Tag: Savings

December 2020 – Student Loan Balance(s) Update

Afro Penny4 Comments

To the numbers!

AccountDebtMin. PaymentInterest Rate
Private Student Loan 1$0.00$110.460.000%
Private Student Loan 3-$11,355.00$153.826.650%
Private Student Loan 4-$10,215.87$245.403.750%
Private Student Loan 2-$7,298.74$93.305.150%
Federal Student Loan 1-$21,440.37$0.006.800%
Federal Student Loan 2-$13,946.84$0.005.310%
Federal Student Loan 3-$11,184.47$0.006.800%
Federal Student Loan 4-$7,748.09$0.004.450%
Federal Student Loan 5-$5,561.12$0.004.450%
Federal Student Loan 6-$3,147.30$0.005.600%
Federal Student Loan 7-$2,863.10$0.004.660%
Federal Student Loan 8-$2,457.12$0.006.800%
Federal Student Loan 9-$2,307.18$0.006.800%
Federal Student Loan 10-$2,003.02$0.005.600%
Federal Student Loan 11-$1,639.01$0.006.800%
Federal Student Loan 12-$1,144.25$0.005.600%
University Student Loan 1-$4,105.61$60.418.000%
University Student Loan 2-$3,191.76$42.435.000%
University Student Loan 3-$646.37$30.008.000%
University Student Loan 4-$452.24$30.008.000%
Total-$112,707.46$765.82


November 2020 – Student Loan Balance(s): -$113,191.59

December 2020 – Student Loan Balance(s): -$112,707.46

Difference: $484.13

Okay, that exclamation point might have been a bit misleading and suggested that the numbers would be more exciting than they are. There isn’t really much to see here beyond the slow roll over from -$113,XXX.XX to -$112,XXX.XX. But that changes this week, because…

I reached my three (3) month emergency fund goal of $5,000.00!







While it doesn’t really compare to the elation of paying off a debt, it does feel pretty good. This is actually the most money I have ever had set aside, as an adult, that wasn’t earmarked for some future purpose.

I am beyond thrilled to return to aggressive debt repayment this Friday. Lately, I have been tired (and sick) and shuffling off to my part time job each evening has required a lot of discipline. There were definitely moments where I wondered, “Why am I doing this?” I think it will be much easier to stay motivated now that I know, every two weeks, I will be able to throw a bit more cash at my balance and begin to see it meaningfully decrease.

On Friday, I will share the results of the poll where I asked the pennyfolk (it’s how I refer to you all in conversations with myself) which student loan I should payoff next, and I will make my first non-minimum debt payment in three months!

Income Update/Am I saving enough?

Afro Penny6 Comments

I know, I know. The same woman who was so impatient to get back to debt repayment that she made a post about it, is now asking, “Am I saving enough?” I will address what led me to ask this question momentarily. First, an income update…

Part Time Job

As I shared in an earlier post, I picked up a part time job. And…I actually love it. It’s usually two and a half hours per day (a minimum of two hours and a maximum of three hours), Monday through Friday. After I wrap up my day job, I get changed and head over to my evening gig. As of the this post, I have been there about six weeks and I have only encountered two other people, both of whom were wearing masks and who spoke to me from across a room. I go to the site, I complete my tasks, and I head home. I don’t think about it before I show up or after I leave. It’s mindless and when I first started I was listening to music, but recently, I have begun listening to personal finance and business podcasts…

So…umm…what’s the downside? The pay. I am currently earning just $10.00 per hour. While that isn’t a terrible wage, given the cost of my education and professional experience, it seems like my time could should be spent earning a higher wage. And I’m working on that. But for now, the additional income is very much appreciated. For the month of September, I earned the following:

Paycheck (9/11): $195.28 (I, thankfully, did not have to work on Labor Day…)

Paycheck (9/25): $237.23 (I covered someone else’s shift.)

Given how modest my income is relative to the size of my student loan debt, this consistent, additional income will meaningfully help me along on my debt repayment journey.

Additional Responsibilities

At my full time job at University B, I recently took on some additional responsibilities. While this is often an unsaid expectation at colleges and universities (that faculty and staff will perform uncompensated labor in service to the university), due to the nature of this role, I will actually receive a very small stipend. While this labor is significantly more intellectually and emotionally taxing* than my part time job, I was interested in the role because it is in-line with my long term career goals before I learned it came with a stipend.

University B pays us on the first of each month but the HR payroll portal allows you to see your pay stub about a week before payday. I logged in today to discover that the monthly stipend is $200.00 which after taxes and 403(b) contributions (which are a percentage of my salary), resulted in a net increase of $129.85.

While this stipend isn’t life changing by any means, it does represent a very modest improvement in my ability to pay off debt…or save…

*This job requires I work a couple of evenings, during one week, every two months.

