Paying a Little Extra on Student Loans Really Adds Up
I haven’t written too much about my personal finances on this blog in the past year, and that’s mostly because I’ve spent the majority of the year unemployed, so it’s been very tough.
One of the biggest strains on my finances is the immense amount of student loan debt I amassed before I graduated from college in 2008. I had no idea when I took out the loans to pay for school exactly how much a financial burden it would be, especially since everyone kept saying, “Oh, just take out the loans and then with your degree you’ll get a good job and pay them off.”
Obviously, that has not been the case. The economy sucks, unemployment is high, and I haven’t had a decent paying job since graduation. I spent most of the time since graduation putting my loans in forbearance, so I didn’t have to make payments but the interest kept piling up and adding on to my principal. It was a snowball effect.
By the time I was able to start making payments on my loans in January of this year (thanks to a temporary job), my monthly payment was $1024.43 for my private loans. That’s a lot. In fact it was just a little bit less than I was making each month after taxes. Luckily I don’t have expense many people have like rent or a car, but it’s tough to make those payments every month (even more so now that I’m not working).
In March, I wrote about ways to help pay off your student loans, and the first tip I mentioned was paying a little extra each month.
I know it may not seem like it makes a difference, especially if you’re only paying a couple extra dollars a month, but it does. With Sallie Mae (and probably other lenders as well) anything extra you pay each month is applied to your principal balance (as long as any interest or fees were already paid). Those couple dollars each month are shaving off of the amount you’re charged interest on, which decreases the amount of interest you pay each month. That in turn means more of the money you pay each month ends up going towards your principal and so on.
But how does a couple of dollars make a difference? Well, I’ll show you, with evidence from my e-bills.
As I said before, my monthly payment was $1024.43 a month when I started making payments in January.
Instead of paying that exact amount I rounded up and paid $1030 a month. That extra $5.57 a month doesn’t seem like a lot, but it made a difference.
In April my bill came and I noticed Sallie Mae lowered my monthly payment to $1021.63. That’s $2.80 a month less.
You may think, “Oh, 2.80 a month isn’t much.” Well, I have 176 months of payment left, so multiply that by $2.80 and that’s $492.80 I saved.
This is when my job ended, so I lowered the amount I was paying to $1025 a month. That’s only $3.37 extra a month, but it’s something. For last month, I tacked on an extra $10 and paid $1035.
My new bill came yesterday and my new payment is $1021.59 a month.
That’s only a 4 cent adjustment, which isn’t too exciting, but over the next 172 months it will save me $6.88.
So far I’ve saved myself $499.68. That’s a significant chunk of change, and this is only after 7 payments with a little extra. Think of how much more this will snowball when I can pay a little more extra and really start reducing my principal.
My recommendation is that if you’re using this technique and Sallie Mae starts lowering your monthly payments, keep paying the same amount you started out with. You already know how to live on a budget where you’re paying that amount to your student loans, so keep doing it. It will help you pay it down even faster and lower the amount of interest you are paying.
This technique could also be used to pay down other loans or credit card debt.
Free Samples Are Perfectly Travel Sized
I hate packing. It’s tough trying to fit everything in my suitcase and I’m always left wondering if I’m forgetting something vitally important.
Now since most airlines have checked baggage fees, that adds a little more challenge to it since I have to try to fit everything I need for a week in one carry-on bag. Talk about a challenge. Add to that the TSA’s rules for carrying on liquids and, well, this should be a game show.
This is just one of the many reasons I love free samples. Not only are they free, but these little bottles of shampoo, conditioner, and toothpaste are perfect for my carry-on needs. I just open up my bathroom cabinet (where I store all those little freebies) and pick out what I need for the trip.
They take up less space that my full size bottles and tubes and help me to avoid checking baggage. Plus I don’t have to buy trial sized bottles from the store. Sounds good to me.
If you want to be extra thrifty and eco-friendly, save the bottles and reuse them for future trips (this is especially good if you travel more frequently than you receive the samples).
Buying Generics & Store Brands: Is There a Difference?
One of the simplest money saving tips is to buy the generic or store brand version. From prescriptions to toilet paper or food, the generic version tends to be cheaper and can save you money in the long run. Yet, there’s two schools of though on generic brands.
The first is that these generics are cheap because they’re made cheap and don’t work as well or taste good or whatever. The other point of view is that it’s all the same and you’re only getting charged more for the name brand. Which of these opinions do I follow? Well, a combination of both.
First of all, I don’t automatically buy the store brand assuming that it’s the cheapest. When I shop, I consider all the prices, any coupons or deals, and the ultimate price per ounce or count, and then base my decision upon that. So for things like tin foil, dish soap, or dry pasta, we look for the cheapest option.
