Category Archives: Uncategorized

Month 20 – $35,224 & The Holidays

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I’ve been on a bit of a spending spree lately, but I can justify most of it on items I really needed.

Canon printer – Goes for $130, got it for 69.99. The printer I was using before an Epson Stylus CX 4200 works fine but it’s also from Bush W’s second term. Just about time for a replacement..
AppleTV – Got it for “free” as part of the rewards program on my credit card. I will use this, possibly subscribe to Hulu Plus, use the HBO Go account through my parents and our PS3 and get rid of two of the three boxes we have in the house once contract is up. For the most part, two TVs go unwatched. Speaking of, I just checked my FIOS bill and my 1 year HBO / Cinemax credit was about to run out. That would be an extra $25/mo for something I barely watch as it is (other than when True Blood is on).

Audio-Technica ATH-M50 Professional Studio Monitor Headphones – I listen to music often on my iPhone / MacBook Air. The Bose ones have always amazed me with the base and clarity with high notes. However not worth the $300 I would pay if I got them in the mall. The current pair of headphones I have are from 2009 and not particular comfortable on my ears for more than 15 minutes.

Universal Bathroom Fan Replacement Electric Motor Kit – Only like $15 and I used money my friend gave me on a Gift Card to buy this. Basically the fan in our bathroom sounded like it was ready to die and was embarrassing when friends would use it and heard this loud grinding noise.

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Infinity USB Digital Foot Control – Used one of these first when I was an Executive Assistant in a previous life. I plan to start doing some part-time work in the transcribing field. My goal is for an extra $100/month. That can cover gas, eating out and various other things. Transcribing is based on both speed and accuracy. It’s hard to do both clicking Play / Pause constantly. Haven’t had time to really think it through fully between picking a company and how much of my time per week I want to dedicate toward this. 5-8 hours is probably a good ballpark range.

On top of that I’ve been buying some gifts for my bf. I do these things out of both love and the understanding he is getting me something for Christmas too. Probably not spending over $250 and still have more shopping to do. Haven’t bought anything for my parents, we kind of have a mutual understanding that times are tough and I have most everything I truly need.

My credit card balance was 0 but is now up to $595.

Also a quick recap of Thanksgiving. I ate way more than I should of and felt extremely guilty about it. I’ll spare you the picture of my stomach sticking out like I’m pregnant. Also after a couple of days I was not really willing to eat unhealthy leftovers anymore. So a lot of food went in the garbage. That’s what happens when people cook for a small army and the number that shows up is markedly lower than planned. I’ve been to the gym a few times in the days since and think I’m on the right path.

The overeating really made me think about life in general. How people eat food to fill an emotional void. I’ve met three people who either had a gastric bypass or lap band surgery. In some cases some of their weight gain may have been preventable but for me, paying proper attention to health is my religion. Too many people in my life had to deal with the effects of bad health. I’m going to fight like hell not to be a statistic. My BMI is presently 32.5. Above 30 is obsess and 25-29.9 is overweight. Tom Venuto’s Book The Body Fat Solution has helped me understand more about why I’m getting fat. The social element was and continues to be the hardest part of all, eating out with friends. Having a taste for a particular item on the menu, drink or a dessert and underestimating or completely disregarding the number of calories it contains. Then repeating that same cycle day after day, week after week, month after month. I’m done, I’ve reached a Picard The Line Must Be Drawn Here moment.

Last but not least we’ve had some crazy ice storm here in Dallas. Plenty of accidents left and right, a friend had to get his car repaired for hail damage. I’ve seen ambulances zooming buy on multiple times a day. Be safe, Happy Holidays. Remember People First, Then Money, Then Things. Now you say safe.

