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Hope’s Debt Update – February, 2024

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I am hitting the ground running. Because my new work is contract based and I have learned over the years…I am working on a monthly retainer agreement and will be paid in advance each month. Since I started work this week, I have already been paid for the 9 days this month.

As soon as it hit my bank…I scheduled to pay off one of my credit cards. Woot, woot! My lowest balance card is at $0! And I am going to cancel the card to avoid any temptation in the future.

Debt DescriptionOctober, 2023 TotalInterest RateMinimum PaymentCurrent Total
Personal Loan #1$2,5000%$2,500
Personal Loan #2$2,5000%$2,500
Dad - New Furnace$2,6000%$2,600
CC - AMEX$89429.24%$0$0
CC - Wander$1,63029.24%$124$1,735
CC - USAA$5,00019.15%$135$4,966
CC - Amazon$1,49729.99%$53$1,481
CC - Sams$1,10629.99%$40$1,133
CC - Frontier$3,85729.99%$131$3,676
Car Loan$19,58112.69%Gymnast Pays$17,635
Student Loans$22,1212.875%In Deferrment$22,186
CC - Apple**$500Paid off every month$0
Total$61,186$60,412

Updates

I was a little disappointed to see that my overall total has not really gone down since October. But I did add the $2,600 that I now owe my dad; otherwise, it would have showed some movement. I am playing around with my forecast spreadsheet to see how I can balance paying off debt along with getting ahead on some things.

Since this is only a 6 month contract, I am being pretty conservative. My financial goals as of right now for these 6 months are:

  • Pay my mortgage payments through the end of the year.
  • Pay off 2 credit cards – 1 is done as of this post and I think I am going to pay off my second lowest balance as well.
  • Pay off my two personal loans at $500 per month beginning in April. I’ve already touched base with one of them and she’s good with it. Going to reach out to the other and get his okay. (Or better yet, get him to commit to a web build to cancel that debt. We will see.)

None of my part time income is in my forecast as it’s not steady. (Made less than $200 in January.) So for now, that money will just dump into savings to help rebuild my cushion.

 

Four Weeks of Interviews

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The last week of December, I heard from a past client asking if I was available for a big role. I was so excited to hear from him. Not only was he one of my favorite clients, but, of course, I wanted more work. But I was also immediately torn as I felt a loyalty to my accounting client.

He and I scheduled a call for the second week of January to touch base. And the day before that call…I was laid off.

So while I was devastated in one sense, my availability opened up and need for work became urgent.

Round and Round of Calls

The first call went great. The role he described was a dream role. And we left that call with some things to think about. But no real plan.

The second call was a couple of weeks later due to some pre-scheduled travel on his part. And we were both prepared. It went great. And I came in confident that I could not only succeed in the role, but with a firm grasp of what I was willing to offer to get it. Firm boundaries.

By the third call we had come to terms as far as time commitment and finances. It was a compromise on both our parts, but for the first time, probably ever, I stuck to my guns. And came away feeling really good about the deal we had tentatively struck.

Fourth and fifth calls nailed down the details and introduced me to the leadership team. And as of the writing of this post, we have a signed 6 month contract. I will start next week.

The future looks bright.

The Details

I will be bringing in $6,000 per month as a part time independent contractor. We will re-evaluate at the 90 day mark and 6 month mark to discuss expanding the role and possible increase in rate. As a contractor, I am wholly responsible for all my taxes, FICA, etc. so I can’t just go budget $6K. But this is a huge step in the right direction. And I am so pleased!

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