Let’s Throw Some Money at Our Problems: December 2017 Monthly Check-In

It’s not quite the end of the month, but we’re doing this early because of the holidays!

If you’re joining us for the first time, we like to report a specific balance at the end of each month to have a public record of our efforts to pay down our debt or reach our savings goals. You can read about our decision to publicly keep track of our debt here.

Pull up those balances!

Nicole
I’ve paid off all my debts, so let’s see how I’m doing on my savings goal. I’m continuing to save 15 percent of every freelance check (pretax), as well as keeping a $3,000 checking account buffer that gets spent down during low cashflow months and paid back during higher ones.

December, as expected, was a high cashflow month. I did a bunch of freelance work plus I got my security deposit and last month’s rent (minus cleaning fees) back from my landlord.

However, I did have a large moving-related credit card bill to pay off this month, part of which I paid out of my savings, and I’m still in the process of refilling my $3,000 checking account buffer. My current checking account balance is $1,744.83 and I’ll be adding $420 to that when I get my last freelance payment of the year, so—minus a few expenses between now and Dec. 31—I can estimate that I’ll begin 2018 with a $1,250 checking account buffer. Not quite halfway to the $3,000 I’m hoping for, but not bad either!

November 2017 Savings Balance: $9,878.96
December 2017 Savings Balance: $10,000

Current Checking Account Balance: $1,744.83

Mike
I’m paying off a private graduate student loan currently serviced by Discover. The interest rate on this loan is 2.5 percent, and the minimum monthly payment is $147. The original balance on this student loan was $22,377.

November 2017 Balance:$1,351.30
December 2017 Balance: $1,053.30

Previously.

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