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Saving 20% on My Cell Phone Bill and $5 on FIOS

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Looks like I’m now eligible for 20% off my AT&T wireless phone thanks to where I work. It’s $20/mo but my bill should be much closer to $80 instead of over $100 for unlimited data. Say $20/mo savings * 12 = $240/yr. I upgrade to a new phone every two years and it runs around $199. So basically 2 months free, a new phone every time I upgrade or 4-6 tanks of gas… and a whopping $5/mo on my FIOS bill. Still thinking about other ways to lower that one and what I’m willing to give up. Just sharing my gratitude.. 🙂

Month 19 Update – 35,925.89 & Counting

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Sallie Mae Month 19 Update

Sallie Mae Month 19 Update

No I didn’t forget about this. Student loan is down to $35,925.89 as of 11/9. This month has been a challenge as my credit card balance was $1k at one point, it’s $407 now, will be around $900 after the bill from the plumber hits. I have enough to pay the balance after my next paycheck (less than a week from now), but may not be able to do the ~$547 payment I do in the middle of the month and still have extra cash leftover. I could pay half of it now and the rest later. I hate getting behind on my plan though.

Anniversary date is coming up soon too. I want to do something special that won’t break the bank….

This marks my 100th post to this blog. I didn’t think I had it in me really to stay committed to writing a blog about getting out of debt and sticking to it. Giving myself an obligatory pat on the back. Now get back to work and keep making smarter decisions…

So I saved $1500 / Plumbing Bill / Vegas

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So I saved $1500 today…

That statement is subject to interpretation. Long story short, Nissan North America recently issued a recall on my soon to be 6 year old Altima.

Dear Nissan Altima Owner:

Nissan has discovered that your Altima may be equipped with an improperly calibrated Engine Control Module (ECM) that may incorrectly detect engine valve closure as engine knock. Due to this issue you may experience some minor drivability symptoms and a slight decrease in fuel economy under certain driving conditions.

What Nissan Will Do

To correct this condition, Nissan is conducting an Emission Recall Campaign to reprogram the Engine Control Module in your vehicle.

For vehicles with greater than 50,000 miles, the manifold catalyst will also be replaced due to possible prolonged exposure to higher than anticipated exhaust gas temperatures. Any cracked manifold catalyst or front exhaust tube with catalyst will be replaced regardless of vehicle mileage. This free ECM reprogramming service should take about one hour to complete, but your Nissan dealer may require your vehicle for a longer period of time if catalysts need to be replaced or based upon their work schedule.

I dropped the car off Tuesday evening and was originally told car would be ready by end-of-day. Next I get a call saying they need to order the part but could be provided a loaner. My loaner was a 2013 Nissan Sentra S, equipped with a 1.8L engine, uninspiring electric steering, cloth seats, no sunroof, hubcaps and a no-frills stereo system. Great MPG (32+) and a smooth current-generation CVT were its only redeeming qualities.

Some may remember July 2012 I had a hole in my exhaust system that two dealerships were both unwilling to fix. Midas would’ve done it if I ordered the parts, but combined would be in excess of $1200 out-the-door. So the fact a year and a half later the dealer would be fixing my car free of charge brings an entirely new meaning to the expression good things come to people who wait.

Below is a list of the item breakdown:

Qt

 Part # Part Description Unit Price Total Cost

4

 14069-JD00A Bolt

4.83

19.32

8

 14069-ZN50A Bolt

0.12

0.96

1

 20692-65J00 Gasket-Catalyst

4.46

4.46

1

 20010-ZX10A Front Pipe / Tube-Exh FS W/C

670.00

670

1

 20691-19U00 Gasket – Exhaust / Front Pipe Seal

10.77

10.77

3

 01223-N0021 Nut

0.92

2.76

1

 140E2-JA92E Exhaust Manifold

547.33

547.33

1

 14036-3TA0B Gasket Exhaust

32.70

32.7

5

 14094-JG30A Nut

0.87

4.35
Total Parts

1292.65

My interest in vehicles using alternative sources of energy runs deep. One in particular is the Nissan Leaf. As a reformed early adopter, I’m enamored by a vehicle that can propel itself without any polluting fumes, or the noise and complexity of an internal combustion engine.

The Leaf gets the equivalent of 129 city / 109 hwy, single speed transmission with instant torque.

