With the States being so impacted by COVID, I've been feeling the pressure a bit with cut hours, as well as an unclear outlook going into the Fall. I would like to focus more on aging my money, since paying off my loan threw me back onto the paycheck to paycheck cycle. Personally, I enjoy budgeting for two months (say it is August 1. I will already have money set aside to pay for everything through September. When I get paid August 7, that money won't be used until October). Having removed my large student loan payment, it will not take me nearly as long as it would have previously.

Afterwards, I would like to build an Emergency Fund. What makes this different than budgeting another month or two out is that the Emergency Fund can be used for any random circumstance that comes up. This can range from towing fees if my car breaks down to a plane ticket if a family member is sick to phone repairs.

Assuming all is still smooth with my income, I will be able to focus on my savings for bigger expenses. I would love to get a new set of furniture for my bedroom, and also be prepared for getting a new phone or even a 'new' car. With the discipline I gained the last four years, I have no doubts I can accomplish these goals.

#100daystooffload #dayfourtyfive #finance #personal

At the time, I wasn't irresponsible with my cards, but I did need to use them in order to get by with groceries and daily life things. I ended up building a balance over the course of a year and a half. After that, I was at a point where I could focus on payments, and cleared all of that debt. Since then, I've been using my cards to maximize rewards. I added the Chase Freedom to the lineup and switched my bank card for one that gave 1.5% cashback.

Now those of you familiar with cards may notice that the Chase and Discover cards are essentially the same cards: they have 5% cash back categories that rotate each quarter. I made the decision after looking at their historical calendars and saw they never overlapped in categories. My major spending category has always been groceries, so getting 5% back for 6 months was the main selling point for me. Anything not in the 5% categories would be put on the 1.5% card.

Since that upgrade with my cards, I've continued to pay off all my balances in full each month. In addition to my focus on student loans, I've raised my credit score to somewhere around 750. In terms of rewards, I'd have to guess I've earned $1,000+ in the past three years. Last year, I was able to travel to a new state by myself without spending much out of pocket. All of this without changing my normal spending habits.

Today I added a new card to my repertoire: the Amex Blue Cash Preferred. Like I said, groceries have been my biggest spending category, so adding a card that earns 6% back feels like a no-brainer. Unfortunately, it essentially retires my other two cards for three months each, but they don't cost me anything to own. Another bonus is the $300 sign up bonus. If it weren't for the virus I'd have another trip getting planned.

If it wasn't obvious, I'm not going to do affiliate links or anything like that, but I do want to give a shout-out to the YouTuber Credit Shifu (Invidious link). I learned a lot about the credit card reward game, and different cards and their rewards from his channel. One of the best resources I've found, personally.

#100daystooffload #daythirtyfour #finance

Going into college, I had a full ride to cover my tuition. I had to take out small student loans each year to help cover the cost of books, some rent, and groceries. Due to circumstances, I had to take a leave one semester and could not work. I learned about credit cards and got one to help me get by for a little while. Before graduating, I was able to work and pay off the credit card debt before it got out of control, but my student loan debt was roughly $20,000.00.

I didn’t get a good paying job straight out of college. It was almost a year before I landed something remotely close to what I studied. Though not a high salary, it was better than minimum wage. I was able to start putting down more than the minimum on my loans, a lot more... an extra $300 per month. I used the tool undebt.it and was able to calculate that I would have my loans finished somewhere in early 2021. My speedrunner brain realized I could probably ‘break the barrier’ and have everything paid off by the end of 2020. I’ve upped my monthly payment to $450, and realized the months where I earned 3 paychecks, I could put one of them to the debt entirely. Now, my expected freedom date is November 2020, less than 6 months from now.

As an added bonus, I was recently able to finish making all of the payments on my phone. Though there is still a monthly bill for line access, I’m saving almost $50 more a month (that’s going to go towards my student loan). Little victories like this have helped snowball me to keep working hard.

After experiencing making the minimum payment, I want nothing more than to make that minimum $0. To be able to save for big purchases and events will be a new experience. Being able to save up to weather more storms like coronavirus, without having to do it as it happens. I can sit here and see how that $450/month can impact all of these things and more. It’s exciting for me to think that it’s coming up so soon.

I know I’m fortunate to not have many emergencies come up, and those that did had windfalls that weren’t intentional. It would be extremely easy to be in a completely different situation because of reasons beyond my control (hell, I’m in this good situation due to several reasons beyond my control as well). In the grand scheme of things, I don’t think people should have to worry about things like student loans or medical debt. I want everyone to experience the relief that comes with being free of this debt.

P.S. Sorry about missing another day. Hope a longer post makes up for it.

#100daystooffload #daythirteen #finance