the six month mark

{cred}

it's been six big bad months since i started my financial lockdown!! and, i'm still hangin' on. i've had my set backs, my misfires, my days where i wanted to give up...but overall it has been a really good experience!! here's how things have broken down over the last six months:

may 2011: month one was amazing! i don't know if i have tried so hard to succeed at something. total debt paid $1,950.52.

june 2011: i took some money from my emergency fund this month to put on the student loan. did well overall with watching my spending, but learned maybe i have to give up whole foods during the lockdown to save more on groceries. total debt paid $3,108.09.

july 2011: had a tails job this month for some extra dough, and also traveled for work so saved a bit on gas/groceries. downside, i ran into unexpected expenses and overspent on my budget. total debt paid $1,695.51 (and $149.35 into savings).

august 2011: this was my first sucky month. sucky, actually, might be an understatement. my car cost me a decent pot of cash, i had to buy an airline ticket i wasn't planning on, broke my camera and had to get a new one, overspent my ass off on a bunch of clothes, etc etc. i only paid my minimums due on both my student loan and my car payment this month. boo, i know. total debt paid $495.30 (oh and that $149.35 came back out of savings).

september 2011: at the beginning of the month i decided that i needed to put more focus into some other areas that were causing me way too much stress in my life. i decided to be good about money, but not focus on it for a little while to hopefully lower my stress level. this month i had a bachelorette party, spent a good deal of money altering a dress, paid for 6 months of car insurance, and focused pretty heavily on getting in shape (and training with my trainer stephanie). i did a few things to help my debt situation this month also. i returned about $200 in unworn clothes that i really didn't need, i had a tails job, and i stayed one night a week at my grandpa's to lower some gas costs. i also got together with friends quite a bit this month but worked those get togethers around free tickets i had to games, pool afternoons and hikes...all free!! total debt paid $778.95

october 2011: what?!?! october is over!??! wtf! talk about flying by! it probably flew because i don't think i stood still for more than one minute for the first three weeks of the month. i was all over the place! aspen to encourage a beautiful friend to try something new, kansas city to watch my oldest friend marry the man of her dreams, beaver creek for a getaway, and various other projects had me hustlin! i followed my plan of relaxing a bit on the lockdown during super hectic times-and still did pretty well! total debt paid $1135.30

starting amounts:
credit cards: ($812.57)
student loans: ($14,059.09)
volkswagon: ($19,243.07)
savings: $5,000.00

amounts due:
credit cards: $0.00
student loans: ($7,828.61)
volkswagon: ($17,351.92)
savings: $2,627.93* it's important to note that i took money from savings for paying down debt and also purchased $500.00 in a Roth IRA (right before the market plummeted-not happy!)

if i can do it with my anthropologie addiction, my self proclaimed food and wine critic position, and excessive number of trips back to kansas city to see friends and family, you can too. i promise. let's change our financial situations. all of us!

this calls for a dance party.
xoxo ashleycolean