Let’s Throw Some Money at Our Problems: November 2018 Monthly Check-In
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 goals. Right now I’m putting 6 percent of each freelance paycheck (pretax) towards savings, investing another 6 percent (pretax) in an individual brokerage account, and working to maintain a $3K checking account buffer.
I didn’t end up with a $3K checking account balance this month because I put a bunch of money into my IRA and HSA to ensure I hit the maximum contribution levels by the end of the year, but I’m fine with that!
October 2018 Savings Balance: $8,720.39
November 2018 Savings Balance: $8,987.55
October 2018 Brokerage Account Balance: $4,510.02
November 2018 Brokerage Account Balance: $5,117.73
October 2018 Checking Balance: $3,000.00
November 2018 Checking Balance: $1,582.33
Mike
I paid off my private student loan from Discover last month. I would be in the mood to celebrate a little bit more if not for this one last federal student loan I have left. One last loan! And it’s serviced from everyone’s favorite institution, Navient. I don’t recall what the original balance on this loan is, but the minimum monthly payment is $266.70. I’m paying at least double, if not triple the minimum monthly payment in an effort to see this loan disappear faster.
October 2018 Balance: $21,067.81
November 2018 Balance: $20,654.18
Photo credit: jesiehart, CC BY 2.0.
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