Long-awaited Progress Update

PROGRESS UPDATE

Original Debt (December 14, 2012): $102,645

Current Debt (32 months later): $85,308

My debt has decreased by an overall reduction of $17,337 in 32 months. I’m now at 16.89% of my debt payoff goal.

DEBT BREAKDOWN

Federal Student Loans $61,342 $61,770 (An overall increase of $5,893 in 32 months)

Private Student Loans $24,715 $23,538 (An overall decrease of $17,553 in 32 months)

• StudentLoan#2: $7,949 $7,045 (an overall decrease of $5,327 in 32 months)
• StudentLoan#3: $16,766 $16,493 (an overall decrease of $1,766 in 32 months)
• StudentLoan#1: $0  Paid in Full
  • Original Balance: $6,300
  • Capitalized Interest: $1,663
  • Paid Since Start of Blog: $8,119; Amount Towards Interest: $918
  • Total Amount Paid (full life of loan): $9,415
  • Total Towards Interest (full life of loan): $2,890
• StudentLoan#4: $0  Paid in Full
  • Original Balance: $6,288 (-$3,288 School Refund…they took out too much)
  • Capitalized Interest: $802
  • Paid Since Start of Blog: $4,645; Amount Towards Interest: $918
  • Total Amount Paid (full life of loan): $5,933
  • Total Towards Interest (full life of loan): $2,504

30 Month Progress Update

PROGRESS UPDATE

Original Debt (December 14, 2012): $102,645

Current Debt (30 months later): $86,057

My debt has decreased by an overall reduction of $16,588 in 30 months. I’m now at 16.16% of my debt payoff goal.

DEBT BREAKDOWN

Federal Student Loans $61,042 $61,342 (An overall increase of $5,465 in 30 months)

Private Student Loans $25,180 $24,715 (An overall decrease of $16,376 in 30 months)

• StudentLoan#2: $8,176 $7,949 (an overall decrease of $4,423 in 30 months)
• StudentLoan#3: $17,005 $16,766 (an overall decrease of $1,493 in 30 months)
• StudentLoan#1: $0 
• StudentLoan#4: $0

29 Month Progress Update

PROGRESS UPDATE

Original Debt (December 14, 2012): $102,645

Current Debt (29 months later): $86,222 

My debt has decreased by an overall reduction of $16,423 in 29 months. I’m now at 15.99% of my debt payoff goal.

DEBT BREAKDOWN

Federal Student Loans $60,606 $61,042 (An overall increase of $5,165 in 29 months)

Private Student Loans $26,028 $25,180 (An overall decrease of $15,911 in 29 months)

• StudentLoan#2: $9,057  $8, 176 (an overall decrease of $4,196 in 29 months)
• StudentLoan#3: $16,971 $17,005 (an overall decrease of $1,254 in 29 months)
• StudentLoan#1: $0 
• StudentLoan#4: $0

Been a while.  Been a crazy year so far.  I’ve had a lot of health issues.  Constant health issues.  I’m working on addressing those issues and getting healthy again, getting back on track with my debt pay off.  This year will definitely be a memorable one.  Lots of changes happening.  I also turn 30 in June and celebrate 20 years of being cancer free!  Can’t wait to celebrate!

27 Month Progress Update

PROGRESS UPDATE

Original Debt (December 14, 2012): $102,645

Current Debt (27 months later): $86,634

My debt has decreased by an overall reduction of $16,011 in 27 months. I’m now at 15.6% of my debt payoff goal.

DEBT BREAKDOWN

Federal Student Loans $59,923 $60,606 (An overall increase of $4,729 in 27 months)

Private Student Loans $27,039 $26,028 (An overall decrease of $15,063 in 27 months)

• StudentLoan#2: $10,016 $9,057 (an overall decrease of $3,315 in 27 months)
• StudentLoan#3: $17,023 $16,971 (an overall decrease of $1,288 in 27 months
• StudentLoan#1: $0 
• StudentLoan#4: $0

I’ve been slacking so far this year.  My mom came to visit for a month and I had a wonderful time.  After she left, I hit a major depression.  I haven’t worked much, haven’t been volunteering, and don’t have motivation to do much these days, especially after recently suffering from sudden hearing loss.  I’m now on two weeks of high-dose prednisone and am not a fan of the side effects at all.  I don’t know what I’m doing and I’m not myself these days.  Bear with me as I get back on track.

Still Alive

I’m still alive.  I’m just kind of lost in life.  I apologize for my blog being down.  I didn’t check my email for almost 2 months, oops!

