transparent.
I said I would be transparent, and I immediately do not want to, but then what would be the point?
Let’s start here: STATS.
Age: 32. Job: Full-time Paralegal/Office Manager. Salary: $38,000. Debt: $49,709***.
Let’s break this down…
credit cards: 8 credit accounts
auto loans: 2014 Lexus, and *** $12,603 for a joint vehicle title that I am not responsible for / do not pay for
other loans: a personal loan financed through my bank to cover the remaining tuition cost at USD
student loans: tu sabes!
Is your heart hurting? Mine is. That’s called anxiety.
What’s worse, is that I started a new position – and will only be receiving 4 days of work on this paycheck… to last me until the 15th.
theSNOWBALL.
Before any snowball payments can happen, Dave Ramsey EXPLICITLY tells you to save $1,000 for emergencies. It allows you a buffer, in case of ANYTHING that may happen – where you would normally reach for a credit card.
How do you achieve Step 1 now, if you have not been able to previously? Get creative: PURGE. Although not always the easiest, it can be a great cleansing.
Host a garage sale. Sell on Poshmark, Let Go, Offer Up. Get rid of clutter and build up your account balance.
THEN, you create a zero sum budget. *THIS* is where I go wrong. I understand the concept of the snowball, and I even try to implement it but I have never created a zero sum budget and then I fall off the wagon.
(I will upload a sample budget soon.)
Essentially, a zero sum budget, breaks down every penny and dollar that you make into categories: payments, gas, food, etc. Every paycheck you get, gets broken down so that every single penny gets allocated and used towards something.
The hardest part of this, for me, is eating out.
If I want to be debt free by … crap, I’ll have to calculate this out, I better get to budgeting.
