Debt Update: May

May 20, 2013 by thefinancialduckie

Current Debt Status:

BOA CC Balance: $0.00 donkey kicked this >> 1/15/2013

NavyFed CC Balance: $0.00 power punched this >> 3/21/2013

Nelnet Balance: $0.00 choke slammed this >> 3/21/2013

Federal Student Loan Balance: $18694.00 applied $1504.00 plus more to come before the end of May

Car Loan: $20,800.59 applied $478.00

So, I’m doing well this month! I was determined to meet the goal I set for myself last month and I am right on track to not only meet but surpass that goal by about $200. I have worked every day in this month thus far and will continue. It has paid off. Hopefully I can meet next months small goal of $1200.

What are your goals. Have you payed off your debt?

Keep Calm … And keep paying off debt. I payed off student loan #1

March 27, 2013 by thefinancialduckie

Yes…. This is proof im on my way to a debt free life.

Debt Update: March

March 21, 2013 by thefinancialduckie

Okay so here is the thing. I just got my tax return yesterday and honestly I didn’t want to do my update till I could tell you that I have applied my money to my loan and my credit card and it shows zero!! I am super nervous with this money in my account. I almost don’t want to move it from my account. It is such a beautiful sight to see my account with so many numbers but I am sure it will be awesome to see my loan and Credit Card account with so few. So with that said I am patiently waiting to update this post in the next few days. Don’t worry when I come back I will have good news regarding my Debt!

Ways to Spend Your Income Tax Refund Responsibly

March 2, 2013 by thefinancialduckie

Firstly, lets not be excited that you are getting a huge refund check. I am definitely not proud. It means that my hubby allowed the government to use a lot of our money interest free to fund some of there projects that I am most likely unsupportive of. However, because he/we did, I plan to pay off my student loan sooner than later. It would have been nice to do it all at once, but because we are actually getting back significantly less than we thought, I will have to dig deep to keep my debt snowball rolling as it should. Okay on to the ways you should spend your income tax refund.

Debt/Loans

How did you guess I would say this? Of course I would. This is the time to speed up a process if you have one. If you are trying to get rid of a student loan, a car note, a credit card loan, this is the time. Many people would suggest putting the money in their savings account. Let me tell you why your idea doesn’t work. First is because you probably haven’t had a mindset change and although you actually will put that $2500 in your savings, you have easy access to it. When you’re deciding whether or not you should or should not purchase something your more likely to get it anyway because you have that security blanket – your savings. Go ahead and designate a certain amount (or all of it) to a debt payment or a couple of payments. You will feel much better about everything trust me.

Emergency Fund

This is for the group of individuals who have already paid off their debts and a have a mini emergency fund in place. You can grow your emergency fund. Experts suggest that you should have 3-6 (or more) months expenses in an accessible emergency fund so that if a major life event occurred it would not put you back in to debt or at least so quickly. This is usually anywhere between 10 to 15 thousand dollars depending on your family’s expenses. Your income tax could jump start this fund.

Other Funds

College Funds, School Clothes Fund, Christmas Fund, Buy a House Fund, I want another car Fund, I am Having a New Baby Fund, I want to go to Mardi Gras Fund are open to receive your income tax money. Let’s face it – you are about to some other things in life outside of pay off debt and save money. Why not prepare for them. Preparing allows you to save money in the long run so that you will have more of it to dispense on what you would like. Divide your income taxes out into categories if you don’t want it all in the same place and so that your not tempted to spend it open online savings and checking accounts. I hear that Perkstreet and Ally are great online banking communities.

Yourself

Of course I didn’t forget about you silly! I am a firm believer that tax time is like Christmas for adults. Even if you only get back $500 dollars because you were keeping your coins throughout the year – you should still treat yourself to a mini vacay, a pedi and mani, or techy treat of your choice. Mine this year is the mini Ipad. Yea I know -Imma personal finance blogger and I shouldn’t waste 300 some odd dollars on an I pad. Welp I am getting it anyway. I do a lot around here to preserve coins (money) and I have wanted a tablet for some time, 2 years to be exact? Guess who is going to buy herself this mini -the Financial Duckie – Take THAT!

What are you preparing to spend your income tax refund on?

I Don’t Do Budgets: Do it anyways Part 1

January 28, 2013 by thefinancialduckie

Budgeting is the single most important tool to saving your money and paying off debt. Or if you just want to know more about where your money is going this will be one of the most important posts you read! First let me start out by saying this is not going to kill you. Suck it up! Be a man or woman! Stand up straight! Pull out that sheet of paper and pen! Get to jotting!

How Do I make a Budget

In the best way that suits you! I used Dave Ramsey’s Budget sheet for some time. It is very elaborate and allows you to list even the smallest things. After about 4 months of using Dave Ramsey’s Budgeting Sheet, I realized my basics weren’t going to change. So I have allocated a cute little notebook for my expenses. Its portable and goes everywhere I do. The front page has my budget on the front and the following pages I jot down any extra expenses monthly. There are many budget sheets that may work for you. I have listed a few below. Print one out and follow accordingly.

