Welcome to my February 2021 updates!

If you are new here, every month I post the progress I’ve made on paying off my student loans and on my savings. I’ve done this since I first started paying down my loans in July 2017 and it has been so worth it.

Student debt paid this month: $880.77

Student debt remaining: $44,751.86

I house every month’s debt progress from the very beginning here if you want to check out the progress so far.

Updates for This Month

February was a very calm month. Work has been fairly uneventful and I focused a lot of my energy on my new hobby of running. Otherwise, I can’t think of anything quite remarkable happening this month.

Student Debt

I’m continuing to focus all my income on down-payment savings so I am still only making the $880.77 minimum payments to my private student loan. I’m also continuing to take advantage of the COVID-19 forbearance on my federal loans so I have not made any payments there since March of 2020.

February Budget

Fixed Spending

The biggest change to my budget sheet this month is I did not make any payments for rent or for my loan to my parents. That is intentional. 

My parents and I agreed that I would postpone any monthly payments to them while I am in the midst of the home-buying process. I will instead continue to save up and resume payments once the home-buying process is complete.

I can’t believe how low my monthly spending could be if I didn’t have any debt or once I have a paid off home that I can live rent free at.

Other than that, my cell phone bill and Netflix make up the rest of my fixed spending.

Variable Spending

Gas – Gas prices and spending are definitely creeping up. I have been going out a little more this month as I am starting to feel safer having gotten both doses of the COVID vaccine. 

Entertainment/dining out – As I mentioned, I started going out a bit more. And for me, going out usually revolves around food. While I am still limiting myself to outdoor activities, I am starting to dine out more hence the over-budget in this area.

Groceries – My dining out category is usually inversely proportional to my groceries category. So when dining out goes up, grocery bills tend to go down as I’m not cooking as much at home.

Shopping – I shocked myself when I checked my budget for this month. I actually didn’t do any shopping in February without realizing it!

Miscellaneous

Condolence Gift- I gave a monetary gift to one of my close friends who lost her dad this month.

Savings

I’m holding off on making Roth IRA contributions while I focus on increasing my down payment savings. In addition to the $1,000/month that automatically goes to my savings account from my paycheck, I am saving up everything else in my checking account.

Goals for Next Month

I hope that I’ll be further along in the home buying process next month. I won’t get my hopes too high on what “further along” is as long as it’s a step up from where I am now.

Non-financially related, I am starting Week 7 of the Couch to 5K program so I am hoping to successfully finish it and clear my goal of running a 5K nonstop in March!