by Hope
As I sat thinking and planning for my finances for this month, I was trying to come up with a financial challenge and I just can’t. It’s just going to be an expensive month. As discouraging as that is, the silver lining is that once this month is over, I can resume my monthly challenges.
Extra Expenses this Month
- We’ve got back to school shopping to do. We are still waiting to hear when and how schools will resume, but I know that my 3 youngest kids need some new clothes. And school supplies of some sort.
- I am sending Gymnast to a week of outdoor day camp. While this was not originally planned, it needs to be done. Anyone else with high maintenance kids know how much you need downtime from them. That will cost $300, but I know it will pay for itself in the amount of work I can get done with him occupied.
- Princess may have to attend a volleyball camp. She is debating even playing volleyball this year after getting a taste of working and earning her own money. This is why camp is a maybe. I have made it clear to her that I will happily pay the $350 for camp if she is going to play volleyball. But if she is not, she needs to make that decision now as I will not be happy if I pay for the camp and she doesn’t play.
- Senior pictures for the two girls are scheduled for this month. This won’t be a large expense as a friend is taking them. But I will pay her something because it is her livelihood. (I often feel taken advantage of when people ask me to do or help with large tech projects as a favor with no offer of compensation. As a result, I am very careful to not do that to others.)
We are So Blessed
I look at this list and realize just how much we have to be grateful for, especially during the pandemic. These are all extras. They are all choices I am making. None of these are required to live.
All in all, these extras are probably going to be about $1,200 to cover this list. And as I think about that number I get a little sick to my stomach because that would be another good chunk of my student loans gone. (For the record, I already have a $1,200 student loan payment scheduled. I am sticking to my debt payoff plan.)
And I might very well change or cut back some of this…but right now, this is the plan.
But, the good news, as I continue to forecast and plan…After this month, extra expenses for the last 5 months of the year should be minimal.
Hope is a resourceful, solutions-driven online business manager with over two decades of experience helping clients streamline operations, manage projects, and grow their businesses through digital marketing and technology.
But life has a way of rewriting your plans.
A year ago, Hope made the decision to move in with her aging parents full time – a season she wouldn’t trade, even as it came with its own financial and emotional weight. Earlier this year, she lost her mother, and is now walking the tender, disorienting path of grief while learning what “forward” looks like from here.
Hope came to the Blogging Away Debt community in 2015 as a single mom raising five foster and adoptive children. She’s written through job changes, financial setbacks, and the bittersweet transition to an empty nest. Her kids are finding their footing in the world now – and so is she.
Rooted in faith and fueled by the same perseverance she’s brought to every hard season, Hope is ready to face her finances with fresh eyes and an honest pen. She believes that clarity, courage, and community can change the trajectory of anyone’s story including her own.
She lives in Austin, TX with her dad, loves adventures with her dog Addie, and is figuring out, one step at a time, what this next chapter is meant to be.
Remember you have tuition in December(and Christmas) so this isn’t really the last expensive month. You are doing great though. If you do even $1000 a month in principle you end up with around $3000 left on that smaller loan. Ending the year with $22,000 instead of $32,000 would be great to see. The big thing is to not give up when you aren’t able to put as much on the loan as you want(You tend to aim really really high in terms of numbers.) Dust yourself off and keep plowing forward. Large numbers in the tens of thousands mean you need to think in terms of preparing for a financial marathon, not a sprint. Find a decent pace for your budget(I suggested $600 initially and you blew that out of the water for 2 months straight) and try to stick with it.
You are right…but I guess I didn’t write it. I already paid another $750 on Princess tuition and plan to pay the last payment in August.