2011 Debt Update and 2012 Resolutions

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Happy New Year everyone! Last year sped by so fast, and although I do not feel like I made much of a dent in my students loans over the year, I did hit a major goal and my networth is slowly increasing.

So as I’m reflecting on the past year and making personal resolutions, I figured this is a good time to think about financial goals and what plans I can make to eliminate my debt.

Looking back at 2011

The year started out on a positive note with two part-time jobs, one of which eventually became a full-time job with benefits, finally ending two years of under and unemployment. With my new regular income, I started getting serious about paying down my ridiculous student loan debt.

Here’s what I’ve achieved:

  • Monthly payment amount dropped from $1024.70 to $996.97.
  • Paid $7100 towards my principal, dropping my private loan about to $91K.
  • Rebuilt my emergency savings from $300 to $2400.

I’ve made some good progress this year and I’m happy. Obviously I’d love to do more, but with my income, this was the most I could do for 2011.

Goals for 2012

I have a few very loft goals for 2012. I don’t entirely expect to reach them unless I have some unexpected (positive) surprises, but I figure that if I work as vigorously as I can towards these two goals, whatever outcome I get (even if I fall short) will be fantastic.

Goal 1: Reduce my private student loan debt to under $80K.
I’m currently owe Sallie Mae about $91K. Though $11K seems like a small amount, my interest rates are high, and if I make just the minimum payments each month, only about $350 goes towards my principal balance. So for 12 months that’s only $4200. I want pay off more than double that, which means a lot of extra payments from me.

During 2011, I paid about $7100 towards my principal, so the goal isn’t too unreasonable. I just have to focus all extra money I have in my budget towards paying on this debt.

Goal 2: Reduce my monthly payment amount to less than $900
I slayed my 2011 goal to reduce my monthly payment amount to below a grand, but this goal isn’t quite so easy. During 2011, I reduced the amount by $27.73. To hit $900, I’d have to reduce it by about $97, more than three times what I did last year.

Will I meet this goal? Doubtful, but I think I can achieve a lot with the right mindset. An interest rate drop would help too, but I haven’t had one of those since 2008, so I won’t hold my breath.

Goal 3: Increase emergency savings to $3000
This is achievable. I had to give myself one easy one. I plan to contribute $50 a month to my savings, plus 25% of any bonuses and refunds I get during the year (the other 75% will go to my student loans, of course). Just my monthly contribution will get me to $3000, so everything else is just gravy.

What kinds of goals do you have for 2012?

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Posted at 11:52 AM, January 1, 2012 by Tiffany


Cyber Monday Deals for 2011

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 Powered by Max Banner Ads 

Cyber Monday is here, which means there are tons of great deals online. Check out a few of the best:

Living Social

Other Deals

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Don’t forget to shop online through Ebates, Shop at Home or Upromise to get cash back on your purchases.

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Posted at 10:32 AM, November 28, 2011 by Tiffany


Student Loan Update: Sallie Mae Drops My Monthly Payment Again

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The past two months have been a bit of a challenge for me in the money department. Money hasn’t be tight or anything, but moving all of my money from one bank to the other is time consuming and confusing, especially for someone like me who is meticulous about keeping a balanced checking account. Because it was all sort of overwhelming, I didn’t make an extra payments towards my student loans since I was in the middle of moving money around between different accounts.

I successfully change my Sallie Mae autodebit to my new checking account and once my October payment amount was successfully deducted, I didn’t think much about it again.

Today I went to log in to my account to set up my extra payment for November and I was greeted with a little surprise.


Sallie Mae dropped my monthly payment amount again and I never got the email notification for it. Finally, I am under $1000 for my monthly payment. This is great because I was so close to my goal the last time Sallie Mae dropped my payment in July.

I really hope to give my student loans a good ass kicking over the next few months. It’s likely I’ll get a bonus in December and I should be due a tax refund next spring, so that’s extra money that will be funneled straight to savings and student loans.

