MONTH TWO!!!

and the month two results are....... $3,108.09 total debt paid!!!

so this month was a little weird. it went well, don't get me wrong, but it's also a little misleading...
you see, i got about half of that money from savings to put down on my student loan. i had a decent sized emergency fund that i decided would be better served down on my (6.55%) debt than on my (0.125%) savings account. in addition to that payment, and the minimum payments, i put an additional $873.34 toward my student loan!

this month my $200.00 went wayyy too fast. i over spent once (better than about 3 times last month) and bought too much alcohol for concerts, my co-ed leagues, etc. next months goal is to buy no booze! okay, maybe only 1 time (it's inevitable that i will have something that requires me to contribute).

i also had to pay off my contacts and my glasses this month, which lowered the amount i could save for the debt. they were necessary purchases so i felt okay about it, but i would have liked more of that money to help me on the under $10k loan challenge!

i had to invent little challenges for myself. little milestones. so my first one is to get my student loan under $10,000. which, coincidentally was my goal for the entire year on my january 1 life goal list. i always write down a list of about 20 things i would like to accomplish in that year, and getting my loans below $10k was on there. i hoped to be able to do it by december 2011. man, january me was so naive. :)

maybe i will buy that mk watch i've been eyeballing for 2 years with the gift certificates i've been saving when i get below $10k!! now wouldn't that be somethin!

i need to rein in my grocery bills too. i have caught myself using that as my shopping fix. i've always enjoyed going to the grocery (especially wholefoods and alfalfas) but it's gotten worse....now i meander around, throw things in the cart i don't need (or even know how to cook), and end up wasting food because i got caught up in buying fresh produce...

i also fell apart a bit at the end of month. i thought i'd budgeted gas and groceries correctly, but didnt. so i will start july with a little to pay on the credit card. annoying. i learned this month, though, that i need to not so much budget groceries and gas. just buy what i need to...without budgets. dont get me wrong, i have numbers in mind, but if i spend a little more than i meant to i can't let it throw me off. it's like a bad diet mentality, 'i ate 1 brownie so i already messed up...might as well have 4 more.' so from here on out i am going to pay the extra debt payment at the END of the month, instead of on payday.
goals for july: less booze, generic grocery shopping, and get below $10k on the good ol' student loan.

total debt down to date: $5,058.61
two months down, twenty-two to go.
xoxo ashleycolean