by Hope
Boy, lifestyle creep is a real thing. But I am recognizing my proclivity to become more relaxed with my finances as I get more and more caught up. And I am NOT going to let up.
This time last year, we were making it on less than $2,000 per month, barely making it. And here I am making almost 4 times that and somehow, getting to the end of the month feeling a bit desperate. Yup, lifestyle creep is happening. And it’s got to stop now!
This month, I return some of my focus to saving more intensely. As of June 1, 10% of every bit of income is going directly into savings. I am paying myself first. I’ve been so focused on digging out and catching up, that I have failed completely to save. That stops now.
Priorities:
- Regular and focused savings: 10% of every income.
- Payoff personal loan debt.
- Make sure Princess senior year is paid for.
- Regular and significant payments to CC debt.
Before you jump down my throat about #3. I will explain in the next post. But there are this month’s debt numbers.
Debt Update
| Debt Description | October, 2023 Total | Interest Rate | Minimum Payment | Current Total | Payoff Date (Est) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Personal Loan #1 | $2,500 | 0% | $500 (beg April) | $500 | July, 2024 |
| Personal Loan #2 | $2,500 | 0% | $500 (beg April) | $1,000 | August, 2024 |
| CC - Wander | $1,630 | 29.24% | $75 | $1,418 | September, 2024 |
| Dad - New Furnace | $2,600 | 0% | $500 (beg July) | $2,600 | December, 2024 |
| CC - Amazon | $1,497 | 29.99% | $48 | $1,433 | August, 2024 |
| CC - Frontier | $3,857 | 29.99% | $131 | $3,618 | |
| CC - USAA | $5,000 | 19.15% | $135 | $3,274 | |
| Car Loan | $19,581 | 12.69% | Gymnast Pays | $15,532 | |
| Student Loans | $22,121 | 2.875% | In Deferrment | $22,602 | |
| CC - Apple** | $500 | Paid off every month | $0 | ||
| CC - AMEX | $894 | 29.24% | $0 | $0 | Mar, 2024 |
| CC - Sams | $1,106 | 29.99% | $0 | $0 | April, 2024 |
| Total | $61,186 | $1,389 | $51,977 |
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.
This is exactly, down to the dollar values, the same as the last update that you posted. Did you forget to update numbers?
I double checked, and these are definitely the updated numbers.
Lifestyle creep is a real thing. That’s all I can say.
Are you saying your current income is $8000/month? You said previously you were saving all of your income from the fast food job – have you not been saving that?