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Been wanting to participate in something like this for a while now but my financial discipline vs. my ex-wifes was very different. We split last April and at first I wasn’t sure I was going to be able to survive but after I got through the despair of separation and poo poo and planned out my future I was actually kind of excited for the financial freedom. I’ve always been the budgeter and she always spent freely. Over the past 10 years I’d created many budgets, then would fall off the wagon so to speak when she went on a spending spree and would set us back months, and I’d just give up and spend freely too. Once it got to the point where we couldn’t pay our bills, I’d put us back on budget and that cycle continued for years. Now I’ve been on my own and following my budget rigorously and have already achieved some good strong goals at the end of 2019. From September to now I’ve paid off my car ($2,800), put a dent in my $8,000 maxed credit card (at $7,500 now), and have a small emergency fund ($2,000). All this while being an engineering student with 2 kids and a household full of bills. So I’m pretty proud of that. 2020 Goals in order of importance 1. Ensure I have enough cash on hand to bridge from my diploma into an engineering degree program: - $4,000 in mid-July for the course tuition - another $5,000 or so by September for household bills from Sept – Dec 2. Pay off all non-student debt: - $7,500 credit card - $1,800 consumer loan (currently interest free, but begins 19% interest on Jan 3 of 2021 I think) - $225 phone tab (this one is permanently interest free but it’s small enough that I want it lumped in so I can call myself “debt-free”) 3. Switch up my vehicles without taking on new debt (doing this one in January, just need to make sure it doesn’t impact #1 and #2 above): - sell my Civic ($6-$7,000), buy a 4runner ($9,000) - buy a project rally car from a club mate ($2,500) Non-financial: 1. Bridge from my diploma to the degree program (I’m making assumptions here that I’ll succeed in the bridge but it’s not guaranteed. I know my grades are good enough, but I do have to pass an interview to be admitted, and the the bridge program itself is pretty brutal apparently but I think I can swing it) If all goes as planned, I’ll be entering 2021 with only student debt and 2 years of school left. I’ll have a small emergency fund and a $8,000 limit CC as an extra emergency backup. I have a 3 year budget planned out by the day so this year is only part 1 of that, but it’s the most tenuous of them all. By the end of the plan I’ll be graduating with a B.Eng. and maybe $30k in student debt, plus ~$10k in savings if I did well. I'm excited. hot cocoa on the couch fucked around with this message at 16:41 on Dec 31, 2019 |
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Dec 31, 2019 16:39
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| # ¿ May 14, 2024 06:16 |
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hot cocoa on the couch posted:2020 Goals in order of importance Update without in quote bolding because my list isn't linear/account itemized. 1. I sold my car for $6,000 and bought a 4Runner for $9,000, so that is done. Still working on getting it tow capable to go pick up the rally car. 2. Savings on hand is about $6,500. This will be drawn against for household bills somewhat but about $4,800 of it is for my credit card but that is dependent on 2 things: - I don't owe on my taxes this year - my sister who lives with me gets a job and starts paying me a small sum each month If these both hold true, $4,800 straight to the CC. If not then I have a nice big buffer to hold me over for a few months. 3. CC is at $5,950, with a chunk of savings pending. Consumer loan is still at $1,800, will be paying that in May. Phone tab is paid. 4. I've applied for the bridge, but I'm back to thinking I may just take my diploma and run. I'm having a hard time staying focused on school.
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Feb 4, 2020 02:41
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hot cocoa on the couch posted:Update without in quote bolding because my list isn't linear/account itemized. Feb update: 1. I bought a brand new money sink, a rally car. Automobile goals accomplished. 2. Savings is down to $4,500, but I'm getting a $2,000 tax return which will be going straight to my CC. My sister got a job finally but a bit later than I was expecting so her contribution will be a bit delayed. Still looking okay on this front. 3. CC will be down to $4,000 in the next week or two when my tax return comes in, and then all consumer debt is scheduled to be paid off in May. 4. I don't think I'll be pursuing the degree. My sister got a pretty much full time job which means I now need to pay for daycare which is a big strain on my finances, and ultimately I'm feeling super burned out by school. I want to get back to work for a couple years and be able to hang out with my kids on evenings and weekends rather than hanging out with my homework. Plus my hobbies are languishing and it's starting to feel really not fun anymore. I can always come back and finish later, and walk away with the diploma for now. Overall everything is right on track, aside from the change of plans wrt school. Feeling really good about going from over $13k in consumer debt when my wife left me last April to $0 in 12-13 months. If I go right into work and am aggressive about the student loan, I think I can have that paid in 12-24 months as well. Feeling great about my finances right now.
