Monthly debt update--November

Thanks mostly to my loan forgiveness, there's been more significant changes this month.

The most exciting one is that since I started this blog in February 2009, I've paid down $10,000 on the principle in my debt. (I've paid more than that number in actual payments, but a lot of it went to the interest, which I don't really count. I will get most of it back in taxes anyway.) My total debt number is now in the $155,000 range. I'm starting to get more of a sense of the average amount of money I am able to devote to debt each month during my current circumstances, and that's about $1,100. In time, I hope that number will only increase.

Becuase my loan forgiveness has paid ahead my largest loan payment, I'm taking the money that I used to devote to that payment and using it to pay off my Sallie Mae loan. That one is down in the $2200 range now and dropping fast. I can't wait until that's gone. That will free up $50. It's on schedule to be paid in full on February 1, 2010. Incidentally, February 1 is also the date I should be done paying my parents.

Speaking of which, another change is that I'm getting really close to paying down my parents. Only $300 left to go! I can taste it! It won't be done by Thanksgiving or even Christmas, but February 1 appears to be the realistic target now. That will free up $200.

I am only a couple months away from a freed up $250 each month to play with. I am so excited. It's going to be the first time I've had a freed up payment in ages.

Here's the breakdown:

Total Outstanding Debt: $155,608.02

Emergency Fund: $1,000

401(k): $8,515

Car Fund: $6,094


Debt breakdown, original amount / current balance:

1. Credit card $1,700/$0
2. Money Owed to Parents $2,900/$300
3. Salle Mae Student Loan $4,194.31/$2,234.56
4. Perkin's Loan $12,062.42/$11,259.47
5. Parent Loan $12,760.06/$12,261.65
6. Undergraduate Loan $14,327.03/$14,106.34
7. Consolidated Loan $120,499.02/$115,446.00

Stupid money management

I've worked for a lot of bosses through the years. I've seen all different kinds of management styles. And I've watched them manage the budget and money and learned from them.

My current employer is, for the most part, really excellent with our budget. He's a tightwad, but I'm a tightwad myself so I like that, and you need to have that kind of mentality in this economy. He has a purpose for every bit of money that makes sense. Money he was able to save he used to give us a raise last year. I'm happy with the way he runs the budget. When comparing us to other similarly situated firms, which we have done, we are doing very well financially.

But today the admin people told me something really dumb. We have a conference this week and $14 parking is going to be reimbursed by the firm. Last year I took the subway for only $5 and got reimbursed for that instead. I sent them an e-mail just to confirm I'm still good to take the subway again this year. I get an e-mail back telling me, no, we're only covering parking, and that they didn't cover the subway last year (which isn't true, I have the paycheck to prove it.)

So, I could drive and cost the firm $14, or $9 more than if I took the subway. Or I could take the subway and only cost them $5. If you were my boss, what would you want me to do?

This is basic addition; this kind of pure stupidity with money makes me want to tear my hair out. Do people even think when drawing lines like this, or are we just drawing lines for the sake of drawing lines? If I took a helicopter to the conference and expected reimbursement, that's different because that is more expensive. But my method of getting there is cheaper, and greener. It gets me there just as good and just as on time. I'm going to file a claim for my subway ticket anyway and make them officially deny it. If you're going to do something this stupid, do it in writing.

It's little financial decisions businesses make that really add up in the long run. Do you really need to purchase plastic spoons for everyone? Is bottled water necessary? Do you really need to travel 100 miles to see a client or can you accomplish the same thing over the phone? And do you really need to encourage people to drive instead of taking a cheaper option?

If you're sick? Stay home and save me the money!

This is a little rant about how two of my co-workers and one client came into my courtroom on Friday experiencing varying degrees of sickness. One lost her voice (which I think is a precursor to something much worse), one had a slight fever and a pounding headache and was popping Advil all day, and one just full on had the flu and maybe even the swine flu, complete with sneezing, coughing, fever, and aches. I work in a small courtroom. Everyone touches the same counsel table, witness stand, chairs, benches, desks and so on. Chances are, a lot of other people got infected with whatever they all had on Friday. Why, God??? Why???

You know those perfect attendance awards they give out to elementary students? I always had a problem with that. It didn't seem fair to me that other than the two or three days I would not come to school every year because I was legitimately sick, I had perfect attendance, too. How about giving out awards to people who take sick days so that no one else is infected? A You Are Very Considerate award.

Americans have such a workhorse mentality, and a lot of them don't want to be perceived as weak or slacking for taking a sick day, or they worry their boss will think they are not really sick. I think a lot come in the first day they are sick (during some of their most infectious time periods) just to prove to the boss they really are sick, then take time off after. Or for some people, they want to save those sick days for when it's Friday and they want a three day weekend to get out of town. Those people.

How does this relate to debt? Well, when you get sick, usually you end up spending money on doctors visits and medicine, naturally. But preventing sickness costs money, too.

