| As the end of the year approaches, I am happy that I have been able to reach many of the financial goals I set for myself at the beginning of the year. The one thing I still needed to do was earn extra income (in addition to the rental income from the 2 roommates) and in October, I was afforded a great opportunity to work overtime in order to help catch our office up on a back load of work. This was unexpected and of course I jumped at the chance. At $51/hour, this was WAAAAAYYYYYY more than I could have earned at Starbucks or FedEx which is where I was thinking of going for extra work. Indeed, God is good. I don't know how long I will be able to do this, but it is looking good for at least the next few months.
The Debt Snowball had things REALLY tight as far as meeting monthly expenses, and I didn't know if I could hold on. I also got a CRAZY $500 dollar water bill due to the extra tenants, 2 leaking toilets and a dripping faucet! Unbelievable!! Two steps forward, one step back. However, due to the OT, I was able to pay it without going into savings or anything like that, so I am grateful.
The retirement account continues to fluctuate (mostly downwards), but I am not worrying about that right now. I came down from 10% of my gross in May to focus on the debt snowball; I still put in 5% of my gross, and I get the full match of 5% from my agency. Given the state of the market (even tho folks say 'buy low'), I am happy with that decision. I am marching determinedly toward the goal of debt freedom, and as a Chinese proverb says "Free from debt is free from care." I can't wait! |