Debt Progress Like Woah

Woah. All I can say is woah. Since June of 2014, just 16 months ago, I have paid off almost $27,000. Thats 27 THOUSAND dollars. Is that right? Yes, this is true. I just did the math. I'm so proud of myself and excited at my progress. I can finally see the light at the end of the tunnel.

This past weekend I made a final payment on my 3rd student loan and what remains is this little guy below. This little guy that isn't so little, a mere $20k, will be my final debt. Instead of concentrating on the large amount, i'll be taking it one step at a time month by month.

Liabilities	Min Payment	Balance	Interest Rate
Student Loan 1	$227.05	$20,879	2.36% / 6.8%
	227.05	$20,879

I am so excited to be getting these debts out of my life once and for all. And the thought of instead of $1,600+ every month going out the window to paying off debt, will instead land in my savings account and allow me to live a completely different life is such a motivator. I will be able to go after goals that I have placed on the back burner because of this dead weight debt. What a great feeling to have on a Monday! Have a great week!

How is your debt payoff going? Do you have a plan in place? Follow me on Twitter @financegirl 

If I Can Get Out of Debt, So Can You!

Roughly $6,000 later...I'm down to my last 2.. let me repeat that. TWO of Six remaining debts. 

Today, I made my last payment of $184 to student loan #3 and closed the door to that bad decision, never to relive the mistake of taking a loan out for something that I can't pay for in cash. 

I love the feeling of knocking these debts off my list, one by one. Sometimes I get a little ahead of myself and start thinking about how much i'll be able to save once i'm completely free from these last 2 mistakes and what kind of freedom I will experience. 

My life will be completely different.

I started this blog in June 2014 and I've gone from $47K in debt to just under $29K. In 1 year i've scraped up nearly $20k to get these things out of my life. In 2013 I would have never dreamed this was possible! This year, i'm determined to dream a little bigger and pay the last $29K off in 12 months.

Can I do it?

I think I can but stick around and see for yourself! I'll show you how I do it. 

This is A Girls Journey to Financial Freedom.

Do you want to learn more about how to get out of debt? Send me a message and tell me about your own debt problems. Follow me on Twitter @financegirl

Want to Know What Getting a Net Worth Feels Like?

Guess what? I just paid off my credit card today! I made the final $300 payment and i'm not looking back. Goodbye forever, credit card debt.
I'm down to my last 3 debts totaling roughly $31,000, down from $47,000 just 1 year ago. Wow! Can you tell I'm excited?? Whats even better is that next month i'll be paying down the last $2,000 on Student loan #2. I can't believe i'll be down to my last 2 loans and $29,000 of debt after sitting on them for 10+ years. The tunnel is still long, but I am really beginning to see the light at the end and I couldn't be happier. It is an incredible feeling. What will I do when I don't have to send $2,000/mo to debt collectors? I will finally be out of the negative and begin to actually have a net worth at a rate of about $24,000 per year to be specific.
I never gave too much thought to net worth before, but if you're in debt chances are you have a negative net worth. Which sucks! To me, saying, "I have a negative net worth" sounds way crummier than "i'm in debt". I think i'll make that my new mantra when contemplating purchases that aren't in the budget.

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How I'm Getting Rid of My Debt - FAST

That's kind of a trick blog post title, because I actually don't think there is a FAST way to get out of debt. The secret to getting out of debt is persistence and considering all purchases carefully.

'Do I really want to spend $30 on a meal out tonight or do I want to get out of debt $30 sooner?'

I was listening to a finance podcast yesterday with a sometimes arrogant albeit entertaining host and he was talking about people who act rich. They have all kinds of fancy clothes, drive nice cars, etc. but they're up to their eyeballs in debt. They have no savings, no retirement and no paid for house. He yelled into the microphone, "Stop ACTING like you're rich!". I loled. It's so true. Sometimes I find myself planing and justifying luxury sunglasses and bags purchases, and then I hear that sentence in my head and I stop.

Stop ACTING like you're rich! 

Lets get out of debt so we can ACTUALLY GET RICH and then go shopping. 

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Rising Above A Hard Day.

Today has been, and will continue to be until 6pm, one of those days that is incredibly hard to fake enthusiasm for. I am talking about my day job here. I know this year will be hard but it's really important that while i'm here from 10am to 6pm everyday that I remain positive and continue to do my job at the highest level possible. 