Another thing that will help me in my fight against Sallie Mae: I recently got a Upromise credit card which I’m using for all of my day-to-day purchases (and don’t worry, I pay it off every month before I’m charged any interest). I get varying percentages back depending on my purchases, which goes straight to my student loans (quarterly).

Considering I started with 6 digit debt, this will be a long battle, but every reduction in monthly payment is the nice little boost that reminds me I’m just a little bit closer to being debt free.

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Posted at 10:41 AM, November 19, 2011 by Tiffany


How to Check your Credit Report and Score for Free

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With all of the bank research I’ve done the past few weeks, I’ve thought a lot about my credit score and how it effects this whole process. It’s kind of silly how a number defines whether or not you can open an account, interest rates and all sorts of other things related to your financial life. Some jobs even require a credit check before you are hired.

Because this number is so important, everyone should regularly check in on their credit report and score. Unfortunately, there are a lot of companies that build their business model around giving you this information, with a convenient monthly charge.

Luckily there are a few, totally, actually free ways to check both your credit report and your credit score.

If you live in the US (and this whole post is targeted towards people here in the states) then the Fair Credit Reporting Act guarantees you access to your credit report for free. There’s a lot of companies who try to pretend like they’ll provide your credit report for free, but they have hidden fees. The only place that provides the reports free is annualcreditreport.com.

At annualcreditreport.com you can request a free report from the big three: Transunion, Experian and Equifax. They’ll each give you one free report a year, which actually translates into three free reports a year. Some people use all three at once, so they can compare the agencies. Others spread them out throughout the year. Either way, you should check your report regularly to make sure all information is correct and you have not been a victim of fraud or identity theft.

The process is pretty simple, you’ll have to fill out a lot of personal info to verify that you are the person you say you are. Then you’ll receive a copy of your credit report to print or save. The only thing you won’t receive for free is your credit score. They’ll offer to provide it for a charge, but don’t do it! There’s a way to get that information for free.

I recently discovered the website Credit Karma. If you sign up for an account with them, they will provide you will your credit score any time you log into your account. It’s pretty nifty. They also have a credit simulator that estimates what effect certain actions will have on your credit score. The site will also summarize your accounts with outstanding balances (mortgage, credit card, student loans, etc.) and gives notifications on changes (increase or decrease in balance, change in credit score, etc).

It’s a great tool that offers way more than I have time to mention. The one thing you have to watch out for is they will make suggestions on credit cards, loans and other banking products to apply for. This is how they make their money, so please do outside research before you sign up for their “recommended” products.

With both of these sites, you have plenty of free resources to keep track of your credit report.

Image Credit: Kikashi

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Posted at 10:07 AM, October 22, 2011 by Tiffany


Bank of America to Charge $5 for Debit Cards…

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…time to find a new bank.

I’ve had checking, savings and credit card accounts with Bank of America for about seven years now. Kind of crazy considering I hate the bank.

Of course you’re thinking, well if you hate them so much, why do you bank with them? I originally opened a student checking account with them when I moved to Chicago to start college. They were the only bank that had a presence in the town where my parents lived and Chicago, so it was the most convenient option.

Since then I’ve thought about and wanted to change banks several times but I’ve simply been too lazy to do it. It requires research, making a decision and then the fun of remembering to change over all my auto-debits and auto-deposits in a perfectly synced symphony before the fun of canceling my account.

Now that Bank of American plans to charge a monthly fee of $5 for customers who use their debit card to make purchases, I’m out. As great as the free museum admission once a month is, I think I’m officially done with BofA. Their business practices make me sick and I don’t want to have anything to do with them.

I am officially researching all of the banking options in my area and hope to make a decision soon about where I want to move my money. If you’re in the same boat, I recommend checking out Move Your Money’s Bank and Credit Union Search. Just plug in your zip code and it lists all the banks and/or credit unions in your area. I have a lot of options so it might be awhile before I make a decision, but I’ll do it soon.

I need to be careful in my search though, because many other banks are thinking about implementing a similar debt card fee…

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Posted at 11:38 AM, September 30, 2011 by Tiffany


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