Reasons against buying / leasing

  • Won’t own at end of lease
  • Heavy depreciation (especially if new model comes out in 2015), 35% after only 3 years, comparing around 50% after *6* years
  • Smaller than current vehicle
  • Limited range (100mi on the high end, but normally 80)
  • Current car is paid off and relatively low mileage (72k)
  • Battery life questionable in warmer climates / may deteriorate faster than expected
  • Got a boomin system in the Altima, superbass boombadootdoot, doubt the 3k I spent on that during my dumb and broke days will be recouped

Reasons for buying / leasing

  • Eliminate $150 in monthly gas bills (instead use 20-40/mo in electricity)
  • Lower cost of ownership
  • No pollution
  • Much quieter driving experience
  • Being able to boast to people about never having to ‘fill up’ when they complain about gas prices going up.

So unless I find some crazy good deal after the Leafs off lease I will stick with my tried and true Altima.

Onto another topic. On the subject of making home repairs, plumbing in particular…we decided to have some work done. The toilet in the upstairs bathroom would just run endlessly after flushing. Nothing like fighting with a toilet at 2am playing with the chain with your arm submerged in water while thinking about how exhausted you will be the following day. That and a fear of coming home to a flooded downstairs are what drove me over the edge. We also had some shower faucet issues. Turning on the cold water involved pushing your weight into the handle then turning, hoping the little gear mechanism inside would click and open the valve. We needed new stems, handles, and some other hardware. Whoever fixed it before used the wrong part which is why it never really operated right to begin with. $417 later (bf gave me $150), the bathroom is fine… except for an annoying problem where mold is turning some of the caulking around the tub black.  That’s another job though. May do it myself to save money, or just call someone and hope they don’t try to rape me….

Know I’m bouncing around here, but during the last week I got to experience the beautiful place that we all know and love as Las Vegas. It really rivals NYC as being a city that doesn’t sleep. Great places to go shopping, sight seeing, shows, gambling and drinking. It was Halloween on the first night we landed, I dressed up in a Star Trek uniform and hit up a local gay bar. $20 cover to get in, though drinks were pretty reasonable. I took out $200 from the ATM and came back with 0. Mix some light shopping with that and really didn’t do so bad. My bf and one of our friends got two rooms, both covered the cost.

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Two of our friends in DFW just got married and we had lunch with them as  Vegas was their surprise Honeymoon destination. Enlightening to see how my friends who have debt spent a ton of money shopping and putting it on credit cards. I shopped very lightly, only buying two pieces of clothing and drinking lightly. My friends know I’m cheap though. O:) Had a great time, I need to go on trips more often.

Also funny as I write this I get notification my AT&T wireless bill was processed. I pay 102.39 a month for it, this month I got a tax credit so it’s only $99.52. I use my phone more than anyone else I know.

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Still a lot of money for a *service* though. Between cell and home tv / cable 16% of one paycheck goes toward these entertainment expenses. 10% goes to fuel for my car. I was spending 40% of my check on food. 62% of a check goes to Sallie Mae.

I left my wallet at home yesterday accidentally. Had two containers of Mott’s apple sauce and some raw almonds to eat. I had a hearty breakfast and was only mildly hungry during the day. Bf went out with a friend to see an opera and have dinner. I felt liberated not paying anything for food. Typical Friday I’d spend $40-$60 depending on where I went.

Month 18 Update – 36,777.74

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Ball still rolling… Big step for me to be under $37k

This past month has been particularly challenging. The trip to NY was kind of the icing on the cake, but at least I got to see a beautiful wedding along with my friends and family. Some recent expenses have

136.06 – Avis Car Rental
37.01 – Citgo Gas
6.79 – Breakfast on vac
50.00 – Lunch on vac
313.48 – Car Rotors
100 – Plumbing (bf paid 150 of this)
1000 – Sallie Mae
102 – AT&T Wireless
156 – Verizon

Total = 1901.34. These aren’t even all of my expenses. I would be totally screwed without my $1k emergency fund. Doing my best to build it up again. Think I need to cut back on some things…

My bf had a death in the family, which may mean he’ll be flying out to Florida soon, then flying to New York for work then a christening. Been super busy with work / life, but plan to post more. 🙂

Budget / Loan Payment Breakdown

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As promised, I decided to make a budget. I used the example No More Harvard Debt Provided and catered it to my own lifestyle.

