Both September and October were good months. Usually when I have a couple of good months in a row it means a bad month is coming. I guess we’ll see if I’m able to reverse that trend in November. My student loan is now within striking distance, and it looks as if I’ll reach my goal of being debt-free by New Years but I can’t slack off because it’s definitely not a sure thing. I still have $7k left to pay on my loan.
It is still amazing what you’re able to do with money when you’re focused on working in the right direction. My goals for 2011, as established at the beginning of the year, originally included me getting my student loan balance under $15k and having a net worth of at least $10k. Now that my student loan balance is around $7k and my net worth is $27k, I’ve more than exceeded these original goals.
Then, in June, I re-adjusted my debt goal because of the great progress I’d already made:
I will be debt free by 2012. There, I’ve done it. I’ve issued my ultimate goal for the year. I really don’t think at this point that I could come up with a more ambitious goal or financial plan in the short-term. By December 31, 2011 I will have all $22,735 of my remaining debt paid off. That’s nearly $23k in about 7 months.
When I issued this “ultimate goal” to myself, I think I really considered it more of a dream. I thought it would be totally awesome to do it. I mean…how many people push themselves to pay off $43k in student loans in just over a year? I thought that attempting to push myself to accomplish this would set a very tangible goal for myself and if I was able to pull it off I would feel absolutely unstoppable. And it worked. A zero balance on my loan by year-end is well within reach.
As I reflect on the year, it hasn’t been easy. I started earning $51,500 base salary and am now earning $54,000/yr. I’ve been working hard on my side businesses to achieve the progress that my day-job salary would not allow me to come close to achieving. On top of working hard to earn more, I’ve probably had to work even harder to resist the urge to reward myself too much. I’ve been battling the itch to buy a new car for over 6 months and so far I’ve been winning the battle. However, I think it’s only a matter of time until I give in. But it won’t happen until I’ve paid off my loans.
Anyways…I think that’s enough talking for now. Check out the numbers below.
This really helps a lot!!
I’ve been working hard on my side businesses to achieve the progress that my day-job salary would not allow me to come close to achieving. On top of working hard to earn more, I’ve probably had to work even harder to resist the urge to reward myself too much
Yes i totally agree with you very good post, Usually when I have a couple of good months in a row it means a bad month is coming. I guess we’ll see if I’m able to reverse that trend in November. My student loan is now within striking distance, and it looks as if I’ll reach my goal of being debt-free by New Years but I can’t slack off because it’s definitely not a sure thing. Keep up good work.