big happenings

since i started caring about my money, my debt, my net worth, and all other things incredibly more grown up than i care to-i get really excited about the silliest of things!

but this-this, my friends, is not silly. it's awesome.

i have my student loans through the government. it used to be 'direct loans' but now they have a new site myedaccount.com. there have been issues with the site (they don't show old transactions, they don't show pending transactions so i accidentally paid $500 twice this month, etc) but something great has happened.
you can pull up your account information and go into the specific loans-not that great. however, from there you can actually allocate the funds you pay (this only works for additional payments, not your normal monthly payment) on whichever loan you would like!!! that means, i can put all my extra payments on my higher interest rate loan first! WHOO HOO!

see, i told you i am a boring grown up.
xoxo ashleycolean

be gracious

"We prefer to see those to whom we do good than those who do good to us."
— La Rochefoucauld

don't be one of those people.
xoxo ashleycolean

ten four

{cred}

recently i told ya'll that i went to a financial seminar. i was telling bbe about it the other day and she asked, 'what was your biggest takeway?"

it made me think. and also made me think i was an idiot for not sharing (on my blog about my financial decisions) what my big revelation was!

so here it is.

once my student loan is paid off, rather than continue to put big chunks of money down on my car loan (which has a low interest rate) i am going to start contributing much more heavily into my savings. i will put a little bit each month into savings until my student loan is paid, and then start beefing that sucker up.

my reasoning:
my car loan has a tiny interest rate- 2.95%

i'd eventually like to own, not rent, and as it stands today i don't have the money for a down payment even if i could afford the mortgage...not a good feeling.

i dont want to be one of those people with $45,000 in the bank at age 65.

i need to get enough money into savings to be able to 'make my money work for me.' right now i have an emergency fund-but nothing else. i need to have a retirement account, and an idea of what the hell i'm doing with it.

i think it will help keep me motivated to see the 'money i have' column on my spreadsheet go up and up each month.

so there you have it. i'm on the retirement path. weird, right!??
xoxo ashleycolean

he oughta know

i found this on a friend's facebook the other day and loved it.

the dalai lama was asked what surprised him the most;
he said, "man, because he sacrifices his health in order to make money.
 then he sacrifices money to recuperate his health. and then he is so anxious about the future that he does not enjoy the present; the result being that he does not live in the present or the future; he lives as if he is never going to die, and then he dies having never really lived."

next step-break this nasty cycle.
xoxo ashleycolean

a grown up weekend

this weekend i went to the crossroads theater in denver to see anna jones of and then she saved talk about her journey out of debt!! it was so fun to hear her tell the story i'd read in person, and getting to meet her was pretty rad too! she was so nice and so helpful with all of my questions.
i'm sure people that aren't religious and then she saved-ers thought i was ten kinds of crazy, but whatever! :)

a financial advisor also spoke. her name is hannah raynes. she helps people plan their financial futures and figure out how to best make their money work for them. when i have a grip on my financial situation (and by that i mean when i am out of debt-or at least further out of debt) i'm going to find someone to help me make some plans.

a few things i noted at the seminar that are good reminders, amazing math, or just general good advise:

getting rid of the temptation to spend (like removing all stores and the internet) is unrealistic so you have to learn to live in and around a society obsessed with possessions.

get rid of your credit card debt first.

people in debt have more health problems. specifically those in credit card debt. they are more stressed, overweight and generally unhealthy than those without debt.

realign your priorities and take a look at your finances because they will show you where your priorities lie (if the majority of your money is going to nordstrom-you may have warped priorities).

learn how to say no to yourself.

'stop spending money you don't have. stop spending money you do have.'

in regard to artists-but i think it crosses the artistic line-'charge what you're worth or do it for free, but don't do it for cheap.' anna

if you saved $300.00 a month and invested it-you would have $841,356 in 30 years. yes please!!

average inflation is 3% a year. so if your money isn't making at least 3% annually, you are actually losing money.

make your money work for you. INVEST!

only 1 in 8 americans close to retirement feel comfortable with their retirement accounts as they currently are.

the average monthly social security check is $1,050.00 -not that we'll even have that to factor in to our retirement as gen-y ers.

typical americans will never pay down their debt.

historically, when the S&P has a drop their is a double digit return.-man, here's hoping!

men should save 10% of their income, and women should save 12%. here's why.

so there's just a snip it of the good info i walked away with on saturday.

here's to 65 year old me-chilling on the beach.
xoxo ashleycolean

i'm baaaack

oh, hey! i'm back from a week long trip to kansas city to help my best friend marry her man! it was wonderful-and i'm exhausted....but alive.

gotta balance my checkbook, get more than 4 hours sleep and i will be back with more stellar info on the financial lockdown and various other items!

xoxo ashleycolean

longer

xoxo ashleycolean