Parting The Sea of Red

When I reignited this blog a year ago, I had set an unrealistic ambitious goal of paying off $20,000 of my debt.  It didn’t happen and I make no excuse other than it was just too big a goal to begin with.  In August 2016 I accepted a job that was about a 15k pay raise and a shorter commute, but I had been living “in the red” at my previous job, and I had some increased expenses in 2017.  Some of these were by choice (adopting the cat, having a boyfriend who lived 30 minutes away, starting my own businesses- no investments that I regretted, though!) and some were unpreventable, such as my rent increasing.  Even with a second job and constantly scouting for other sources of income, $20,000 wasn’t realistic. But I don’t regret anything.   This year has been part of a journey and I am proud of it.  I started directing theater club after school and I had the chance to teach an English camp this summer.  What started out as an extra-income search landed...

First off, disclaimer:  If you are already running a successful Direct Sales or Multi-Level Marketing business, this entry probably won’t apply to you!  This is geared towards people who are considering joining a direct sales company to get out of debt or to break the paycheck to paycheck cycle.  I’m going off of some of my own experiences as well as some of those of my friends and family.   Second disclaimer: I do not endorse or put down any of the companies that I am mentioning here!  They are being used purely as examples of specific business models! Lots of people credit direct sales companies with getting them out of debt, becoming a second source of reliable income, or even completely replacing their full-time jobs.  Others talk about being scammed or going into debt with direct sales.  For someone struggling with debt, it can be tempting opportunity, but “tempting” isn’t always synonymous with “wise”.  Before delving into some things...

Halfway through summer! It's felt like a bit of a rollercoaster at times. Saying goodbye to my kids was hard. Training at the country club started three weeks before school got out, which meant three weeks of juggling three jobs at one of the most hectic points in the school year. I got sick.  But I also ran my second marathon, and I ran it with my cousin, which has been a long time goal for us. One of my closest friends got married last week. My boyfriend and I have been able to make some fun memories. And I get to return to my teaching position in the fall.  Financially, the summer has also felt like a bit of a roller coaster. I haven't been working as many hours as I hoped at the country club- I can make good tips during a busy lunch shift and great tips during a busy dinner shift, but it's frustrating to know that I could be killing my debt goals if I could just get more hours. I really like working at the tanning salon, but, unfortunately, these two jobs ...

Phew, it's been awhile since my last update.  Paying off debt (shocker!) takes a lot of time and energy! I’ve realized that, having such a huge goal in front of me, I need to break it down into pieces.  I am working with multiple sources of income to obtain my goal of $20,000 and my eventual, bigger goal of being completely debt-free.  A few weeks ago, I sat down and tried to figure out how many sources of income I had and what I could realistically make in one year if I really pushed myself. My tentative schedule so far: My regular salary: $10,000 (this is what I think I can put towards my debt with budgeting). My second job: $3,000 Apps, Paid Websites, and Blogging/Vlogging: $1,000 Sales (either selling my own possessions or a sale from my Melalueca business, etc): $1,000 Of course, I have a visual reminder hanging on my refrigerator to help me! So, that leaves me with a minimum $5,000 to come up with (assuming I’m able to make all these other goals).  I...

So, to start, my first major victory: as of Friday, my savings account is at $1,000.00 even!  My emergency fund is complete! How I got there: I started with $10.02 in my savings account. My paydays are every other Friday at both school and the tanning studio.  Between January and February, there were three pay cycles instead of two, so that put me two weeks ahead on my monthly rent.  So, on February 3rd: Amount saved: $415.00 Paycheck from the tanning studio: $136.97 Squeezed out of regular budget: $40.66 Over the next two weeks, I sold some things using Facebook Market Place: Shoes: $30 ($15 each) Earrings and bracelet: $20 And I completed an audit at Target using the Field Agent App: $5 Then, finally, my next payday: Tanning studio: $133.86 That left me with $218.51- I got home and did my monthly budget, and I had to WRING it to get that last $218.51 out, but I *think* I made it work!  Just hoping I can get through the next two weeks without having...

This week brought a victory for me: my credit card balance is at zero!  This is really, really, really great to see:   So, now comes a necessary pause in my debt reduction.  In Financial Peace University, the three initial “baby steps” are 1) Put a $1,000 emergency fund in savings, 2) Eliminate debt and 3) Put money to cover 3-6 months worth of expenses into savings.   As I mentioned earlier this month, I had put away $1,000 right when I finished FPU, but a rough financial year quickly drained it.  With a low salary and high credit card payments, I simply could not pay my bills each month and have enough left-over to save.  When I was offered a decent-paying summer job, I decided I was going to get rid of my credit card once and for all and eliminate a $100-$150 monthly bill, and use the money saved to build up my emergency fund.  Granted, if I had built up the fund first, I wouldn't have gone back into debt when I went two weeks without a paycheck or ...

Budget.   Unless you are a professional in the finance world, it’s kind of a scary-sounding word.  Can I really, accurately plan how much money I am going to need every month?  What if I mess up?  I have a feeling I'm not unique in that I put off budgeting for years because I was so afraid of doing it wrong and because of previous bad experiences (my parents tried to plan my budget for me one semester in college.  Long story short, they didn't realize how much the cost of living- even for a college student- had changed from the 1960’s until the 2000’s.  Unless you have a parent who is a certified financial planner, budgeting is something you have to learn to do on your own!).   Financial Peace University gave me some guidance in their workbook, and, while I had to make some adjustments to fit my own life, it was still a good base to work off of.  First, I had to make a list of my monthly bills:  -Rent: $830 -Phone: $100 -Utilities: $50 (give ...

So, I started this blog fresh out of graduate school- and then teacher-life took over and I put it on the back burner.  The New Year seems like a great time to revive it!   Summary of life between last entry and now: 2014-15: Lived communally with three other adults and the cutest baby ever.  Taught in a suburban school district.  Finished my Master’s Degree.  -My 1996 Oldsmobile became unsafe for commuting.  I called my dad at one point to seek advice, and he and my mom promptly went out to buy a new car for my mom, and then drove up the next day to give me my mom's old car (which should last several more years). I have awesome parents.   -Moved out in May as planned, found an apartment of my own.  Unfortunately, the cheapest apartment available is still pretty pricey.  -Was laid off from my teaching position the day after I signed my lease.  Ugh.   Summer 2015: Traveled to Mexico to visit a dear friend (tickets had already been bo...