DIY Money

Above I shared that while at my part time job, one of my favorite things to do is to listen to podcasts while I work. Currently, I am listening to DIY Money. Hosted by Quint and Daniel, it is straight-talk about personal finance and investing presented in a super accessible way. The show’s outgoing message sums the show up pretty well: “The key to wealth is simple: Live on less than you make, invest the rest, and do so for a very long time.

They have over a hundred podcasts and I have just made my way into the double digits but one of my favorites thus far is, “Like a Roth to a Flame.” In this podcast, in addition to learning a ton about Roth IRAs, one of the key takeaways for me was, “You don’t get time back.” As I went about my tasks, I began to think about my financial journey and where I want to be in five years. Not to be Carrie Bradshaw but, “Is being debt free enough?”

As I progress through even more of the DIY Money podcasts, it is clear that Quint and Daniel are not in complete agreement on this question. Quint believes there are three categories of debt: 1) bad, bad debt (credit cards, store cards, rent-to-own agreements, pay day loans, etc.), 2) bad debt (student loans or automobile loans), and 3) debt (mortgage). He believes that one should only have category 3 debt or a mortgage remaining before one begins to invest. This perspective is pretty Ramseyesque. Daniel agrees that category 1 debt must be eliminated, but thinks investing is possible with category 2 debt remaining depending on individual circumstances (interest rates, stage in life, overall portfolio, other obligations, etc.).

Looking Ahead

I know she has to be tired of me name-checking her by now, but one of the things that stuck out to me the most about DDSW’s debt free post (Double Debt Single Woman Has Paid Off Over $142,598 and is Officially Debt-Free!) was that not only was she out of debt but that she also managed to amass considerable assets along the way. (Note: I am confident I make significantly less than DDSW, so I am not worried about having as much as she has at the end of my journey. Instead, I am looking at it as a model for potentially doing both debt repayment and retirement savings.)

Another somewhat recent addition to my blog reading list is Millennial Mayday. Despite starting off with an enormous amount of student loan debt ($200,000.00), Avery seems to have done everything right. While they have received some support from their parents, they were smart and took on this kind of debt for a six-figure profession (pharmacy), hustled to pay it back, moved back in with their parents, refinanced where appropriate, and invested and saved like a beast. Which is why it’s not really surprising that less than three years into their journey, Avery already has a positive net worth. As I was reading through their debt update posts, I noticed their repayment slowed a bit and Avery explained that with just under $50,000.00 in student loan debt remaining, they have decided to invest even more…

For all of the reasons you can imagine, the DIY Money podcast, DDSW’s post, and Avery’s blog have me really thinking about my long term financial goals and what I need to do now to get there…

P.S. I know I was super vague about exactly what my part time job is. That was obviously intentional. However, unlike secrets I plan to keep, like my identity, this is one I will give up once I’ve paid off my debt. I am sure there will be other secrets along the way, and at the end of this journey, I plan to divulge a few.

The 401K…er…403B

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So, one of the many decisions you need to make when you change employers is deciding if and how much to contribute to retirement savings plans. While there are many different investment vehicles, in higher education, the most common is the 403(b). At some colleges and universities, there are compulsory contributions. In fact, my former employer had such a requirement. It could be waived your first year of employment, and even a second year if you were under the age of 35, however, after 35, first year of employment or not, you were compelled to contribute. My new employer does not have compulsory contributions, however, I do plan to contribute. The why…

For most of my adult life I did not work for companies/institutions with retirement savings plans (I lived and worked abroad, ran a small business, did gig work, was a student, etc.). And it was only with my immediate former employer, University A, that I began contributing. Initially, I was planning to take Dave Ramsey’s advice and not save for retirement until my debt was paid off. However, while University A, a mid-sized public university on the west coast, had a relatively standard match (6%), their 403(b) was relatively unique in that you were immediately vested. (Many employers require you to work for them for a period of time, often a year or more, before you are vested and can take not only your own contributions but employer contributions to your 403(b) with you if you leave their employment). So I contributed. I worked at University A for a little more than an academic year and my 403(b) account with them is just a little more than $3600.00. Not a lot. More than I had.

My new employer, University B, is a midsize private university that is relatively well funded and their match is pretty good. Without getting into too many details, a 2% contribution from me would result in an 8% match from the university for a 10% total contribution to my 403(b). They have a two three year period until you are vested but even given my uncertainty as to exactly what I want to do in the future, I more than expect I will be here that long.

I know that some folks will not agree with this decision and I will admit as someone who intended to do the Dave Ramsey Baby Steps, I was not initially planning to contribute. However, as I said in my Why I’m Not Doing the Ramsey Plan (i.e. The Baby Steps), unlike most of Dave’s followers who will be out of debt in just a couple of years, it will take me at least twice that long and time is something you don’t get back.