25 Month Progress Update and a Close Call!

I’LL CALL IT GOOD KARMA

When I deposit my work check, I always immediately transfer money for taxes into a savings account and then I transfer most of the remaining balance over to a different checking account that I use to pay my student loans. So recently, after sending the bulk of my deposit over to the account I use to pay my student loans, I transferred $45 into my savings account for taxes, leaving me with a balance of $47.89…

I had forgotten I made out a check to pay a medical bill (I typically pay these with a card online, but it wasn’t an option) in the amount of $47.89, exactly, leaving me with a $0 balance. Yikes!

PROGRESS UPDATE

Original Debt (December 14, 2012): $102,645

Current Debt (24 months later): $87,180

My debt has decreased by $1,787 since last month. An overall reduction of $15,465 in 25 months. I’m now at 15.1% of my debt payoff goal.

DEBT BREAKDOWN

Federal Student Loans $59,946 $59,923 (up $23 since last month, an overall increase of $4,046 in 25 months)

Private Student Loans $29,064 $27,039 (down $2,025 since last month, a decrease of $14,052 in 25 months)

• StudentLoan#1: $1,609 $0 (down $1,609 since last month, a decrease of $5,979 in the past 25 months)
• StudentLoan#2: $10,455 $10,016 (down $439 since last month, a decrease of $2,356 in 25 months)
• StudentLoan#3: $17,000 $17,023 (up $23 since last month, a decrease of $1,236 in 25 months
• StudentLoan#4: $0

I made quite a bit of extra money from pet sitting during the holidays and was able to completely pay off StudentLoan#1 well ahead of schedule!  Two private loans down, two to go!

Goodbye 2014, Hello 2015!

2014 RECAP

The Good

• I paid off my credit card and one of my student loans.
• I made a $7,722 decrease in student loan debt for 2014.
• I over made $1,100 in side income (selling stuff, baby/pet sitting, house cleaning, and survey sites).
• I bought a domain for my blog.
• I visited my family in Wisconsin and Upper Michigan twice.
• Through 23andme DNA testing, I found out I am over 27% Finnish.
• I took a staycation and experienced a number of firsts (mani/pedi, hibachi, sushi, cards against humanity).
• Participated in a Relay For Life with my best friend.
• I was running regularly (couch to 5k) normally for a month.
• I animated.

The Bad

• I neglected my blog.
• USPS messed up 3 times.
• My best friend moved to South Korea
• I learned what OPP stands for (you don’t want to know).
• I stopped running when it got cold.
• My sleep debt took a bigger toll on me than my actual debt.
• Stress was through the roof!
• I had lots of health issues: stomach pains (IBS), hiatal hernia, food poisoning, colds, many sinus infections, 3 infections at one time, nasal polyp, sinus deviation, sinus surgery, at least two corneal abrasions and two instances of having to wear an eye patch, eyelash/skin removal procedure, D&C surgical procedure, and I developed allergies.

Remember my 2014 Goals…Overkill post?  Below is what I actually accomplished from that massive list (100% passed, no almosts).

• Play with my cats prior to meal time – It has seriously helped them not run around like crazy on top of me very early in the morning.
• Add about $25 to our savings account after each pay day to grow our emergency fund to $1000 by the end of 2014.
• Decide on a domain.
• Create a daily skin care regimen.
• Get rid of/sell things we no longer use.
• Acquire a kitchen table and microwave stand/cart.

MASSIVE 2015 GOALS LIST

Financial Goals

• Make $200 a month from side hustles (pet/baby sitting, house cleaning, surveys, Fiverr, etc).
• Pay off StudentLoan#1 before I turn 30 in June.
• Apply for co-signer release on my private student loans.
• Get hubby on board with budgeting.
• Look into some kind of retirement savings (because relying on death or the future NFL success of my best friend’s two year old child aren’t smart options).
• Weigh the pros/cons of pet insurance.

Career Goals

• Relearn the programs that are relevant to my Media Arts & Animation degree.
• Create a minimum of four pieces of art to add to my portfolio.
• Have a portfolio website up and running by October 2014.

Blog Goals

• Have several blog posts written in advance, schedule them, and stop neglecting my blog!
• Have guest posts on my blog and write guest posts.
• Look into affiliate programs and ways to make money through blogging.

Artistic Goals

• Complete a 30 Day Drawing Challenge.
• Practice face painting and caricatures (would make great side hustle income).
• Get my air brush working!
• Sew at least once a month – I have so many pairs of pants that need hemming and would love to be able to create and alter clothes that fit me.

