Hello everyone!
I hope you all had a wonderful October, and are managing to stay warm and dry. I've been without power since Monday night, but nonetheless am doing well. My thoughts are with all of those (severely) effected by the storm.
It's the first of November, which means it's time for my recap. This is the first month I'll be analyzing after deciding to do a serious financial makeover... and I'm happy to say that it's done well for me.
Here's how I panned out with the budget:
I ended up being in total $34.38 under budget for the month. This is pretty pivotal for me. I don't think I've ever created a budget for myself that I was able to stick to-- and that was including a $530 contribution to my emergency fund.
I don't think that's the best part, though. I ended up making way more money this month than I anticipated. Because of my raise at work, selling off over $200 worth of books on Amazon, returning items to IKEA, having a longer drill weekend than usual, taking on a big freelance project, and that little bit I got from doing a friend's laundry... I made $951.76 over my budget. Needless to say, I'm pretty pumped about that!!!
And every little bit of it is going toward student loans.
BOO-YAH.
It feels great to be making progress. I've budgeted $850 toward debt for November, which will have me reaching my goal to pay off the SM7 Loan a month earlier than I had hoped. I feel great about that. I applied a $650 payment this morning, which put me under $1k. Once I get my GI Bill payment I'll add the balance from October, and start paying toward my budgeted amount for November.
Then it's on to the next loan!
I struggle a bit with Dave Ramsey's logic. I went with the smallest loan for this first time around, and it happens to be the one with the lowest interest rate. I know I should be tackling the ones with the higher interest rates, but I agree with his logic that making progress is energizing. I'm thinking the next goal will be one of the mid-range total pricetags and interest rates, that way I get a bit of both worlds.
I adjusted my budget a bit this month, and it's a bit bigger-- to account for a larger debt payment and a couple of big items I need to address. My car, of course, is the big one there. My brakes are getting even worse, and I need an oil change. I also need to take my little fuzzball to the vet for some shots. In both cases I'm hoping the charges are not outrageous, but it feels good to know I have money available to me if something crazy happens nonetheless.
I think the real challenge will be keeping up with the workload that is supporting this progress. School is certainly gearing up and will be over before I know it. There's really only a little over a month left, after all.
I have a feeling I'll be able to make it work, though. And winter break I'll have even more time to pare away at this debt! Very exciting thoughts 
So here's to a successful October, and looking to an equally successful November!
End of Month Recap and Looking Toward November
November 1st, 2012 at 03:58 pm
November 1st, 2012 at 04:22 pm 1351786922
November 1st, 2012 at 06:19 pm 1351793951
November 1st, 2012 at 06:42 pm 1351795330
Using extra freelance money to pay off student loans is also great. I graduated from journalism school with 40,ooo in student loans. I worked a full-time job, then took on as much freelance as I could do without losing my mind, and every penny of the freelance check went to paying off my student loans. I had them paid off in about 5 years. It was tough, but well worth it!
November 1st, 2012 at 07:38 pm 1351798733
Thanks for the support, everyone!
November 1st, 2012 at 09:54 pm 1351806874
November 4th, 2012 at 11:49 pm 1352072942
Jerry
November 8th, 2012 at 01:48 am 1352339328