Monthly Student Loan Debt Roundup!

I can't believe it's already the end of January (or just about) and a whole year since I got engaged.

After lots of waiting and saving, the wedding is less than six months away!!!!

And little by little I've still been chipping away at my student loan debt.

So here is my monthly report card:



That's all for now, stay warm!

Budget 1/20 - 2/2

I am ridiculously late posting this budget.

Luckily I saved some money from my last paycheck to help towards the $350 attorney registration fee I have to pay.

And saving for the wedding, something that doesn't seem to ever be done with, sigh. It's less than six months away now so I'm getting excited. Still lots of money to be saved (and then spent).

So here's where my money will be going this pay period:

Starting Balance = $1375

400 - Wedding Savings
350 - Attorney registration
174 - Credit card
95 - Perkins loan
55 - Law school loan
100 - Groceries
50 - Valentine's Day*
40 - Health co-pays
111 - Misc.

*I found a cool place to go for Valentine's Day with my fiance and prepaid my half of the cost.

I also filed my taxes last night! I should be getting a refund of about $600, but all of that will be going into the wedding savings.

Where it Went 1/06 - 1/19

I'm 30!!!!!!!!! I celebrated my birthday last weekend with my fiance and some friends. It was a nice, low key evening and luckily all my fears of "getting old" quickly faded into the background. I don't know why I was so focused on a number.

Anyway, I'm in the midst of my busy season at work, getting a little bit behind on wedding planning, trying to get in better shape and dealing with some health and family issues. Such is life at 30 I guess!

But here's where my money went for the past two weeks compared to the budget I set:

Budgeted/Actual

Credit Card - 100/150

Groceries - 75/90

Sallie Mae - 407/407

Defaulted Student Loan - 260/260

Nice Collection Agency - 125/125

Sprint - 73/73

Misc. - 236/214

And I finished the pay period with about $102 to roll over, which is good because my birthday commands a hefty $350 payment to the state court administration (boo!) in order to remain a licensed attorney.

Of miscellaneous, at least $60 was spent on health care co-pays (boo) making me kick myself for not starting a Health Savings Account during the open enrollment period. Oh well.

In other news, my fiance got a promotion!!! Yay, I'm so proud of him. And it came with an extra week's vacation as well as a $5000 raise! He's the youngest one in his company to have made it this far. I guess success is one of the perks of getting older, though his 30th isn't for a few more months (yes, I'm a cougar).

Budget 1/06 - 1/19

My birthday is coming up! Good golly I'm turning 30. And somehow my paycheck today managed to be $5 less than it usually is. But no more! I am adjusting my withholding in anticipation of my 2010 marriage. This has got to be the trickiest thing we have ever tried to figure out but I think (crosses fingers) that my paycheck will get bigger!

So very briefly, here's a rough budget for the next two weeks. I have a couple of annoying expenses that are coming up (professional fee!) and holiday spending that I will have to account for.

Starting Balance = $1275

Credit Card - 100
Groceries - 75
Sallie Mae - 407
Defaulted Student Loan - 260
Nice Collection Agency - 125
Sprint - 73
Misc. - 236*

*Some of this I hope to roll over to the next pay period to help pay for a professional fee.

Where it Went 12/23 - 1/05

Happy New Year!

Between the holidays and my busy time at work starting up I am crazy busy. Or just crazy. :-)

I do have a lot to say so real quickly:

My fiance got a $2000 bonus at work!
We refinanced the condo mortgage today!
I had a work vent but I think everything is okay.
I spent way too much money over the holidays and I'm just trying to make up for it now.

So...in the meantime here's where my "cash" went over the past two weeks and in a few hours I will deal with everything else.

Projected/Actual

Credit Card - 250/250
Charity - 50/50
Wedding Savings - 500/500

Groceries - 75/0
Christmas - 75/180*
Law School Loan - 54/54
Perkins Loan - 93/93
Misc. - 183/60*

*There's some overlap in these two categories.

My siblings never reimbursed me for a gift I bought for my parents. Who knows if I will see that $100 any time soon.

That's all for now.