I just had a holy shit, aha moment. I’m basically shelling out every dollar of my take-home pay and putting it toward my bills. I need to change something stat. Time to reflect and figure out where I really want to spend money and which areas I can cut back.

Debt Free 32 Budget

Debt Free 32 Budget

Payment Summary

Event Amount Term Period
Loan $37,665.00 1
Payment $1,000.00 40 Monthly
Payment $497.66 1

Payment Schedule

Event Loan Payment Interest Principal Balance
Loan 1 $37,665.00 $0.00 $0.00 $37,665.00
Payment 1 $1,000.00 $133.40 $866.60 $36,798.40
Payment 2 $1,000.00 $130.33 $869.67 $35,928.73
Payment 3 $1,000.00 $127.25 $872.75 $35,055.98
Payment 4 $1,000.00 $124.16 $875.84 $34,180.14
Payment 5 $1,000.00 $121.05 $878.95 $33,301.19
Payment 6 $1,000.00 $117.94 $882.06 $32,419.13
Payment 7 $1,000.00 $114.82 $885.18 $31,533.95
Payment 8 $1,000.00 $111.68 $888.32 $30,645.63
Payment 9 $1,000.00 $108.54 $891.46 $29,754.17
Payment 10 $1,000.00 $105.38 $894.62 $28,859.55
Payment 11 $1,000.00 $102.21 $897.79 $27,961.76
Payment 12 $1,000.00 $99.03 $900.97 $27,060.79
Payment 13 $1,000.00 $95.84 $904.16 $26,156.63
Payment 14 $1,000.00 $92.64 $907.36 $25,249.27
Payment 15 $1,000.00 $89.42 $910.58 $24,338.69
Payment 16 $1,000.00 $86.20 $913.80 $23,424.89
Payment 17 $1,000.00 $82.96 $917.04 $22,507.85
Payment 18 $1,000.00 $79.72 $920.28 $21,587.57
Payment 19 $1,000.00 $76.46 $923.54 $20,664.03
Payment 20 $1,000.00 $73.19 $926.81 $19,737.22
Payment 21 $1,000.00 $69.90 $930.10 $18,807.12
Payment 22 $1,000.00 $66.61 $933.39 $17,873.73
Payment 23 $1,000.00 $63.30 $936.70 $16,937.03
Payment 24 $1,000.00 $59.99 $940.01 $15,997.02
Payment 25 $1,000.00 $56.66 $943.34 $15,053.68
Payment 26 $1,000.00 $53.32 $946.68 $14,107.00
Payment 27 $1,000.00 $49.96 $950.04 $13,156.96
Payment 28 $1,000.00 $46.60 $953.40 $12,203.56
Payment 29 $1,000.00 $43.22 $956.78 $11,246.78
Payment 30 $1,000.00 $39.83 $960.17 $10,286.61
Payment 31 $1,000.00 $36.43 $963.57 $9,323.04
Payment 32 $1,000.00 $33.02 $966.98 $8,356.06
Payment 33 $1,000.00 $29.59 $970.41 $7,385.65
Payment 34 $1,000.00 $26.16 $973.84 $6,411.81
Payment 35 $1,000.00 $22.71 $977.29 $5,434.52
Payment 36 $1,000.00 $19.25 $980.75 $4,453.77
Payment 37 $1,000.00 $15.77 $984.23 $3,469.54
Payment 38 $1,000.00 $12.29 $987.71 $2,481.83
Payment 39 $1,000.00 $8.79 $991.21 $1,490.62
Payment 40 $1,000.00 $5.28 $994.72 $495.90
Payment 41 $497.66 $1.76 $495.90 $0.00
Grand Total $37,665.00 $40,497.66 $2,832.66 $37,665.00 $0.00
This amortization schedule is powered by: copyrightTimeValue Software

I Attended a Top College in the Nation / iPhone 5S/5C

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I often have a bitter attitude when looking back on my education. Almost $50k in loans for three pieces of paper. I was very gung-ho and optimistic about the future while going to school, but the harshness of reality and a down economy weakened my spark.