When I find myself in these kinds of moods, mapping out my plan and goals usually helps to clear my mind of the negative poor-me thoughts and steer me back to the 'why'. Why am I doing this and why should I be happy to have this opportunity. 

Review of Goals

As you all know, my highest priority in terms of goals this year is to diminish my debt by about a 1/3. Decrease, decrease, decrease. Without this day job for the next year I would not be able to come close to obtaining this goal. In fact I'd be going into additional debt! I must focus on this and remain grateful. Though I might feel trapped in the daily routine, I need to keep in mind that I am slowly accomplishing bit by bit the goal of becoming debt free and as a result financially free.

My 2nd goal is to be building my business on the side so that it will be ready to partially sustain me in 2016. I must use my time wisely since it is limited to time outside the hours of 9am and 7pm. Keeping a very specific to-do list is imperative so that I do not waste time thinking about what is next and getting overwhelmed. Mini goals within this goal for this month is to launch the new blog centered website with new photos of products and have 5 blog posts already up.

There. I already feel better and more focused!

Here's to powering through 2015, identifying what you want, and making it happen! 

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Recap and 2015 Kick Off

Hello 2015, goodbye 2014. 

2014 was a year of getting serious and taking action. I really got into educating my self about money matters and also getting real with my own situation. I had been in denial for way to long.

One of the biggest takeaways from 2014 for me was to get out of debt and do it before doing anything else. There is no sense in saving, beyond an emergency fund, when you have thousands of dollars of debt hanging over your head. Get it paid. So I went into my savings and pulled out what I could spare and left enough in there to have in the event of an emergency.
I also went through my stocks and thought, what I can sell here. I really shouldn't have this much in stocks when I have this much in debt.
Some people say that you shouldn't be contributing to a 401k while you're trying to get out of debt but I don't subscribe to this. I can't see passing up free money from my employer who is willing to match anything I put into the account up to 4% of my income.
I do have $100/paycheck going to a separate savings account automatically. This is my business emergency fund and I feel like it is important to be saving for this while i'm paying on debt.
What i'd like to focus the blog on this year is my continued push to get out of debt. But I will also be talking a lot about my push to move on from a 9-5 job and starting to plan the steps to moving towards working for myself and starting my own business. I am considering 2015 to be the start of this journey and I'm so excited to share every step of it with you!
Here's to a great 2015!

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GOALS For 2015!

2015 Finance Goals

Happy New Year everyone!
I love a fresh start. The ending of one year and the beginning of a new year is something that I look forward to, probably because of how much i've screwed up during the year in the past.
The following are my (perhaps lofty) goals for 2015.

1.) Pay off $12k of debt this year. By using 75% of my tax refund and anticipating a at least 4% raise in March, I should be able to pay an average of $1000/month on my debt bringing my end of year debt balance down to $27k.

2.) Double my business sales from 2014 and sell $5K in 2015. Whooptiedo! I have a small clothing and accessories line which I am creating and selling when i'm not at my day job. I do craft and art fairs around holiday times and have sold consignment to stores in the past. I'd like to do even more of this in 2015, which brings me to my 3rd and last financial goal.

3.) Get out there more! Participate in 1 Spring market and 2 holiday fairs. Sell to at least 1 store and creating more online buzz.

What are YOUR goals for 2015? 

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End Of 2014 Debt Update!

I am so serious about getting out of debt.

Remember that $4,500 credit card debt that I had back in June? It's gone! Paid! What a relief. The consumer debt weight has been lifted! There is light at the end of my debt tunnel and I feel so motivated. I am that much closer to obtaining financial freedom!

So my debt spreadsheet went from $47,039 of debt across 6 different 'loans' in June to $37,772.78 across 4 loans currently. This is called hardwork and dedication, people! If I can do it, you can too.

My current debt spreadsheet now looks like this below. I will take the $300 that I was putting toward the credit card debt and put it toward Student Loan 4 since this is the smallest and I want to keep the momentum going. (I should probably be putting closer to $400/mo extra on the debt but i'm cutting myself a break here at least until I get caught up from holiday spending). Also, all of my interest rates are quite low so the order of payment won't make a huge difference here. In addition, I will be putting $500 on this loan from an apartment rental that I am doing this month, bringing the balance down to $1,207.18 by the end of the week. I should have this paid off in the next 3 months and will start on SL 2 putting $372.55 extra on that loan balance every month.