Now, there are certain things that I am brand loyal to, and these are usually health related. For example, since I have eczema I have to use hypoallergenic laundry detergent (All) and soaps (Dove). There are also certain brands we just don’t like (usually this is related to food, either being unhealthy or not very tasty). Beyond that, I tend to be open minded about most things.
I will say this: sometimes there is a noticeable difference between the named brand and the generic version of certain things. Sometimes it doesn’t matter but sometimes it does.
Here’s a recent example. I’ve been on this new crusade to use up random things we have around the house. The boyfriend accidentally bought some conditioner (he only uses shampoo) which has been sitting under our sink for over a year. Since I’m the only one in the house who uses conditioner I figured I’d just use it up.
So what we have is Garnier Fructis and Shique Essential Fruits (this is the Aldi brand from before they redesigned and re branded their products). They look almost exactly the same. The name brand is a “Fortifying Cream Conditioner” and the store brand is only a “Fortifying Conditioner” boasting an “Active Fruit Concentrate” while Garnier has “reinforced active fruit concentrate” plus some vitamins. They’re both labeled for “normal hair.” I check the ingredients, the first 17 on both are exactly the same, but the name brand has 22 ingredients and the generic only has 20.
I started out using the Shique. I have thick, frizzy, wavy hair that’s pretty dry so I usually use moisturizing shampoo and conditioner. I noticed after a week of the Shique that my hair was really dry, frizzier than normal, had a hard time holding curl, and seemed to get tangled a lot more. I chalked this up to the fact that the conditioner is for “normal hair.”
After awhile, I got sick of the Shique and decided to try out the Garnier. Immediately I noticed a difference. Obviously it still wasn’t as effective as moisturizing conditioner, but my hair was less dry and easier to manage. Even the conditioner itself just looked better and felt creamier.
In this case, the named brand is definitely better and I will never buy the Shique again. This hasn’t turned me off all generics. I’ll still buy the store brand saran wrap and hand soap. Sometimes the savings are worth it and sometimes you just have to wait for a sale on the name brand and stock up.
Have any generics you love or a brand you can’t live without? Let me know in the comments.
Patio Gardening 2010: Week 10 - Storms & Powdery Mildew
Sorry to get this post up a day later than usual. I was working on some other projects yesterday, and we didn’t even get the video up until last night, so I’m posting today. Good news is that my camera is back from the shop, so we’ll have better quality photos starting next week.
The weather hasn’t been treating us too well this week. Last week it was rainy, chilly and humid. So we started out this week with some powdery mildew on some of our cucumber plants.
This is the first bout of disease we’ve had to deal with, and I’m not happy about it. I clipped off the leaves that had it the worst, and spray the rest of them with a mixture of 1 part milk and 9 parts water. As a precaution, I sprayed the unaffected cucumbers, plus the squash, zucchini, and pumpkin. Hopefully that will take care of it. We’ll see.
Here’s a picture of the powdery mildew from before I hacked the leaves off:
Our tomato plants shot up after we staked them, which is great. We may have to cage them soon if they keep growing at this rate. The unfortunate thing is that Friday night two very severe thunderstorms swept through the area, with winds 60-70MPH. Our poor plants were beat up pretty bad–especially the tall ones like the beans and tomatoes. (Check out some footage of the wind in our video) The tomatoes are looking a little worse for the wear now.
We’re supposed to have more thunderstorms this week (we had one late last night too). Hopefully they won’t effect the plants that much. I’m mostly worried about the humidity helping to spread the powdery mildew.
On Sunday we were able to pick about 12 more beans, which we fried up in olive oil and had with dinner that night. We also picked a ton of basil and had a delicious caprice salad (basil, fresh mozzarella, & tomato drizzled in olive oil–then we eat it with big crackers). Unfortunately, we didn’t grow the tomatoes, but it was great to save money on the basil (they sell packages with about that much basil in it for about $6 here. It’s robbery!).
We’ve had a few more female flowers show up on some of our cucumber plants and they’re starting to grow into little cucumbers. Hopefully I hand-pollinated them well enough and they won’t fall off!
Check out the video for this week:
For those who are new, this year the boyfriend and I are doing a little container gardening experiment where we are trying to grow various herbs and vegetables on our patio. We live in the city of Chicago, so traditional gardening is out of the question. You can subscribe to the RSS feed to instantly receive the posts each week and also check out our previous posts. Feel free to subscribe to our Youtube channel as well.
$4 AMC Movie Tickets - 5 More Cities Added!
Edit 6/18/201 - This deal is back up, so grab it while you can!
