Relatively exciting times in AfroPennyland… To the numbers!
| Account | Debt | Debt (7/1/19) | Min. Payment | Interest Rate |
| Private Student Loan 1 | $0.00 | -$10,231.32 | $110.46 | 0.000% |
| Private Student Loan 3 | $0.00 | -$12,580.49 | $153.82 | 0.000% |
| Private Student Loan 4 | -$3,999.88 | -$13,280.33 | $45.40 | 3.625% |
| Private Student Loan 2 | -$6,595.87 | -$8,271.15 | $93.30 | 5.090% |
| Federal Student Loan 1 | -$21,440.37 | -$20,583.34 | $0.00 | 6.800% |
| Federal Student Loan 2 | -$13,946.84 | -$13,457.55 | $0.00 | 5.310% |
| Federal Student Loan 3 | -$11,184.47 | -$10,737.40 | $0.00 | 6.800% |
| Federal Student Loan 4 | -$7,748.09 | -$7,518.58 | $0.00 | 4.450% |
| Federal Student Loan 5 | -$5,561.12 | -$5,520.10 | $0.00 | 4.450% |
| Federal Student Loan 6 | -$3,147.30 | -$2,849.21 | $0.00 | 5.600% |
| Federal Student Loan 7 | -$2,863.10 | -$2,649.80 | $0.00 | 4.660% |
| Federal Student Loan 8 | -$2,457.12 | -$2,538.91 | $0.00 | 6.800% |
| Federal Student Loan 9 | -$2,307.18 | -$2,047.30 | $0.00 | 6.800% |
| Federal Student Loan 10 | -$2,003.02 | -$1,813.31 | $0.00 | 5.600% |
| Federal Student Loan 11 | -$1,639.01 | -$1,573.49 | $0.00 | 6.800% |
| Federal Student Loan 12 | -$1,144.25 | -$1,035.88 | $0.00 | 5.600% |
| University Student Loan 1 | -$3,428.11 | -$4,581.00 | $60.41 | 8.000% |
| University Student Loan 2 | -$3,090.59 | -$3,629.38 | $0.00 | 0.000% |
| University Student Loan 3 | -$317.64 | -$1,031.21 | $30.00 | 8.000% |
| University Student Loan 4 | -$124.59 | -$857.81 | $30.00 | 8.000% |
| Personal Student Loan | $0.00 | -$1,875.70 | $312.62 | 0.000% |
| Total | -$92,998.55 | -$128,663.26 | $836.01 |
October 2021 – Student Loan Balance(s): -$95,432.70
November 2021 – Student Loan Balance(s): -$92,998.55
Total Payments: $2,504.09
Net Difference: $2,434.15
Private Loan Student 4 (PSL4) Update
So the story of the November 2021 – Student Loan Balance(s) Update is that I was able to get PSL4 under $4K in October. October was…a lot. There were unplanned purchases, like four new tires for my car, but also good things as well (like my refinance getting preapproved and my new part-time job). I was able to cashflow the new tires without taking money from my emergency fund or my savings (money set aside for taxes and other expenditures related to gig work) but it means that my November 1st payment (which will be reflected in my December update) was very modest. Very. My hope is that between some irregular income I am expecting this month (checking account bonus), gig work, and my new part-time job that I will still be able to reach my goal of paying $2,000.00 this month and bringing the balance of PSL4 below $2000.00. Speaking of gig work…
Gig Income Update
Net Gig Income Goal for October: $600.00
Net Gig Income Actual for October: $845.26*
Difference: $245.26
Net Gig Income Goal for November: $200.00
October was a good month for gig work. There was a bit of fudging (*) towards the end of the month when I decided not to withhold anything from my last gig work paycheck so that I could put all of that paycheck towards PSL4, and bring the balance below $4,000.00. There are far worse things I could do and as I didn’t pull any money from my emergency fund or savings to cover the new tires, I figure I am still ahead in terms of savings. I expect gig income in November to be much lower as my time gets eaten up by my new part-time job. Speaking of my part-time job…
Part-Time Job Update
I worked my first day at my part-time job this past Saturday and I loved it. (If you will remember, this is a gig that resulted in an on-the-spot-after-hours interview.) While it doesn’t have the flexibility of gig work or the potential for lucrative paydays, it also doesn’t have some of my chief frustrations. Most of the plentiful lucrative gig work in the food and beverage industry is in the form of cater-waitering. Most of this work is by assignment and 99% of the time you are working with a new manager and new co-workers every single gig. While this has allowed me to get to know some very interesting people, it has also been incredibly frustrating because my co-workers often weren’t invested in the work and did a poor job or no job, resulting in more work for me and others who were working; and because the gig worker is temporary, most managers did very little in terms of managing staff. Food and beverage jobs are so much easier if you have a strong team and between my new coworkers and managers, I am really happy with the golf club team.