Liabilities	Amt/mo	Balance	Interest Rate
Student Loan 1	$174.65	$21,691.39	2.36% / 6.8%
Student Loan 2	$82.50	$5,797.62	5.25%
Student Loan 3	$87.92	$8,576.59	3.25%
Student Loan 4	$372.55	$1,707.18	2.36%
	$717.62	$37,772.78

You know what else will happen within the next 3 months? 

Tax refund! Oh yes, 75% of the refund will go to the debt, the other 25% will go to savings. AND March is raise time at work. Woo hoo. Chip, chip, chipping away.

Happy New Years everyone!

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A Personal Career Confession

It is Saturday
after the 4th of July, and as I sit in my boyfriend's empty and quiet apartment (he caught an early flight out of town this am) I decided to brew some coffee and write a quick blog post about some exciting things that are on my horizon. I have decided to put my efforts, well at least 50% of them back into designing and producing my women's clothing line. I designed and launched a small clothing line on my own about 3 years ago and was surprised by my initial success, as I really had no experience with any aspect of it, except for how to work a sewing machine. The success of the business was cut short because I was offered a full time job and took it. This action is one that I find myself thinking about often and contemplating a sense of regret. However, the full time job has turned into a great career, the type of career and work environment that some would kill for. I am surrounded by young, creative, smart and caring people everyday. I was promoted from a part-time bookkeeper to Accounting Manager to the Director of Operations of this successful small design studio in NYC in just 2 years. In that sense, my hard work for this company has paid off and I have so much respect for the company and the people that I work with and for everyday.

This is the confession part...
Working for someone else and in this job is not my passion and I want out. I have been silently struggling with this thought for months. I have been trying to push the though aside and remain happy and positive about what I have accomplished and what I have. In a sense I have built something within this company and myself. Perhaps this was my trial run. I have a feeling in my gut that there is more for me and that I should be on the other side of the employee/employer relationship. It is my dream to create a business and to work really hard for the success that I can truly call my own and that can put me on the path to financial freedom. This, I believe is the only way for me. Thank you for letting me confess my secret. I will be documenting my journey through this chapter and into the next.

Next steps:
*Get out of debt - I am working very hard on my credit card debt and should have this paid off by the spring.
*Emergency fund - I currently have 2 months of emergency funds in the bank and would like to have at lease 4.
*Work on passive streams of income to help financially support me - Blogging, investing, selling clothing samples at markets around the city
*Work on the clothing line in my free time - update my website, market it online and to stores, get people talking about it and get the presence going

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Get Out of Debt Strategy- 5 Simple Steps

Being in debt sucks. But taking control and digging yourself out of it is an amazing feeling. It will make you feel so good that you'll never get in the debt hole ever again, hopefully. These are the 5 steps that I have put into action for myself. I think it's working!

Step 1.) Income: Fun stuff first. What is your monthly take home pay from your main job? Maybe you  have more than one stream of income. How about your monthly eBay sales or your small clothing consignment business? It might only bring in $100/mo but every little bit counts.

Step 2.) Expenses: Do you ever think to yourself, "Hey I have a job. I make decent money. So why am I always broke?" Make a list of your monthly expenses including, rent, mortgage, utilities, phone, internet, cable, car payments, insurance, etc. Once you have your list you can actually see where your money is going. You might even notice some areas where you could cut back and reduce your monthly expense.

Step 3.) Liabilities: Liabilities are debts that you owe to someone. Credit card debt, student loan debt, car loans... these are all liabilities. Order your liabilities from the highest interest rate to the lowest. Your credit cards will probably be the highest since most have an APR upwards of 19%! When you make your list, make sure you note the principle amount due, minimum monthly payments, and the interest rate.

Step 4.) Math: Take your total income and subtract your expenses. This is like a first tier of your net income. Then subtract from that your liabilities. This is like your net-net income and is what you have to work with for the month. I like to separate the expenses from the liabilities so I can see what I would be working with had I not racked up that credit card AND how much extra I will have every month once all of my debts are re-payed. It's a huge motivator for me!