Health Goals

• Take all of my medications and supplements (Prilosec, fiber, probiotics, etc.)
• Every night complete the Kiss Your Dentist Goodbye dental care regimen.
• Keep a sleep diary and figure out how to get some quality Zzzz’s!
• Exercise regularly!
  • Take a dance class.
  • Begin strength training with the end goal of kipping before my 30th.
  • Take a daily walk, eventually add running spurts and run a damn mile!
• Eat healthier!!
  • Meal plan weekly.
  • Log my food/calorie intake on MyFitnessPal.
  • Cut back on processed food, eat less sugar.
  • Prepare meals/snacks ahead of time and don’t waste fresh produce!

Personal Goals

• Be more positive.
• Relax (meditate) daily.
• Sit up straight.
• Schedule and manage my time better (cleaning, cooking, exercising, reading, relaxing, wake up and bed time routines).
• Spend less time on Facebook.
• Spend less time watching tv shows (except the ones I really enjoy).
• Visit my best friend in South Korea!

Knowledge Goals

• Learn to knit.
• Learn a little sign language.

Home Goals

• Sort through Hubby’s boxes/piles of stuff and clean up the guest bedroom.
• Acquire a coffee table.
• Hang decorations that I have and create new ones.

Relationship Goals

• Attend a marriage retreat to work on improving our relationship.
• Do more things with Hubby (shooting range, out to eat, movies, etc.)
• Make more friends and do things I enjoy (bowling, dancing, game nights, arts & crafts, etc.).

Yep, once again, I have a massive list.  There’s a lot of things I want to change and I know that I will likely fail at most of these in 2015, but I have to try!  Happy New Year!

UPDATED Progress

Navient was able to switch how my payments were supposed to be allocated.  Here’s an update about where my student loans stand (plus a weeks worth of interest).

DEBT BREAKDOWN

Federal Student Loans:  $59,946

Private Student Loans: $29,064 

• StudentLoan#1: $1,609
• StudentLoan#2: $10,455
• StudentLoan#3: $17,000

2 YEARS! Progress Update

Debt Perception has been around for two years! Happy blogiversary to me! Let’s take a look at how I’ve done financially in the past two years!

Original Debt (December 14, 2012): $102,645

Current Debt (24 months later): $88,967 

My debt has decreased by $999 since last month. An overall reduction of $13,678 in 24 months. I’m now at 13.32% of my debt payoff goal.

DEBT BREAKDOWN

Federal Student Loans $59,690 $59,923 (up $233 since last month, an overall $4,023 increase over 24 months)

Private Student Loans $30,726 $29,044 (down $1,682 since last month, an overall decrease of $12,027 in 24 months)

• StudentLoan#1: $2,842 $2,790 (down $52 since last month, an overall decrease of $4,370 in the past 24 months)
• StudentLoan#2: $10,446 $9,273 (down $1,173 since last month, an overall decrease of $1,917 in 24 months)
• StudentLoan#3: $16,987 $16,981 (down $6 since last month, an overall decrease of $1,259 in 24 months)
• StudentLoan#4: $0 (Gone, baby, gone!)

If you saw my previous post, Navient messed up my last payment allocation. I had planned on over $1,000 going towards my smallest loan, with the hopes of paying it off in January. They had applied my payment to StudentLoan#2 instead. I perused Navient’s Facebook page and found somewhere that I could complain to. They had called me while I was busy at work all day and I don’t answer numbers I don’t recognize, so I didn’t get the message until about 7pm. I guess they could have fixed the payment to be applied as intended but I had to call back by 5pm. I’m sure it was too late to fix it as they aren’t open on the weekend. Oh well!  It was still applied towards my loans and I’m a little bit closer towards the principal balance on StudentLoan#2.

I’m going to start taking screen captures of my allocations and monitor my Navient account after submitting payments to make sure they apply it accordingly!

Messed Up

I think Navient is messing with me. This is not the first time it’s happened either, but I always contributed it to my own, human error…

A few days ago I made a rather large payment towards my private loans with the intent to pay off the loan with the lowest balance by the end of January 2015. I made smaller payments for the two higher-balance loans, based on their accrued interest.  You can see in the image below how easy it is to make sure what you’re paying goes to the correct loan.

Two days pass while my payment is pending and today I find out that they applied my LARGE payment towards the wrong loan. Oy! I am no longer on track to pay off the smallest one in January. I guess I need to start taking screen captures of how I allocate my payments. It’s not all bad because my money still went towards paying off my loans and got me a little closer to my principal balance on the one it was applied towards. It’s just frustrating how easily they can mess up your plans!