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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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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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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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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