Step 5.) Pay the Debt!: If you can swing it, take a portion of your net-net income and make a higher payment on the highest interest carrying debt. It might be your credit card and it might only be $50 extra per month but it's something. Once this debt is paid, move on to the next highest interest carrying debt on your list and pay that min payment + the $50 that you had going towards the credit card and so on and so on. I put this into practice myself and i'm already halfway through the credit card debt. It's the quickest way to do it and the cheapest. The longer you sit on that debt the more money in interest you are paying to the creditors, which is what they want! Don't give them what they want! Taking control and getting out of debt is empowering!

Are you in debt? What's your get-out-of-debt strategy?

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Twitter Acquires TapCommerce and I Reap the Benefits

Twitter, TWTR is up! Finally. This was one of the first of a handful of stocks that I bought about a month ago and traded 10 shares. I was waiting for the right time to sell this one almost as soon as I bought it since it's been going sideways with a downward slant for weeks, it seems! (This could just be my emotions talking.) But this past week something shifted and it has been on the rise. Yesterday it closed at $40.97 up from what I paid, $34.70. That's a 15% gain! A quick Google search lead me to believe that it could be due to reports of a deal to buy TapCommerce, a mobile advertising company. The price? A cool $100M.

My goal with the stock market is to make reduced risk and conservative trades, cap my loses, and get out while i'm up enough to make a profit. Twitter, you're on my watch list!

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My 2nd Stock - Apple, AAPL

Hey, I bought more stock! Did you know that on June 6th Apple, .AAPL split its stock 7-1. What was once a stock that was super out of my financial reach at $635/share  is now totally affordable at $91.98/share. I bought 31 shares on June 6th for $92.12 each. I have a lot of faith in this stock as it one of the most traded stocks in the market, and with the iphone 6 about to release, I am confident that it will go up.
You know what else is cool about Apple, AAPL? It offers a quarterly dividend of $0.47. $1.88/year times my 31 shares is $58.28. Just for owning the stock! Sure, I'll take it!

What are you investing in? 

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Steps to Financial Freedom Recap

I'm so happy that it's Friday and I wanted to take a minute to recap what steps I have taken so far to get me on the path to financial freedom! I'm giving myself a little pat on the back here because I think I deserve it!

Step 1. I decided that I wanted to get out of debt. Big step! So I made a list of my debts, corresponding interest rates, balances due and ordered them from the highest to lowest interest rate. The credit card is at the very top of the list with a 19% APR. I moved the balance from that card to a card that has a 0% APR for the first 12 months,  making my monthly payment $300. That's doable. Then I automated this payment so I don't have to watch the $300 payment leaving my bank account every month. It just happens which is way less painful.

Step 2. I took a look at my savings account. If i'm paying them then I want to pay myself too. So I spoke to my payroll dept at work and changed my direct deposit to put all but $100 of every paycheck in my checking account and put that other $100 into a savings account. The savings account is a high yield savings account, it is not connected to my regular bank, lessening the temptation to dip into it, AND I automated the action. It's a small amount but it's better then nothing and it adds up.

Step 3. I took control of my 401k and feel like I really know what is happening there. I know how much i'm investing through every paycheck, what i'm investing in, and how to check my YTD earnings and my progress.

Step 4. I did my research and started investing an old 401(k), that I rolled into an IRA through Sharebuilder, in the stock market. My first stock purchase was only 5 shares. This keeps my potential loss and risk low and at the same time i'm learning so much by being an active participant. It's really exciting!

Future steps:
Continue getting out of debt. After the credit card is paid off, move on to the student loan debt.
Continue to save. Increase this amount after the credit card is paid off.
Continue to invest in the 401(k). Increase this amount after the credit card is paid off too.
Continue to invest in the stock market. Alway research new stocks and sectors.
Work on my passive income streams. Blogging, clothing line, new products. (More to come on this topic!)

What are the steps that you have taken so far towards financial freedom? What will your next steps be?

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Top 3 401(k) Considerations

Back to my 401(k). Sorry to go back to this, but I really want to understand what is happening with that money! I want to be sure that I am making the right decisions as far as how much i'm contributing and what my contributions are being invested in. With that in mind, today I sat down and went through the whole thing. I took the time to log on to the account that holds my investments and shows me the growth thus far. If you haven't set this up yet, I suggest you do it. I hadn't looked at it for 6 months and it has really started to add up! $$$ in the bank, now that's what I like to see!

