Welcome to my January 2019 student loan debt progress, the first of 2019!

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

I do this to hold myself accountable and to share my debt progress with others who are also facing debt payments of their own.

Debt paid this month: $1,500

Debt remaining: $87,630

I also 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

I’ve successfully recertified my REPAYE program so I can continue on this income-driven payment plan. Since my recertification fell during the 2018 year, I was able to use my 2017 tax return for the certification.

This proved to be great timing because in 2017 I had only worked full time for about 3 months of the year as I didn’t graduate until May and didn’t get licensed till almost the end of the year.

So while the sad news is my $0 minimum payment is coming to an end soon, my new minimum payment is still less than what it would have been under the standard 10-year payment plan.

I’ll talk more about it when the change actually happens since I still have 2 more months on my $0 minimum payment. So for now, my plan is still the same. I make payments only to my highest interest rate loan and contribute $0 to all other loans.

January Budget

I’m way over-budget for this month. Not a good way to start the year but what can I do. I’ll dive into the 2 main culprits: travel and entertainment shortly.

Fixed Spending

Nothing much here, just the usual expenses. I live at home but pay rent to my parents and am also paying back my personal loan to them at $500/month.

I am still trying to figure out what my portion of the cell phone bill is because I split my line with a couple of friends and we’ve had changes going on recently so that will be resolved in my February statement.

Variable Spending

Let’s get to the meat of the problem. I’m out of control with my spending.

On one hand, I’m starting to settle back in my home town and am finally starting to come out of my shell and hang out with new friends.

On the other hand, I absolutely hate the hit it has taken on my budget. I’d hate to think that lifestyle inflation has gotten to me. But these spendings tell me otherwise.

To be perfectly honest, I don’t think I’ve inflated my lifestyle. Shopping wise, I only bought a pair of new jeans and a top this month.

The main culprit is, I literally have just gotten out of my cocoon and started going out more. Hence the over-budget in my entertainment and dining out category.

For lack of better words, this just suck, because I obviously don’t want to let my youth (whatever is left of it) pass by because the future is not always guaranteed. But I definitely realize that if I continue doing what I’ve been doing, my progress on paying off my student loans will be very limited.

Investment & Loan Payments

I put down $1,000 every month into my Roth IRA and plan to max out my 2018 (still have till April 2019 to finish 2018 contributions) and 2019 contributions.

My plan for 2019 is to also max my 401k so that has taken a toll on my take-home pay but I am sure it will be worth it for my future.

I wasn’t able to meet my goal of putting down $2,000/month to my student loans which I expected since I’m trying to build back my emergency fund that I used up last month and save for my first (ever!) international trip that I’m paying with my own money.

Other

My pharmacist license renewal was due so that took a big chunk of my money.

I also booked my plane ticket and hotels for my trip coming up in a couple of months so that just killed my budget right there. The travel expenses went straight to my 0% APR credit card so at least I don’t have to worry about paying it off for a while.

I’m anticipating spending at least another $2,000 on the actual trip itself since let’s just say my travel companions like the finer things in life. Not quite the best choice of companions for a girl trying to keep costs down but what can I say, I actually like these people.

Goals for Next Month

1. Save, save, save

Saving is the name of the game for February. I want to slowly pay down my 0% APR credit card so it does not build up by the time the promo period ends.

I also need to build a reserve of cash to take while I travel since I cannot rely on my credit card. As far as I know, none of my credit cards are travel credit cards so I will not be able to use it during the travel.

2. Pay $2,000 to student loans

No excuses this month, I am sticking to my plan of putting down $2,000 to my student loans in February.

3. Stick to $230 Dining Out/Entertainment budget

This one is going to be a hard one since I know I have a couple of outings already planned in February that is going to be eating away at my budget. But I’m going to try my best to stick to the $230 combined dining out/entertainment budget that I had set back in November 2018.

Last update: On a random note, while my finances isn’t quite starting on the right foot in 2019, I have gone to the gym 4 times in January which was a whopping success compared to my total 0 gym counts in December.

I’m hoping for success in both for February. Fingers crossed.