I was hoping they’d do this. On Tuesday I posted about the KGB deal for $4 movie tickets at AMC theaters. At that time they only had them available in San Francisco & Philadelphia, but now 5 more cities have been added. This is a great deal and you should jump on it if one of these cities is near you!
Pay only $4 for a movie ticket at AMC theaters (good any day of the week and for any film). These tickets are good up to $12.50 value, and are valid at any AMC, Loews, Cineplex Odeon, Magic Johnson, and Star theatres. This deal is only good through tonight, so buy now!
Here are the available cities:
Looking for other ways to save at the theater? Check out my posts on cheaps ways to go to the movies and free movie screenings.
AMC Movie Tickets for $4 in San Fransisco & Philadelphia
Update: Sorry, this deal is over.
Edit: 5 more cities have been added! This ends on 6/10/10, so buy today!
I know this weeks gardening video isn’t up yet–I’m sorry for that. The boyfriend has gotten sick (and I think I’m coming down with it too now), so when he got home from work last night, it was a “lay on the couch and watch TV” kind of night. Tonight I’ll remind him about the video, and hopefully we’ll get it up.
Since I’m starting to feel under the weather (and the weather outside is pretty dreary too), I just have one short post for you today. This is a nice deal.
I’m always boasting about how a good way to save money is look for cheap ways & deals to go to the movie theater or go to free movie screenings. I’m sure you’ve noticed lately that I haven’t really posted any free movie screenings. That’s because I honestly haven’t heard about any lately, or by the time I hear about them, they’re gone.
It’s a bummer and because of the lack of free screenings (and movies that actually pique our interest) the boyfriend and I haven’t been to the movie theater for a couple months. Our Netflix account has been put to good use though.
This is the kind of deal that would have us going to the theater more. Unfortunately it’s only available in San Francisco & Philadelphia, and it’s only available for the next 3 days.
This is part of KGB Deals, which (from the impression I’m getting) is similar to Groupon, where a deal is offered in specific cities for a limited amount of time or a limited amount of deals.
These tickets are good up to $12.50 value, and are valid at any AMC, Loews, Cineplex Odeon, Magic Johnson, and Star theatres. If you live in San Francisco or Philadelphia, make sure to jump on this. This price may be cheaper than the matinee, and you should be able to use the tickets for any showtime, 7 days a week.
Money Saving Tip: Buy Online to Avoid Sales Tax
As I’ve mentioned before, I live in Chicago, which currently has the honor of having the highest sales tax rate in the United States, at 10.25%.
Let me tell you what a pain that is. While the rate is only 2% for things like food, drugs, and medicine, buying other items like toothpaste, clothing, or even pet food gets us that fabulous 10.25% tax rate.
Most of the time, you just have to eat it and move on, but when it comes to big ticket items, like expensive electronics, the tax can be significant. Luckily, there is a loophole to get around that.
Many online purchases are not subject to sales tax. The only time an online seller has to collect sales tax is when they have a physical location in the same state as the customer. Essentially, as long as I am buying from sellers not physically located in Illinois, I don’t have to pay a sales tax.
This is why I love shopping at Amazon.com
Exactly how much of a difference will this make? Let me give you a recent example. The boyfriend decided to purchase a new video camera and pertinent accessories. After shopping around for the best price and any coupons or rebates (I’ve taught him well), he selected two different sites to order from. As he was checking out he noticed there was no sales tax and was curious how much he was saving. The total he spent was $4620. 10.25% of that equals $473.55. That’s nearly $500 in savings. Isn’t that amazing?
This is a totally legal way to save some serious dough, so in the future when you’re buying big ticket items (or even something smaller) consider doing it online. You may even end up with free shipping anyway.
Patio Gardening 2010: Week 6 - Little Bean Pods!
Summer hit yesterday with full force (it was 89F out when I took these pictures) and the plants are officially living outdoors full time. Last week I was pretty excited about that possibility since I was sick of lugging the pots in and out each day.
Hopefully they’ll survive the heat (it’s about 20 degrees warmer than it has been for the past few weeks). I make sure to check the plants regularly and water them when the soil is dry. I also plan to start fertilizing them this week.
Week 6 of our container gardening adventure has been exciting. Our beans started flowering on Tuesday, and then yesterday when I went out to take pictures, I noticed that we now have little baby bean pods growing. This is very exciting, especially since all the other plants are teeny tiny and have awhile until they start producing.
Last week we transplanted our wilting cucumbers. They seem to be doing much better in the milk jugs and I think they will make it.
We have a few unidentified plants cropping up in our window box (which is just supposed to be green onions and basil). I think some of it is oregano, but there’s one that doesn’t quite seem to be an herb:
(Sorry for the blurry picture) The boyfriend thinks it’s a tomato plant, and it very well may be, but it doesn’t look like our other cherry tomato seedlings, so I’m not sure what it is. Any thoughts?
