I planned to make this a quick update, but it’s been so long since I’ve shared updates with you. Let’s start in reverse chronological order

1. Two weeks ago Igot hit with my final hospital bill. At $1,638 it sucks but it’s  liberating to know what no more bills will be coming through. A you can tell from reading the blog, I’m big on seeing progress.This chart show how things will pan out with my current plan of paying $800 per paycheck on these debts.
   
   Some of my friends were shocked that I put it on my card or didn’t try to settle.
2. Got a raise and that makes me happy. Been stepping up to the plate and taking on more responsibilities. Every morning I take a men’s multivitamin, vitamin D, probiotic and Neuro-Peak brain function supplement. I credit the brain function pill and some dietary changes to making me feel like a much better person. Not to say that I don’t still hit roadblocks from time to time, but it’s all a lot less of a struggle than it used to be. I literally just felt mentally fried / burned out all the time.
3. Got a bonus. It was a fraction of last years but still something. That went right to my credit card. I’m grateful for getting something. Some others at my company have either been laid off or offered a voluntary early retirement package.
4. I shipped my $149.95 Fitbit Charge HR to my credit card’s extended warranty protection program. The device’s band had an issue with bubbling and the credit card expanded my warranty to 3 years. I got two replacements and all 3 had the same problem. I also tried to fix them with no success. In the meantime, went the Garmin route and bought a Vivoactive for $150. Really hoping to get my money back and putting it back on the card.
   
5. Through usage of my credit card’s price protection program I got a $75 check for my MacBook Pro computer purchase. That brings the computer cost down to $2,074. If I bought it from Apple, with sales tax and a higher starting price it would have been $2,597. The old 3 year old machine brought in $835 and eBay fees were about $80.
   
6. Booked a flight to Mexico for my friends wedding. The total round trip thanks to my cancelled New York trip was $189.95. Still need to figure out the cost for the hotel stay. With food and drinks included, I think it will come out to around $645. Friends are staying an extra day (additional $215) but I’m trying to do this trip on the cheap. Every week I put aside $50 so even if I do use my credit card I can pay it off immediately.
7. Bought a Microsoft Office 365 subscription ($74.61) for a year. Apple Numbers sucks. Everything I want to do with it just feels backwards. Too many clicks…
8. I cut the cord, but did buy a cable modem ($90) and a router ($86). The router built into the modem gave me half the speed of what I was paying for so I got an Asus one to compliment it. My monthly bill is only $41.45/mo from $105 when I had tv. I miss cable tv at times yes but I have youtube, netflix and streaming. I’d rather keep the $760+ in my pocket. 😀
9. Started reading this great book by Aaron Cleary called The Black Man’s Guide Out of Poverty. Best $3.49 I’ve ever spent. His writings resonated with my youth and observations both of extended family and peers. Fortunately my upbringing in a middle class suburb insulated me from some of the pitfalls. Along with family that really wanted me to succeed in life. Being gay insulated me from some others, namely a role in becoming a young parent. Early on I viewed celebrities and entertainers as role models. Growing older, my realization was a disconnect exists between me and them. Their success is the result of hard work, athletic prowess, mainstream appeal, looks, and defying statistical probability. Aka I was fucked if I didn’t get an education.My greatest takeaway from the book so far is on defeatism. Between people in ghettos, media / music industry brainwashing, government assistance programs that do more harm than good. Defeat reared its ugly hear quite a few times in my life, but I bounced back and am stronger today.
   

Time to sleep. zzzzz. Keep chipping away at your debts, there is light at the end of the tunnel.