Advancing the Front
This is the first month since April 2016 I believe that I haven’t had a credit card payment. I’m struggling to enjoy that fact with the mountain in front of me I am trying to climb but it’s an accomplishment. I’ve spent days and weeks now crunching numbers. I’ve got pieces of paper all over my desk with numbers and dollar amounts and easy math. Detailed grocery lists down to the penny. Expense sheets showing how much I’ve spent in gasoline the past many months. For the first time I am forcing myself to see where every dollar is going (mostly).
The Jeep is the big debt left and I have just over 15K on that. I just put the regular 460.82 payment toward it and then after much debate the additional 2K I put towards it the same as last month. I had debated buying appliances with some money this month as I also got my state tax return overnight but my gut is telling me so loudly to hit the Jeep debt again. I figured with what is left I can buy one appliance, the dishwasher cause it will be the cheapest, and go at upgrading that way.
I do wonder if I should be spending this money to upgrade shit when I am moving anyway, but those that know better (my realtor and the internet) say to put some money toward the kitchen and my house value will increase. It’s so hard to know for sure but some estimates I am seeing online for my area are saying my house value has or will increase by 20K in the next few months. And I know from looking at the exact same models that have sold in my subdivision that there is money to be had. Their houses sold for over what mine was when I paid just four years ago, but from the pictures in the ads it looked like they had made minimal updates since the 90s. If I can streamline what I have it could make a huge difference. It’s a dream but I am imagining that I have the potential to make 50K plus on the sale next year. And if that is the case it would be a HUGE starting point for the Sparrow and I on our life together.
I am sure I’ve gone on and on about this already, but with this move I have the potential of saving 11K-20K a year of money what with dividing expenses, lower taxes etc etc. This could be the real moment when my life turns around from living paycheck to paycheck by sheer luck to living with purpose and direction. Having goals and real choices not choosing simply whether I will be in debt or not. And to have more and more of my paycheck becoming my own money and not being spoken for the minute it hits my account. It seems unimaginable.
If there’s one aspect of my job I enjoy, and it’s minimal, it would be the solving of mysteries. I do like figuring seemingly impossible problems out. And my finances for now have become that impossible problem. Trying to crunch all these numbers and find every dime I can has become a challenge. And though not always enjoyable, seeing how I can function on as little spending money for the month is interesting. Where as before I would simply pay bills and whatever was left was all I had, I am at least looking at what is left now and thinking ‘what can I do with that’. Though really, I am getting rid of money so fast I leave myself no choice but to function on the remainder. I managed to have $107 left this morning (which I tossed into savings).
Of course, I did have an injection of funds from my tax return that were not all spent. So I have not yet had a month where I had only my paycheck to function off of. That’s coming though in April. The real test if I can survive on this insane plan. Expenses are coming too which I wish could avoid. The dentist in a couple weeks, which hopefully my HSA will cover in total. But I also need more contact lenses, which I think will be anywhere from $400-600. And I also need to order mulch for the landscaping outside because it needs to be in place for the spring to prevent the onslaught of weeds. That will be around $600 I think if I intend to do it right. But, it has to be done.
So my goal for paying off the Jeep in July simply won’t be happening. But, I need to be realistic about what needs to get done. I don’t want to be paying that interest on the loan, but I am at least paying far less than I would otherwise be if I had made over 4K in extra payments so far. It’s a 6 year loan going on year 3 in May, so I am doing better than okay. I just have trouble giving myself any credit. Someone though I need to not let myself go down this road again. I need to make this financial change permanent. Sparrow’s money-wise influence and the responsibility of getting married will hopefully put me on the right course.
We did start painting the downstairs bedroom and bathroom. What an utter bitch that has been. I truly hate painting and I don’t see how these people in the instructional videos I watch can do it so perfectly using a roller, but when I use one it looks like utter shit. I’ve felt motivated to accomplish these things despite the technique hurdles. Getting those two done will be such a boon overall. I am dreaming of having 4 or more rooms painted by end of march. A big goal and I am trying not to psyche myself too much about it only to come up short and lose the momentum. Trouble is, I really should have lights in order to paint right, cause in the evening I can’t see what the hell I am painting/priming with it all being white. Maybe a bit of an excuse so I don’t have to deal with it.
I am using a can of paint I originally bought for that room two years ago (hope it’s still good) which will save me money there. I know I will take a hit on costs for paint but it has to be done. And if done right will look great. Of course, thinking about it I was just hit with the anxiety of all that needs to be done. Painting, new flooring, cleaning the basement, patching the carpets, fixing drywall holes, moving furniture and fish tanks. It’s a lot. I MUST keep my focus and get stuff done. Especially, on the weekends when my motivation is at it zenith.
