for the side-biz. I hope it keeps being awesome. #4 - ON TRACK. I spent a week on the beach Florida practically for free (friend's condo, points for airfare, free rental car voucher), which is actually why I only turned $13.5K this month on the biz. I did zero work during that week, and it was fantastic. One nice thing per month keeps me sane. #5 - Will Review in July. So far, so good. quote:What is your side business, out of curiosity? So curious what everyone is doing. Romance writing. quote:I'd like to find the times to submit something for traditional publishing someday, and hey if that takes off you'll see "moved to warm place, writing forever" posted here someday. Minus the trad-pub part, you've basically described my goal. I'm going full-time writer next year once I kill this loving loan.Edit: Check for $6,000 written over the weekend. Sundae fucked around with this message at 13:58 on Jun 1, 2015 |
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May 29, 2015 03:51
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quote:2015 Goals: (In order of priority, highest to lowest) End of 2Q2015 Update #1 - No progress, thank God. We might get a puppy, though.  #2 - Well ahead of schedule. I just wrote a check for $10,000 on the student loan. I'm on pace to kill the entire loan before 2016. #3 - Still amazing, but rough waters ahead. I just turned a $40,000 quarter on the side business, but my primary distributor (Amazon) just hosed with the entire industry. TBD what'll happen in 3Q2015. #4 - On pace. Pottery painting and a three-day weekend out of town were my anti-stress activities for June. Woo. All in all, not a bad quarter. I still feel like I'm in a never-ending holding pattern, but I'm getting closer!
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Jun 29, 2015 17:30
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Sundae posted:2015 Goals: (In order of priority, highest to lowest) July 2015 Update: #1 - Still no kids. Also, no puppy.  Landlord refused.#2 - Just wrote a check for $7,500 on the loan. We're on pace for the stretch goal and have already COMPLETED the primary goal. #3 - $54,200 YTD on side business. This is not on pace, though, because of the huge KU2.0 slump. I need to develop a new business strategy to keep myself afloat on this or I won't hit my primary goal. #4 - Failed for July. July required that I work multiple extra night and weekend shifts every week, blocking me from taking any fun time for myself. No stress reduction activities were performed and it shows. #5 - Indenture Clause complete! My resume is out looking for other jobs, and I'm still trying to build the writing income to make it all irrelevant.
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Jul 31, 2015 22:42
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quote:2015 Goals: (In order of priority, highest to lowest) August 2015 update: #1 - Same old. Everything is swell. How about I just talk about this if things go horribly wrong?  #2 - PRIMARY GOAL COMPLETE: Wrote a check for $3,500 on the loan this month, bringing the remaining balance to ~$10K, so we're on pace to completing it all by the end of December. #3 - OFF PACE. The change in Amazon royalty structure completely threw off my business plan. I'm still trying to regroup and am flailing right now. Income from side job has dropped to approximately $3K a month. #4 - Failed for August. My scheduled vacation time for August was rescinded, and due to the reduction in royalties under #3, I redirected my stress-reduction money to medical bills from last year that my insurance retroactively charged me for. #5 - Shopping for jobs, still in my current one. August was a 'holding pattern' month. Progress made, but nothing special or spectacular. Just another month closer to death and/or being free of debt. The big surprise was being retroactively charged when my insurance company decided that no, they think they won't cover that charge they already paid well over a year ago. My stress-reduction money, instead of going to something like massage or pottery painting, went to a $961 medical bill from May 2014.
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Sep 1, 2015 17:10
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quote:2015 Goals: (In order of priority, highest to lowest) End of 3Q2015 Update #1 - Still good. #2 - STRETCH GOAL COMPLETE. Thanks to this month's progress on goal #3, the entire student loan will be gone when the royalty check for September comes in. This was my biggest financial goal for pretty much the decade, so BAM, HOORAY. #3 - Rough waters are definitely rough, and I still don't think I'm going to hit the $91K revenue. I'm at $77K revenue now, but Amazon has seriously hosed everything up. However, I just turned a $16,000 month in book sales. When the royalties turn over in November, the last of my wife's student loans are done. #4 - On pace. I got a massage in September and tried to get more sleep. #5 - Job applications are flying again and I'm in talks with recruiters. Time to leave this job.
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Sep 29, 2015 13:56
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Sundae posted:2015 Goals: (In order of priority, highest to lowest) #1 - On track. Side-benefit of my wife having hip surgery in December: She's not going to let me anywhere near her, so I'm basically safe on the kids thing. #2 - STRETCH GOAL COMPLETE. #3 - BASIC GOAL COMPLETE. I'm not going to hit my stretch goal, but I'm at $93K at end of November for side-biz income. #4 - On track. In November, I went bowling and painted pottery. #5 - Keeping my day job so that my wife has insurance for her upcoming hip surgery. Still applying and interviewing elsewhere.
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Nov 30, 2015 19:20
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spwrozek posted:Are you sure you had to break your wife's hip to not have children?!? Abstinence-only works way better when you maim one of the parties involved!  (She's having hip dysplasia surgery. They're breaking the hip in five places, reshaping it and screwing it back together until it heals. Poor girl. )
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Nov 30, 2015 20:46
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All of my goals for the year are complete. Onward to 2016 and some more interesting challenges than student loan repayment.
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Dec 17, 2015 01:14
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| # ¿ May 10, 2024 18:30 |
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slap me silly posted:I like! Anyone who wants this and feels they deserve it, post in here with Sweet. I like it and want it. Original post: http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3687865&userid=0&perpage=40&pagenumber=2#post439091582 November update when it was all completed: http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3687865&userid=88303#post453310023 December final update saying I'm done: http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3687865&userid=88303#post453946755
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Dec 23, 2015 05:57
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