by Matt Fildes
Hey everybody! Happy Tuesday!
I want to share with everyone what I’m going to start using as my new budget now that I’m on the 2nd phase on my debt payoff.
But before I do that, I want to tell you quickly about my weekend. It was mys father’s 55th birthday, so we went up to Buffalo to celebrate and hangout. Much like I did for Mother’s Day (here), GF and I went to hard made route for my Father’s Day. Instead of doing the fresh cut flowers and a letter, I picked up a 6 pack of a beer I know he hasn’t tried (he’s really into beer tasting) and made the card myself. It’s by no means a work of art, and even though it looks like a child made it, I assure you the handy work was all mine:
(Yes, we are HUGE Bills fans, if you couldn’t tell, lol)
I did the drawing free hand using an image from Google Image Search as a guide and filled it in using water colors. I personalized a little inscription on the inside basically telling my dad how much we appreciate him, This was my first attempt at really creating something as a gift, and though it is simple, I could tell my dad really appreciated it. I feel I’m going to have a lot more crafting in my future. As for GF, she made an absolutely delicious salsa using the vegetables from our garden for him (read about it here), which she then wrapped up in a little container with a bow. So between the beer, the salsa and the card, I think we did pretty good.
As for my budget, I’ve added a some line items, because of lumping everything into a catch all “Miscellaneous” category for all items that I don’t have planned for. I’ve also added a car maintenance line to take car of items like oil changes and repairs. Here’s what it looks like:
For comparisons sake, here is what I was using:
So…what do you guys think?
And lastly, here are my new debt balances since last week:
| Loan Name | Interest Rate | Original Balance- May '09 | Current Balance | Total Paid Off | Paid Since Last Week |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sallie Mae 01 | 5.25 | $27,837.24 | $23,776.95 | $4,060.29 | $0.00 |
| Sallie Mae 02 | 4.75 | $22,197.02 | $18,651.56 | $3,545.46 | $0.00 |
| Sallie Mae 03 | 7.75 | $20,692.10 | $0.00 | $20,692.10 | $0.00 |
| Sallie Mae 04 | 5.75 | $10,350.18 | $5,310.59 | $4,867.47 | $443.12 |
| Sallie Mae 05 | 5.25 | $6,096.03 | $0.00 | $6,096.03 | $0.00 |
| Sallie Mae 06 and 07 | 4.75 | $6,415.09 | $0.00 | $6,415.09 | $0.00 |
| Sallie Mae- DOE 01 | 5.25 | $5,000.00 | $0.00 | $5,000.00 | $0.00 |
| Sallie Mae- DOE 02 | 5.25 | $3,000.00 | $0.00 | $3,000.00 | $0.00 |
| AES | 6.8 | $9,000.00 | $0.00 | $9,000.00 | $0.00 |
| TOTALS | $110,587.66 | $47,295.98 | $63,291.68 | $443.12 |
I hope everyone has a great week!
I think the budget is great – I think the more things that are broken down and not part of “miscellaneous” the better. Are you going to put money into each of them every month – i.e. doctor, dentist, etc. in case of an emergency?
I LOVE the card you did for your dad – I know I have said this many times but I love, love, LOVE the handmade, personal, thoughtful gifts more than anything……unlike MY oldest daughter who forgot my birthday this year…..but I’m not bitter 🙂
Hey Sue- I’m not planning on putting any money into teh categories that have $0. I’ve got all the dental work done that I need done until my next cleaning next year and other than going to get my annual checkup, I’m pretty healthy (knock on wood, lol). I mean, accidents do happen for sure, but that’s why I have my EF.
And thanks about the card! I appreciate that 🙂
What’s with the pay cut?
I’m guessing this represents pay received after the new 401k contributions are deducted.
Yes exactly. The sample budget was from last March, before I was contributing to the 401K. Now I’m contributing 10%. I keep track of only take home pay, since that’s what I have to live off of.
It seems that you have a plan going, first you have a goal deadline in mind, you have a budget, you now have laser focus, I’m excited to see what comes of it!
Thank Juju, me too! 🙂
You’re making great progress with your debt, but also with spending time and energy on the people you love — it seems like you’re really figuring out a good balance for your life here. Congratulations. And won’t it be fun to see the back of Sallie Mae 04? Pretty soon, it looks like!
That is so sweet that you made your dad a card. Congrats on the debt payoff progress!