Photo Credit - Paulus Nugroho R - Fotolia.com

It’s easy to lose focus on personal finances. Sorta like walking into an all you can eat restaurant, while you are on a diet. It all looks tempting, so you lose focus of your diet.  So far, at the mid-point of 2011, my focus has been the same; Eliminate my debt, while saving some money. I promised to family & friends, close to me, to forget about me when it comes to going out, vacations and shopping for some foreseeable time, while I focused on my goals and in order to spend less money. I was very honest about my goal (to eliminate my debt), even though I did not disclose the amount of debt to everyone.

I started my journey out of debt, the same time I started this blog – November 2010. The About Me page talks about my debt total and How I got into $9,000 debt talks about how I got into this ordeal in the first place. Thus far, its been an amazing journey. I have eliminated a chunk of my debt, saved money, did not incur new debt, have my own custom budget and overall I’m wiser when it comes to money.

Eliminated 40% of my Debt

That’s right! I eliminated 40% of my debt so far this year. That works out to $3,600 eliminated out of $9,000 total debt, in a span of about 9 months. That works out to roughly $400 in debt payments per month. It may not sound like a lot to some of you,  but let’s not forget,  I do have other expenses to pay for as well, such as a roof over my head, food, car maintenance, gas and everyday life expenses.  Even when I started this journey, I was not expecting to be debt free by the end of the year. I knew this was a journey, that may take years, but I was determined then and still am.I will continue to work hard towards eliminating as much as possible of my debt by the end of the year. Keep y’all posted!

Here’s how the remaining of my $5,400 debt breaks down:

$2,800 – Line of Credit

$900 – Credit Card

$1,700 – Student Loan

Savings & Paying My Self First…Finally!

I’ve finally got to understand the feeling of paying my self first. And let me tell you, it feels really good. I used to get overwhelmed at times from all the different bills every-month, while trying to figure out how to save. I simply skipped all of it and don’t get overwhelmed anymore. I made one necessary change – move my self to the front of the line. I get paid first and foremost, before anyone else does. After all, I’m the one who worked hard for the money.

Here’s how my savings breakdown for 2011:

General Saving – $2,100

Emergency Fund – $1,000

RRSP – $1,200

TFSA (Future Investment Acct.) -$900

12% Salary Increase

After 54 working days of salary negotiations, I finally got what I negotiated for. It took roughly 5 meeting of back and forth, before we finally came to the decision. All along, my goal remained the same, the rest of the days was just the waiting game. I was patient, came prepared and stuck to my guns. In the end it paid off and it was well worth it. Not only, did I get the raise I felt I deserved, but we managed to get a better understanding of the overall goal. What my employer wanted out of me and the true value I brought to the company. I know I did not talk much about here, but for obvious reasons. I don’t know who’s reading this blog and I did not want to get ahead of my self. In the end, I’m extremely happy with the result, yet pretty proud of my self for the negotiation, self understanding and patience.

Side Income

I’ve continued to work hard outside of my regular job. Thus far, I’ve earned roughly $5,000 in side income, broken down between Finance Fox, my computer sales/repair business and office cleaning job. I am pretty proud of my side income at the half way point of the year. There still is another 5 months remaining in 2011, so I will continue to work hard towards my goal of earning over $6,000 in side income for this year.

Opportunities are there for the taking. I’m in the process of opening a cleaning business, because other opportunities present them selves, so I figured why not. Keep everyone posted on this in a future post.

Here’s how my side income breaks down:

Office Cleaning – $2,400

Computer Business – $1,500

Finance Fox – $1,100

The Rest of the Year

There are full five months remaining in 2011, which is ample time to do even more damage. Will I eliminate my debt by year end? I doubt it! That being said, whatever my debt amount at year end, I will be proud of my results. This year, there were so many changes, ups & downs so far. I did not solely focus on eliminating my debt this year, but also to become more frugal and wiser with money. I wanted to earn more money and opportunities came knocking. From getting a salary increase, opportunities via Finance Fox and other extra income avenues, they all presented them selves and I’ve taken on each opportunity wholeheartedly.

I plan to eliminate my credit-card debt ($1,200 remaining) by the end of August and my new business venture will give me even a greater opportunity to earn more. It’s been a  lot of work so far, the second half  will be even more work, but I am ready. I’m not going to lie, this journey has been tough, yet exhausting at times. All the debt trimming, budgeting, virtually no life and working extra jobs, can get the best of any of us. On the other side, this journey out of debt has been nothing short of fulfilling and educating. I feel like a reborn person, in a different state of mind. I can’t imagine who I was 9 months ago, when this all started, but I am totally liking the new me.

Thank you for all those who supported me through my journey thus far and who continue to stand by me. All those in my everyday life and I can’t forget my blogging friends too, you know who you are. THANK YOU!

 

Eddie