What are you investing in?
Most 401(k) plans have a few specific funds that you can invest in. You can put 100% into one fund or spread it around into a few different funds. My 401(k) has bond funds, growth funds and value funds, as well as funds that are specifically tailored to your needs based on the year you plan to retire. This for me was the easiest way to go and was what I started out with. But recently I decided to switch it up a bit and put my money into a few of the other funds. I'm spreading it around a bit to see what happens. By keeping tabs on my YTD return percentage I can track my progress and see if I was better off letting the professionals handle it when it was in the retirement year specified fund.

401k vs. Roth 401k
Some companies, like mine will also give you the option of a regular 401(k) and a Roth 401(k). You should conduct your own research on these two terms but i'm going to break it down very simply here.
A regular 401(k) comes out of your paycheck pre-tax. This means that your taxable income is lowered and thus less taxes to pay. At the time of retirement, you will pay taxes when you withdraw the money according to your tax rate at that time.
In a Roth 401(k) you pay taxes on your contributions upfront, which means that you don't lessen your present tax burden. However, at the age of retirement you won't pay taxes on your withdrawals.
Its like a now or later sort of situation.

How much?
My company has a 4% match so i'm contributing that much. I can't see passing up free money! Since i'm trying to get out of debt, I only contribute that much but once I free up more of my monthly income I plan to increase that %.

As always, always do your research and consult with a tax professional before you make any major decisions about your retirement and finances.

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Tips for Finding More Money in Your pocket This Month!

One way to find more money in your pocket and tackle that debt! is to first take look at your expenses to see what you are spending your hard earned cash on. You might be surprised at what you find.
Once you have your list, decide if there are any expenses that you can eliminate. My list looks like this:

Rent

Utilities

Cell phone

Internet

Student loans

Credit card payments

Netflix

Gym

Groceries

Metro Card

My list is pretty pared down, however, I could still make some changes. I could find a less expensive cell phone plan. I could cut that payment in half and have $50 extra/mo in my pocket. I could look for an apt with less expensive rent, something that I am seriously considering. (The rent is too damn high!) I am all about health and fitness and I am a regular at my gym, but do I need a gym membership in the warm months when I can run outside? Or maybe I could find a less expensive gym.
Just a few small changes here and I could have another potential $200-$400 extra in my pocket every month.
It's worth taking a look. Don't let your expenses weigh you down.

Have you tracked your expenses? Where will you cut some corners?

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Investing - My First Trade!

So I've finally pulled the trigger and traded my first stock! One of the first things that I learned about investing in the stock market, as a complete novice, is that when you buy or sell a stock it's called trading. Minor detail. Anyway..
I signed up for an online brokerage through Sharebuilder. I really like the interface and find it very easy to navigate, especially for a beginner. I'm using money from an old 401(k) that was rolled into IRA to trade with. is another online brokerage that I recently found. They offer cheaper fees, $4.95/trade compared to $6.95/trade with Sharebuilder and they're running a promotion right now. If you switch over they will give you up to $150 bonus. Not a bad way to start investing for someone on a tight budget with not a lot of cash to spare!
What ever you choose to do, check it out thoroughly and always do your research.
My first stock trade was Hewlett-Packard Co, HPQ. I purchased 5 shares for $33.14/share, a total purchase price of $165.70 + $6.95 in fees. This isn't a huge investment and I am comfortable if I lose a few bucks on this. HPQ is currently trading at $34.52. I've had it for about a month and I think i'll keep watching it for another month. If it doesn't do much i'll put it on the sell list. Ideally, I want to make my purchase price + fees back at the very least, but we'll see what happens. I'll keep you posted on this one and my future trades too!

Are you trading? What was or will be your first trade?

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Emergency Fund and How Much to Have

It's a good idea to have a few things in place before you begin to invest and reach out for those passive streams of income and eventually wealth. I have talked in previous posts about a few of these things. We talked about 401(k) and how its a good idea to participate so you can take advantage of that employer match. I also talked about getting out of debt which is something that I am currently working on. I will have much more money to work with once I do this.