It helps that there’s no choice in any of this. There is an end goal. A date when it HAS to be done. That date is next Feb the 11th, right before (or possibly the day of) leaving for Mardi Gras. Granted I would like it done two months before that, but there’s still that final date at which I can base all my behaviors on. Sadly, there’s much stuff at work to be done too, and I’ve been ignoring that for weeks. Won’t be able to soon.
The Jeep is the big debt left and I have just over 15K on that. I just put the regular 460.82 payment toward it and then after much debate the additional 2K I put towards it the same as last month. I had debated buying appliances with some money this month as I also got my state tax return overnight but my gut is telling me so loudly to hit the Jeep debt again. I figured with what is left I can buy one appliance, the dishwasher cause it will be the cheapest, and go at upgrading that way.
I do wonder if I should be spending this money to upgrade shit when I am moving anyway, but those that know better (my realtor and the internet) say to put some money toward the kitchen and my house value will increase. It’s so hard to know for sure but some estimates I am seeing online for my area are saying my house value has or will increase by 20K in the next few months. And I know from looking at the exact same models that have sold in my subdivision that there is money to be had. Their houses sold for over what mine was when I paid just four years ago, but from the pictures in the ads it looked like they had made minimal updates since the 90s. If I can streamline what I have it could make a huge difference. It’s a dream but I am imagining that I have the potential to make 50K plus on the sale next year. And if that is the case it would be a HUGE starting point for the Sparrow and I on our life together.
I am sure I’ve gone on and on about this already, but with this move I have the potential of saving 11K-20K a year of money what with dividing expenses, lower taxes etc etc. This could be the real moment when my life turns around from living paycheck to paycheck by sheer luck to living with purpose and direction. Having goals and real choices not choosing simply whether I will be in debt or not. And to have more and more of my paycheck becoming my own money and not being spoken for the minute it hits my account. It seems unimaginable.
If there’s one aspect of my job I enjoy, and it’s minimal, it would be the solving of mysteries. I do like figuring seemingly impossible problems out. And my finances for now have become that impossible problem. Trying to crunch all these numbers and find every dime I can has become a challenge. And though not always enjoyable, seeing how I can function on as little spending money for the month is interesting. Where as before I would simply pay bills and whatever was left was all I had, I am at least looking at what is left now and thinking ‘what can I do with that’. Though really, I am getting rid of money so fast I leave myself no choice but to function on the remainder. I managed to have $107 left this morning (which I tossed into savings).
Of course, I did have an injection of funds from my tax return that were not all spent. So I have not yet had a month where I had only my paycheck to function off of. That’s coming though in April. The real test if I can survive on this insane plan. Expenses are coming too which I wish could avoid. The dentist in a couple weeks, which hopefully my HSA will cover in total. But I also need more contact lenses, which I think will be anywhere from $400-600. And I also need to order mulch for the landscaping outside because it needs to be in place for the spring to prevent the onslaught of weeds. That will be around $600 I think if I intend to do it right. But, it has to be done.
So my goal for paying off the Jeep in July simply won’t be happening. But, I need to be realistic about what needs to get done. I don’t want to be paying that interest on the loan, but I am at least paying far less than I would otherwise be if I had made over 4K in extra payments so far. It’s a 6 year loan going on year 3 in May, so I am doing better than okay. I just have trouble giving myself any credit. Someone though I need to not let myself go down this road again. I need to make this financial change permanent. Sparrow’s money-wise influence and the responsibility of getting married will hopefully put me on the right course.
We did start painting the downstairs bedroom and bathroom. What an utter bitch that has been. I truly hate painting and I don’t see how these people in the instructional videos I watch can do it so perfectly using a roller, but when I use one it looks like utter shit. I’ve felt motivated to accomplish these things despite the technique hurdles. Getting those two done will be such a boon overall. I am dreaming of having 4 or more rooms painted by end of march. A big goal and I am trying not to psyche myself too much about it only to come up short and lose the momentum. Trouble is, I really should have lights in order to paint right, cause in the evening I can’t see what the hell I am painting/priming with it all being white. Maybe a bit of an excuse so I don’t have to deal with it.
I am using a can of paint I originally bought for that room two years ago (hope it’s still good) which will save me money there. I know I will take a hit on costs for paint but it has to be done. And if done right will look great. Of course, thinking about it I was just hit with the anxiety of all that needs to be done. Painting, new flooring, cleaning the basement, patching the carpets, fixing drywall holes, moving furniture and fish tanks. It’s a lot. I MUST keep my focus and get stuff done. Especially, on the weekends when my motivation is at it zenith.
It helps that there’s no choice in any of this. There is an end goal. A date when it HAS to be done. That date is next Feb the 11th, right before (or possibly the day of) leaving for Mardi Gras. Granted I would like it done two months before that, but there’s still that final date at which I can base all my behaviors on. Sadly, there’s much stuff at work to be done too, and I’ve been ignoring that for weeks. Won’t be able to soon.