The golf club pays weekly so perhaps my “Gig Income Reports” will become “Gig/Part-Time Income Reports.” We will see.
Refinance
As of today, November 1st, my refinance went from “preapproved” to “approved.” While I know some of the Pennyfolk (hey, Paula) have well-reasoned reservations, for the moment, I am incredibly excited about my new interest rate (3.50%) and how far I have come in my student loan repayment journey.
October was a good month.
Ms. Afro Penny 
You are crushing it! You paid off so much AND cash flowed the tires! I’ll look forward to hearing about the golf club job. I bet it will be nice to get to know your new coworkers.
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Thanks, Ellen. I know you are super busy so I really appreciate that you still take time to keep up with me. 🙂
I love my new coworkers. It’s sad but in a lot of ways, I love going to my part-time job more than my full-time job.
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this is so awesome! I don’t know if you’ll make it under $90K by the end of the year but this sure makes it look within reach — even if you slightly miss the target you’ll be so close. You should feel amazing about everything you’ve done this year, especially with all the challenges you’ve faced. Also, I am cautiously happy about the golf club job. If they don’t impinge on your time too much that sounds pretty good and like a decent way to have some extra income. Looking forward to hearing how it goes.
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I’m going to make it, C! I know you are really busy at this time of year so I appreciate you still taking the time to check in on me.
So, speaking of blogs…e’hem. When will there be a house update?
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Congrats! Hey the goal is to pay it off, and the new rate gives you that monthly boost of seeing balances fall, go for it! I was lucky in that mine were at 2.99 percent for federal direct with private at 7.45. Since the massive loans were low federal direct, I threw everything I had at the private to get them gone and now I’m patiently waiting to see if yet another update to the PSLF plan ups my qualifying payments enough that I can stay in my lovely, but ridiculously low-paid public sector job without losing my mind over everything I’m missing. I’m older, so seeing friends hit their highest salaries and have a lot of discretionary income is difficult.
But man, when the debt is gone, the lives we are used to will hopefully, literally, pay off!
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Thanks, Paula! I appreciate the well-wishes but all of the points you brought up in your other comment were on point and I plan to address them in a post about my refinance decision making. 2.99%…jeez, I would give a non-vital organ for that rate. Any chance you’ve blogged about your experience somewhere? I would love to hear about your journey.
“…that I can stay in my lovely, but ridiculously low-paid public sector job without losing my mind over everything I’m missing.” This is a whole post. That decision-making calculus. I really, really would love to hear more about your story.
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Wohoo! It looks like $90k is just right around the corner! And I don’t think you ever mentioned paying off PSL4 by the end of this year was your goal but at the rate you’re kicking these loans, it can very well happen!
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I totally did! In fact, it’s goal #4 of my 2021 Financial Goals because I figured I would need to pay off both PSL3 and PSL4 to have a shot at getting below $90K this year. As it turns out, I will get below $90K before paying off PSL4 but as PSL4 is the only remaining loan that I didn’t wrap up in my refinance, my focus is on paying it off before payments on my new loan start in December.
I really want it to happen. $4,000 in two months on my salary is…a lot. However, I think the part-time gig at the golf club makes it a real possibility as they seem to stay busy right up to the holidays. As C said, if I fall short, it will be inches but I’m hoping to pull it off.
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