Some days I have so much to say regarding a topic … and other days very little. Thank goodness today is budget day. I can be sick, not worry about saying a whole lot, and still can get things accomplished. :)
Here's where we stand.
Spending
If this graph looks a little different from last month, it's because Justin reconfigured Mint so that our student loan payments did not look like spending. Obviously going out and buying groceries or clothes is a very different expenditure than paying down debt. Kudos to us for spending less in February 2015 than we ever have before! Unfortunately, this provides me with a new goal: spend less in every month going forward than we did in February 2015. We've proven we can do it, we just have to keep it up (or down, as the case may be)!
Assets
I really want to burst into song…
"We're movin' on up! To the East side! To a deluxe apartment in the skyyyyy…" :)
(I watched a lot of old tv shows when I was a kid…)
Since January, our assets have nearly doubled. This was due to a substantial reimbursement from the government after we filed our taxes. While it's never a good thing to pay the government more than you owe, we changed the way we filed our taxes this year, filing jointly as a married couple rather than separately as a married couple. Due to the change, we received more back in taxes, but we will be required to pay more toward student loans this year than we have in the past. We're taking this as a positive financial change since our newest goal is to have our student loans paid off within 3 years. Financial freedom, here we come!
What a fantastic segway into…
Debts
Our debts are down by 15% from our highest in April 2014 and down by 4.4% from our total in January. While I might have been confused last month by how we could have paid off so much, this month I am not. Justin and I have been able to contribute and pay down a lot more on student loans since 2015 started then we have ever been able to pay down in the past. To add to that, we have ZERO credit card fees since we moved our credit card debt to a 0% interest card meaning we get to pay an extra $100 to $200 a month towards debt! YAY! Now to get the student loan interest down…
Networth
One thing I absolutely hate seeing is all of that red. It makes me wonder if we will ever have all of our debt paid off. The good news is that we have improved our networth by 20% in the past year and 13% in the past month. Those are definitely acceptable numbers in my book.
Final Thoughts For This Month
• I like getting 5% cashback on gas with the Discover It card. An extra $21 this month that can be used towards paying for … whatever? Yes, please.
• We also received $300 cashback from our Costco credit card. Whoop!
• I've been loving the $50 discount Neiman Marcus has given for purchases of $100 or more when using Visa checkout. I've taken advantage of it 3 times thus far and gotten many wedding gifts for essentially half off! Plus some stuff for me. :) When combined with Shoprunner to receive free 2 day shipping and ExtraBux to receive 7% cashback on the purchase price, it's a pretty great deal that you should be sure to take advantage of!
• Justin and I continue to be over budget in groceries and "everything else"… We just have to keep in mind that any money we don't spend can go straight to debt and help us reach financial freedom earlier. It's a mindset that is sometimes really difficult to wrap one's mind around. Give up momentary happiness for the longterm? No thanks, I need some immediate gratification please! :)
Your Turn
How are your finances coming? Do you have any immediate or longterm goals you are tackling right now? Have you filed your taxes yet? What is the best way you've found to grow your networth and pay off debt?