Personal Financial Information Form

Personal Budgeting Form

9 other Budgeting Sheets from Christian PF.com

Write down your income

Write down any income you may bring in. This includes but not limited to:

Alimony
Child Support
Side Jobs
Paychecks
Ebay or Craigslist Sales

Or any other income that you may receive for the month. If you are married, this is something both of you should take part in. I am assuming that the money is in one account and we are adding in incomes from different sources. Make sure this is something you both are agreeing to. It is hard to go forth with a plan when the other half isn’t on board. Trust me I know.

Write down where all your money is going

This can be hard. I know the first time I did this I wrote out all the big things of course like insurance, car payment, rent, phone, cable, electricity debts etc. I missed the little things though, like monthly trips to my eyebrow artist (that’s what I refer to her as) or my daughters diapers, or Redbox movies here and there. Those things are easily missed or not filed correctly under a category. Whatever you decide to do, just be sure to get everything in there. Don’t forget to budget in gifts, birthdays, weddings, Holidays, and trips. What about once a year payments like memberships, tag renewals, etc. You should always plan ahead including saving for Christmas gifts monthly. Now add it all up. Did it blow your mind? Well it blew mine and I am in six months in.

Now be careful of this next step

It may very well cause panic and chaos, but it is surely intended to save your finances. Follow carefully -> Take your income and subtract you expenditures. BOOM! Are you okay. One of three things should have happened.

You saw a negative sign in front of the very bottom number. Ex. $2500 (Income) – $2782 (Expenses) = – $282
You saw a number really close to your income. They are maybe just a couple hundred dollars apart. Ex. $2500 (Income) – $2412 (Expenses) = $88
You saw a number well under your income amount Ex. $2500 (Income) – $1687 (Expenses) = $813

Your spending falls into three categories. The “Overspender”, the “Check to Check”, and the “Free Bird”. After I decided to stay home with the Princess we fell in the Check to Check category which is scenario two above. Before that I was a Free Bird, scenario three. At the end of some months though – I have fell in the Overspender category scenario one. In the second part of this budget series I will discuss the Overspender, the Check to Check, and the Free Bird in depth. I will also discuss the fourth spending category and how moving to that category can truly change your financial situation. What category are you currently in?

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How to set a goal and get it done

January 20, 2013 by thefinancialduckie

Each year we start off making resolutions and goals, but we have no plan in place to get it done. Here are a few steps to setting goals and achieving them.

1. Be realistic! I get that sometimes we want to set goals for ourselves that will push us a little. We can also set goals that are just unreachable. If you find out that your goal is un reachable, don’t get discouraged. Reevaluate your goal and reset it – even if you have to move the end date back. When I first began my debt free journey I had it all set in mind that I would pay my debt off before our second child is born. No I am not pregnant but I plan my babies like I plan my money. So I figured I would get preggers at the middle of this year and have all of our debt paid before April 2014. Well a couple things happened. My husband is being deployed April of this year for 6 months. That messed up any baby making plans. Also a move last year caused us to have a budget blunder. Where we thought we would have more at the end of the month to throw toward debt, we actually had a lot less. I was highly disappointed, for a while actually, but I soon figured I just move the date back. Having significant dates motivates you. So I decided to be debt free before thirty.

2. Write them down – How many times have we heard this? Since elementary school we have to been told to write down where we see ourselves in 5 years, 10 years and so on. For some of us (me), our parents and grandparents hold on to these documents and pull them out at important family moments. I highly encourage this! When I write things down they seem to get done, especially if in list form, on a calendar, or a pretty document (I’m a sucker for pretty, sparkly, and glittery things). If you prefer to only focus on goals for this year, set goals for this year with a specific date. Then create daily, weekly, monthly or quarterly check points. These are points of evaluation. Have I met my goal thus far? Should I adjust the goal? When it comes to my debt goal, I check monthly. I like to see my debt melting away. At that time I also brainstorm ways to get an extra buck to beat the amount that I paid out the previous month. Also make it a point to post your goals where you can see them. Phone reminders, mirrors, steering wheel of the car, or desk at work are all good places. How is that for goal setting?

3. Prioritize and Categorize – Categorize your goals first. We have financial goals, family goals, personal goals, spiritual goals, educational goals and the list goes on. Then decide what is the most important goal on your list, then the second and the third. I recommend you list goals from highest urgency to least urgency. I say that because all goals are important but some of them take priority over others simply based on timing. Keeping this list visual at all times can serve as a reminder.

4. Envision – Whatever your goal is, envision yourself at the end of that goal. Think about how it will feel at the end, what you can do at the end, the look of the faces of the people who said you couldn’t do it – there are some negative individuals out there. Can you think of another time when you achieved a goal and how that felt! Depending on your goal, you will possibly feel the same way – on top of the World.

5. Motivation – Surround yourself with people that are like minded. These individuals will encourage you and possibly even join you in achieving your goals. As I mentioned before there are some people who don’t want you to meet your goal and others who just don’t know any better and can’t see you reaching it. They can’t see it because it’s not their goal.