The emergency fund

Another good idea is to have an emergency fund in place. In the event that something terrible should happen to you or your family, like losing your job or needing an unexpected operation etc. you will be happy that you have this safety net of a fund in place.

How much is enough?

There are some different schools of thought on the amount that should be in your fund. Some people say the amount should be able to cover 3 months of expenses, others say that it should cover 6 months. My fund (yes, I do have a fund ) will cover me for just about 3 months. This makes me feel pretty secure.

Do you have an emergency fund? Do you feel safer knowing that you have a financial safety net? 

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Asset Classes - Diversification Or Bet It All On Black?

3 Asset classes
The 3 main asset classes are stocks or equities, bonds or fixed income, and money markets or cash equivalents. These are terms that I have seen over and over again in my research on investing in the stock market and at first was totally confused by them. What are they and whats the difference?

How does each one perform differently?
Each one performs differently depending on what the market is doing and how it is changing.
Equities or stocks have historically outperformed the other classes, however they tend to be more volatile and bring more risk.
Fixed income or bonds are investments that are set up to pay out at a set interest rate over a set period of time. They are safe but the potential return is less than that of equities.
Money markets or cash equivalents are the lowest returning of the 3 asset classes but the safest. They provide a minimum return on investment.

Diversifying across these three main classes can help to lower your risk and improve chances of steady gains. Mixing very safe with a little bit of risky has proved to be a better method than betting it all on black! I guess it depends on what kind of a gambler you are.

Are you diversifying your investments across asset classes?

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2014 Midway Point - Goal Reflection

It occurred to me today, that we are just days from the midway point of 2014. Wow, already!? This year, a year that was supposed to be THE YEAR for me, has I have to admit been pretty good. I started out 2014 with a slew of goals as I always do, making sure to keep them high enough but still attainable. No one likes failure! Below are 4 of the most important goals that I made for 2014.

Credit card debt: This was the first goal that I had on my list. I feel pretty good about this one, even though my cc debt won't be paid off completely until early next year. Not only do I have my system in place for paying this down, but it's also automated, requiring no work from me. It's just happening!

Saving: Next, I had a goal to save $200/mo. It is really hard to have debt and also a 401k that gets contributed to every month, but to also be saving money in a savings account? Guess what people, i'm doing just that! And again, it's automated! $100 comes out of every paycheck and gets directly deposited into my high interest yielding savings account. Check!

Financially free plan: The 3rd goal was to put a plan in place to become financially free. This one is a little less measurable but I think I can say that i'm at least on the path to getting there. I believe that if I continue to educate myself about investing, debt reduction, passive income, and entrepreneurship, I will get there.

Career: The final thing on my list of goals is to work on my career. Whether it be getting a promotion at my day job (which did happen this year, btw) or by getting my entrepreneurial side of things up and moving. This goal needs more focus over the course of this 2nd half. The focus needs to be shifted on what I want and what will make me happy.

Overall, I think it's been a pretty successful 6 months. So congratulations and lets celebrate our midway 2014 successes and work hard on accomplishing more over the next 6 months!

How will you make your 2nd half of 2014 as sucessful as it can possibly be?

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My Debt Spreadsheet

I want to talk about my debt in specifics. I'm prepared to get very real and open about my debt. In the hopes that it will keep me on track (because I really don't want to fail publicly) I have prepared a spreadsheet listing all of my current debt, the monthly payments, interest rates, as well as the balance still owed. I'm not going to lie. I had been hiding from the truth, a bit, and got a little sad when I saw the actual number presented before me of what I owe in the balance column. Gulp!

Liabilities	Amt/mo	Balance	Interest Rate
Credit Card 1	$190.00	$380.00	15.24%
Credit Card 2	$300.00	$4,335.00	0%
Student Loan 1	$174.65	$22,898.00	2.36% / 6.8%
Student Loan 2	$82.50	$6,792.00	5.25%
Student Loan 3	$87.92	$9,695.00	3.25%
Student Loan 4	$72.55	$2,939.00	2.36%
	$907.62	$47,039.00

The good news is that i'm only 2 months away from paying off credit card #1! Yay!!

Whats your debt look like? How close are you to paying it off and 

celebrating your new financial freedom?

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