We have 3 pots and two window boxes left to plant, and then I think we’ll finally be done. It’s so hot now that I don’t want to do the transplanting during the day, so hopefully we’ll find some time one of the evenings this week to get that done.
And here is the video for the week:
For those who are new, this year the boyfriend and I are doing a little container gardening experiment where we are trying to grow various herbs and vegetables on our patio. We live in the city of Chicago, so traditional gardening is out of the question. You can subscribe to the RSS feed to instantly receive the posts each week and also check out our previous posts. Feel free to subscribe to our Youtube channel as well.
Patio Gardening 2010: Week 5 - Transplanting the Seedlings
Last week we started transplanting, with the beans and a few tomato plants. This week we did the bulk of the transplanting, moving the seedlings into their final containers.
Just to be safe, we’re moving an extra seedling or 2 just in case one dies off. Later we’ll thin out the weaker plants. We have so many seedlings to begin with, we might as well be careful about it.
Our poor wilty cucumbers recovered a little bit, but were still looking pretty “blah.” We decided they were long overdue for a transplant (the boyfriend’s enthusiasm results in a pot with 20+ seeds). We’re not sure if they’ll survive the transplant or not, but they certainly wouldn’t last much longer in the tiny pot. It’s possible overcrowding led to the wilting last week.
As you can see, we replanted the cucumber seedlings in recycle milk jugs. This is a thrifty way to do container gardening. We just cut off the tops with a utility knife and poked holes in the bottom to allow for proper drainage. The jugs are 1 gallon, which is the perfect size for beans, cherry tomatoes, or cucumbers.
The only plants that are left to transplant are the lettuce, zucchini, and yellow squash. From my research and talking to other people, it seems like 5 gallon buckets may be the best bet for the squashes, so we’ll have to go out and get some.
We still have some seedlings left that we haven’t transplanted. We’re continuing to recycle milk jugs as we empty them, but I’m not sure how many more seedlings we’ll transplant. The amount of plants we have right now are already a little overwhelming.
The weather is starting to warm up again, so hopefully we’ll be able to move the plants outside permanently around the end of this week. We’ve got so many pots now that it’s a major pain to move them.
Go ahead and check out the boyfriend’s video for Week 5 of our container gardening. We also talk about why it’s not a good idea to plant in metal containers:
For those who are new, this year the boyfriend and I are doing a little container gardening experiment where we are trying to grow various herbs and vegetables on our patio. We live in the city of Chicago, so traditional gardening is out of the question. You can subscribe to the RSS feed to instantly receive the posts each week and also check out our previous posts. Feel free to subscribe to our Youtube channel as well.
Patio Gardening 2010: Week 4 - Wilting Cucumbers
We’re done with the fourth week of our container gardening adventure.
The temperature in Chicago decided to drop again this week, so while we were in the 70s for awhile, we’ve dropped into the 40s & 50s, so the plants have mostly been indoors for the past week, just because it’s warmer.
Unfortunately this week our cucumbers started to wilt. I did some research and the best I could guess was maybe we were over watering. It is possible that the temperature drop may have effected them. We cut back the watering and let the soil dry completely inbetween. The stems have firmed up some more, but the seedlings aren’t looking so hot, so they may not survive. In the end, we may just plant another round of cucumbers in bigger pots.
Our beans have been growing so well that we had to transplant them this week, so that was our big adventure. The boyfriend is so concerned about how tall they will get that he bought cages for our four bean pots. Hopefully they’ll survive the transplant and prove to be fruitful. If not, we’ll just try again.
We also transplanted a few of the tomato seedlings that were getting pretty big. We have a ton of seedlings for basically everything (the boyfriend’s philosophy was to plant every seed we had because he didn’t think we’d have much success growing them. Boy was he wrong!), so I don’t know how many of them will be transplanted into bigger pots. It is nice to have a lot of back ups though.
What have we learned so far? We may have planted the seeds a little too early, but since the containers are portable and can be brought in when the temperature drops, it’s not that big of a deal. Also, we could have planted a lot less seeds at once. We will probably have a surplus of seedlings.
This week it looks like the weather will just be in the 50s and 60s, so we’ll be keeping the plants indoors. Hopefully it will warm up again soon and we can move them outside permanently. We’re running out of room on our windowsill!
Check out the boyfriend’s latest video:
For those who are new, this year the boyfriend and I are doing a little container gardening experiment where we are trying to grow various herbs and vegetables on our patio. We live in the city of Chicago, so traditional gardening is out of the question. You can subscribe to the RSS feed to instantly receive the posts each week and also check out our previous posts. Feel free to subscribe to our Youtube channel as well.