Because of these three inconsiderate people, I went through about a third of my hand sanitizer throughout the day. I also had to burn through some Lysol, which ain't cheap, disinfecting everything when I sat where someone sick sat. When I got home, I stripped off my clothes and did an extra load of laundry I wasn't planning on doing. I took a very hot shower I didn't plan on taking and washed myself down with a lot of soap. That's more hot water I'm paying for, and our rates have just been hiked up. I'm also going out today for an unplanned grocery shopping trip to get orange juice, more salt to gargle with, hot tea, and vitamins--money and gas burned. I'm not paranoid, these are things experts say are supposed to keep you from getting sick.

So far so good, but if I get sick I'm going to have to spend even more money, plus burn sick days.
Anyway, my point is, obviously, I want people to stay home when they are sick. Please. It could save everyone around us a lot of cash. Plus, it's just so gross to sit next to someone sneezing and coughing, blech.

Off to disinfect again...

Donating to Papi

I'm under budget this month by about $70, which is one of my largest amounts I have been under in awhile. Since it's been awhile since I last donated to charity, I decided a portion of that can go to charity. Then whatever is left over can go to my car fund.

I have a spreadsheet listing five or six of the charities that I'd like to donate to as money comes along. They include the Red Cross, my undergrad and law school, my church, and the Dog Rescue organization I got my dog G. from.

With the economy the way it is and a lot of people giving up their dogs, I sent the Dog Rescue place an e-mail seeing what they need help with. Sure enough they have a little chihuahua they are helping out who has a deformed leg. His name is Papi and the poor thing is going to need an operation to remove his leg. His owner is going to need help with all his medical expenses to make this happen.

With enough money Papi can have his operation and feel a lot better! Papi is pictured below, you can see how his poor little left back leg is shrivelled and he holds it up. Poor baby.

Who cares, but my credit score is....

Since I just had a student loan transferred to another servicer, I decided to pull my credit report this week. I've never done this before, never really all that interested. I don't really need credit for much, and I knew it was decent enough to get an apartment, job, and so on. I'm not anywhere near ready to buy my first home yet, so I don't have to worry so much about having that perfect score yet and I have time to get it there.

So what do you think my score is? I have $156,000 in loans. I've missed a payment on a few of those loans once or twice a few years ago, but nothing more than very sporadic. I've missed maybe a couple credit card payments over my seven year history, never more than a few days late. Since maybe 2007 I haven't missed any payments on anything period. Nothing else is on my report other than student loans and my paid off credit card. The lucky number is......657.

657 I don't think is all too bad for missing payments here and there and 156k in debt. It's not a great credit score, but it's nothing in the dumps either. And I can probably only go up from here. As I aggressively pay off these loans, it should inch up into the 700s. At some point, I am going to need a home loan. So I have a clear picture of where I need to go with this to get that sought-after great loan.

Have you ever been overpaid?

My self-employed employer, while an amazing person and a close friend, is not such a good boss. Sometimes, he forget to pay me, and I have to remind him, which is very annoying. Well, this week, he paid me too much. $75 too much. There was no question about it, he just accidentally paid me for a job I didn't do this week. He was having what I sometimes call a "brain fart," I suppose.

I'm ashamed to say I looked at that check and thought about it for some time. That's $75 more to my car fund. Ever dollar makes a huge difference these days. I've been upset at my boss from time to time, feeling under appreciated and feeling like he hasn't done enough to keep my pay levels the same. Part of my feels like, I deserve that $75. And if I didn't say anything, he wouldn't notice. He's not that conscientious. I'd keep the money and we'd go on like nothing happened.

Except perhaps in my law practice, where one of my top priorities is to be an honest and ethical lawyer and not like the sleazeballs everyone thinks we are, I'm no pillar of ethics in my "real life." I've done things I'm not proud of. I've justified things I shouldn't. But I decided I didn't like the idea of buying a car with even $75 that isn't mine. I'm working hard to save for a car and I know how good it is going to feel to buy it someday soon. I'm not asking for a pat on the back. I thought way too long about this to feel proud about what I did. But I returned the money ultimately. When similar situations have come up before in my life, I haven't always returned what wasn't mine, have you?

Credit cards and social justice

I have been really tempted over the past several weeks to open a credit card through my grocery store. There's no annual fee, no fees for paying your bill on time, and you get double "rewards points." Rewards points are tradable for pure cash at my grocery store and it's no scam. I get seven or eight dollars a month in cold hard cash through their rewards program, simply by buying stuff from them, plus a ton of coupons that you get based on what you usually buy. I am really saving a lot on groceries lately, I'd say I've trimmed my average bill down by $100 a month more than usual by really being coupon and rewards savvy. If you buy everything with their credit card you get double the points. Which means that seven dollars a month could turn into $14. I am sooo tempted to do that and just pay it off in full each month. Win-win situation, right?

2 Dog Casa has a post about credit cards, a new blog I discovered after they found me first. Dog works in public interest law like I do. Dog has a good argument for why you shouldn't take out a credit card....social justice. Because even if you manage them correctly, credit cards are not fair, they prey on the poor and needy. They shouldn't align with your values.

I know I could manage this credit card. And I know I could get more rewards from it than I do without it. It kind of kills me to pass this up, like walking by seven or eight dollars just sitting there on the street and not picking it up. But I'm not going to take out this Rewards card. It doesn't align with my values. Thanks, Dog.