Today, my alma mater sent me an email about how their school ranks #4 amongst private colleges and #31 overall.

“WE HAVE SOME AMAZING NEWS!

Quick, what are the top colleges in the nation?Harvard? Princeton? How about St. Joseph’s College?

Earlier this month, The Washington Monthly released its annual list ranking higher education institutions across the United States. In the category of “Best Bang For Your Buck,” St. Joseph’s College New York was ranked No. 4 among private colleges, and No. 31 overall, edging out such renowned schools as Purdue, Rutgers, Michigan State and Barnard.

According to The Washington Monthly, “Bang For Your Buck schools are those that do the best job of helping nonwealthy students attain marketable degrees at affordable prices. And it is a pretty exclusive list: out of the 1,572 colleges and universities in our broader rankings, only 349 made the cut as best-bang-for-the-buck schools.”

St. Joseph’s College always strives to provide our students with a top-notch education at a great price, but we need your help to pass along that value to future generations. Please consider making a gift to SJC to help keep education affordable for all the students who will follow in your footsteps. “

For Masters Universities, St. Joseph’s ranked #11 with a net price after Pell Grants of $9807. 32% of students received the grants, 65% graduation rate and 6% rate of students defaulting on their loans. I couldn’t qualify for those based on my income at the time, but those numbers are on-part with my expectations. Around $500/credit * 36 credits MBA program = 18000.

I do think the extra 18000 spent helps distinguish me from some other job candidates. In the past it may have been in a detrimental capacity, applying to positions I was grossly overqualified for ($13/hr the credit union telephone member service rep position comes to mind). Time will tell, but proving myself in this industry will speak much louder.

Today Apple announced some new products, the iPhone 5S and 5C.

For the 5S, Apple made the switch to a 64-bit architecture. Twice the CPU and graphics performance of the 5. I won’t be eligible to upgrade my phone without paying a penalty for another year and still have a great grandfathered in data plan. So long story short, I’m saving my money and not upgrading until a year from now. The 6 will probably be out by then. There are still some very compelling features though… It’s a want not a need. My current phone works more than well enough…

I also use 8-10gb per month in data on my unlimited plan with AT&T. Without the unlimited plan factored in this would run me $120/mo plus taxes and miscellaneous fees vs the $102 I spend now…

Month 17 Update – $37,664.92 and counting

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Making progress still on getting this loan under control. I have a larger payment coming out later in the month of ~$600. I’d love to get under 37k for the month of August. My reserves are lower than I had hoped with last month’s bike purchase, and some other recent purchases.

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I got two flat tires on my mountain bike, rewrapped the handle bars on the road bike, bought some additional accessories, a backup hard drive and some other items totaling around $200.Image

 

Were they worth it? Yes. Did I overpay? Don’t think so. Did I need everything at this particular moment in time? Probably not.

So about the above picture. Yesterday, my rear derailleur snapped in half. Not the day I rode 20miles in a day, but the day after I was only a mile away from home and doing like 2mph. It was more an inconvenience than anything, my partner drove my car over so I could get the bike loaded up on the bike rack and didn’t have to suffer longer than necessary in the 100° temperatures that embody summer living in Texas.

Joe Mhalic, one of my inspirations for writing this blog wrote some articles about budgeting recently, using a fictional character Max. I am beginning to realize that just I take home an extra $1100/mo doesn’t mean it’s not advantageous to have a plan with where my dollars are going in advance. I’ve been eating out a lot more which is eating into a substantial part of the difference.

I normally don’t do steakhouses because they’re expensive and I’m not a big steak person. However a few weeks ago we went to one for someone’s going away celebration and between the appetizers, drinks and my main entree I shelled out $120. Then my partner and I went to a birthday party. I didn’t pay the bill (he paid half), but it was at a high end restaurant. For the four of us food and wine totaled around $455. The words too rich for my blood come to mind.