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Mar 1, 2020 00:01
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What's up with the very large emergency savings accounts some of you have? Is that an American thing or do some of you guys just have enormous monthly obligations? I can't imagine keeping over 30k in cash or cash-like deposits
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Mar 2, 2020 15:15
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hot cocoa on the couch posted:Feb update: Things are pretty hosed but being a student not reliant on working income I'm actually in okay shape. I'm most worried about not being able to get a job in September and my siblings who live with me having the same issue, so income will be a problem in maybe 6 months but right now it's okay. March update: 1. I'm not gonna get to go rallying for at least 4-5 months, maybe for the whole year depending on the state of the world and my job prospects  2. Savings is down to $2,500, I had to use my tax return to offset the income I never received from my sister and buy a new set of tires for my truck. Yeah, so my sister lied for some reason about having a job so not only did I not get any money from her for the 5 weeks she was "working", but also I was paying for daycare needlessly. Pretty annoyed with her but financially it wasn't too big an impact. 3. In May when I receive my scholarships/funding I'll still be paying off my CC, gonna defer the $1,800 consumer loan until just before it begins accruing interest in January because of the uncertain state of the world/finances. 4. Degree is absolutely out at this point, now I'm just hoping I can get a job lined up in September. I'll be receiving some incomes from the Canadian government as part of it's CERB bill even though I'm not working, basically because I'm a low income single parent. I'll be using that to beef up my savings in May (to about $5,500 my budget says), so between that and the CC I should have a pretty comfortable buffer in case I can't get a job in September. Ideally my siblings would find work or one of us would qualify for some kind of regular income from CERB or what it may evolve into, but I'm not holding my breath for that. Hoping for the best, planning for the worst right now. hot cocoa on the couch fucked around with this message at 17:58 on Apr 1, 2020 |
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Apr 1, 2020 17:55
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hot cocoa on the couch posted:Things are pretty hosed but being a student not reliant on working income I'm actually in okay shape. I'm most worried about not being able to get a job in September and my siblings who live with me having the same issue, so income will be a problem in maybe 6 months but right now it's okay. Didn't really do an April update on May 1 because I was crazy busy with school and had no idea what was going to happen moneywise. I'll do an early May update instead of both April + May because everything just fell into place the last few days. 1. Next rally event is slated for June 20  2. Got my scholarships, and Canada implemented a new funding program for students which is very generous for me. Savings is currently at $5k, will be able to increase that to $10k by the end of the semester I think! 3. CC is  paid off!!! This is a huge accomplishment for me, I haven't been credit card debt free since probably 2011? Consumer loan I'm still sitting on because I'd rather build up my savings a bit in light of the current financial uncertainty, and it's not accruing interest. Feeling like I just took a big step forward on the road to debt freedom though, really I only have my student loan now.4. I applied anyway and was accepted to the degree program. Still don't think it's financially prudent to go right now  . Next years goal will be to pay down the student loan as aggressively as possible (maybe entirely?) and then think about going back for another 2 years to obtain my degree. It all depends on what field of engineering I go into really.Now I need to find a job for September. Only once I do that will I feel secure, the global financial situation still has me feeling nervous. I took some big steps forward this month though and feel great.
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May 22, 2020 03:28
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| # ¿ May 14, 2024 06:16 |
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KYOON GRIFFEY JR posted:make sure that the consumer loan doesn't balloon interest. lots of "pay no interest until Date X" will suddenly charge you interest covering all time periods through Date X when Date X rolls around. Yeah it is that kind of loan, but I have the cash on hand now to pay it and my plan is to pay it off in one shot once I have a job lined up. I'm just guarding my savings a little jealously atm haha
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May 27, 2020 18:25
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