I’ll be in NY (primarily for a wedding) over the next two weeks, look forward to meeting up with old friends and family. This will be right before my next paycheck, so unless I want to use credit I’ll have to be really particular about not spending too much.

My next post will be about budgeting and a plan that works for me. I know I’ve done a lot of bouncing back and forth about different plans. I’m learning from past failures though. Even when I’m bad, I’m not that bad, which is more than I can say for many people. 🙂

Bike & Vacations

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I didn’t 100% need a new bike. The $185 road bike I bought from Amazon in April was fine overall. In need of some adjustments, but perfectly ridable and allowing me to get some much needed exercise in. However the more I rode it, the more I felt it was lacking. Felt every little bump in the road, teetering on the edge of a puncture or bent rim. In 4 months ownership, never a case of being stranded or having something go wrong on a ride.

I’m not normally this gentle on a bike and wanted something in all frankness I could rough up a little bit and not bat an eye. So I started looking at Mountain Bikes. First on Craigslist. Messaged a few sellers but none of them even so much as responded to my email. Then there’s the concept of caveat emptor. Last thing I want is to spend $200 on a bike and need to spend $100 to fix it or later discover irreversible damage.

Next I checked out some of the bigger name bike shops. REI was one in particular. I liked what they offered, but the prices were way too high for my liking and they’re had a rash of bad publicity lately. So I decide to look at some smaller bike shops in the immediate area. They’ve all shut down. I expand my radius and see a few that met my criteria but none were open on a Sunday. Typically no Sunday and no late hours go hand in hand. That’s gonna be a problem.

GT Timberline 2.0 Bike : 349.99
Thule Thruway Pro Rack: 79.99

Total: 429.98
Tax: 35.47
Grand Total: 465.45

So yeah almost $500 for a bike. The first day I got it I rode 10 miles on it. Weighed myself and down 4 pounds almost lighter. Granted it’s mostly water weight, but if I keep this up the fat will just melt off me. I did puncture the inner tube though to my dismay. So maybe I get to ride again tomorrow if it’s fixed. If not it’s all the gym for me.

On top of that, I booked a flight to Las Vegas for November (~$310). It wasn’t my idea but I was pretty much peer pressured into going. This will be my 4th “trip” of the year. The Pennsylvania one for an interview and NY mostly for a baby shower don’t really count in my mind. Going to NY again for a wedding September.

GT Timberline Mountain Bike

I was also faced with the task of making some changes to my car’s audio system. I have an iPhone 5, but originally had a 4 when my system was upgraded. The iPhone cable was able to charge the phone and locally stored music fine. Streaming is hit or miss. Most the time when I go through my Spotify playlist it comes up Error 01. Researched the error and basically I could buy some expensive Bluetooth contraption that may or not work. So instead of using the phone data connection cable (which has two adaptors and disconnects when I nudge it the slightest bit) or buying a new head unit I decided to do a head unit -> RCA -> maniplug connection. Get the cables Wednesday for $~20, hopefully it all works…

One of my dream cars for a while has been the Infinity G series. They offer great performance and a convey a sense of affordable luxury.  Then I checked Fuelly and the mpg figures were abysmal. 20.6 on the high end with mixed driving and 19.4 on the long end. I currently do a lot of stop and go with A/C on full blast averaging 23. My next car should be hovering around 40 and offer some excitement. Thinking 2016 or something on my car undergoes a major meltdown, whichever happens sooner. Also a lofty goal but I’d love to be able to buy it entirely with cash. All speculation though…

Last but not least, life isn’t about just paying off debt. It’s about experiencing the world outside and spending time with people you enjoy, whether they be friends or family. For me too much extreme makes me feel like a slave to money. I literally count every penny and have felt stuck in the house an entire weekend because I didn’t want to spend $50 to do stuff. That’s not healthy and often leads to destructive behavior in the long run.