January: By the Numbers

It's been awhile since I've really dug into the nitty-gritty of our budget here on the blog. To be honest, I was looking for a better format.  Then I read Amber's post from the other day and I was inspired! I know it's already the 6th of February, but here is a peek at my finances from last month.

Student Loans First Steps

Student loans have been all the talk around the Croshaw-SSF household these days. My in-school deferment will be ending at the end of this month which means come February we will be taking on a $900 loan payment in addition to our other monthly expenses. It sucks, but it's life. In anticipation of that dreadful day we've been working on a strategy on how to manage the added monthly expense, while still living our normal lives and paying for a wedding.

Our strategy consisted of 3 steps.

First, lower monthly payments 


I have a mix of private and federal loans. Because the terms of my private loans are less agreeable than those backed by the government, paying off the private loans is a priority. As a result, I wanted to make my monthly payment on my federal loans as low as possible. In order to this I have to consolidate all of my federal debt into one loan. Once that process is complete, I will be applying for Income-Based Repayment, or IBR. IBR is a repayment option available to those with more than $30,000 in federal student loan debt. What makes IBR different from most repayment plans is that your payment amount under IBR is dictated by your income as opposed to factors like principle, interest rate, and term.

Second, identify cash inflows and plan for extra income 

Between tax returns, tuition reimbursement, and bonuses SSF and I have some serious bonus cash coming in that needs to be accounted for and earmarked before it gets here. SSF made a list of all our expected "extra income" and together we made decisions on where it should  go. While quite a bit of it will go towards the wedding we would also like to pay off at least one of our cars and keep some tucked away for a rainy day.

Third, identify cash outflows and cut back on expenses

As of right now we are focusing on one expense: our grocery bill. Despite my attempts at couponing this is the one area we always tend to go over on so starting this month we established a strict budget of $320 per month for groceries. That's a generous $80 a week, and $20 less than we had been spending. How did we come to this number? Well I basically looked at our average spend over the last few months and cut it by 20%.

And that's that. Thrilling right? Not really. But its nice to have a plan. If you are like me though a plan is not enough, so I made a goal too. My goal is to have all my private student loan debt paid off in less than 10 years. (My repayment term is 15 for them.) I've yet to figure out how much that would save me in-terms of interest, but mostly likely a lot. Wish me luck.

How do you cope with your student loans?

Why My Mom Had it Right

Words I never thought I'd say.

Every single year since I can remember my Mom (and Dad) have had a Christmas spending limit of $100 per child (there's three of us). As a kid, I didn't know that $100 wasn't much relative to what my friend's parents were spending, all I knew was that I had lots of presents under the tree. As I grew older and things became more important, I used to resent my mom for only spending $100, instead of appreciating I had received anything at all. Up until a few years ago I carried this resentment with me. I didn't exactly subscribe to the "it's the thought that counts" school of thought. (Another reason for my overwhelming debt?).

Anyway, the last few years of living well below my means to pay off my debt has taught me a lot about Christmas.

- It truly is the thought that counts. Case in point: My oldest sister. In the past I've given her expensive gifts, namely, a Kate Spade Diaper bag. However, I had never seen her so excited about a gift until this year when I showed her the necklace I had bought her. A simple silver chain, with a simple silver pendant that has all three of her children's names engraved in it. (We celebrated the holiday early). Cost of the bag: $200+, Cost of the necklace: $42

- The holiday's aren't about gifts, they are about family and friends. SSF and I moved to Maryland for jobs but left a lot of friends and family behind both in Michigan and Pennsylvania. Each year we make our rounds to visit all the friends and family we can. If I had to pick a Christmas filled with many presents or the time we share with our friends and family, I would choose the latter.

- Finally, the holiday is not an excuse to go into debt. My mom had it right all along. She spends what she can afford, to avoid paying the bill come January. Why would you want to start a new year with a pile of debt anyway? Doesn't that defeat the purpose of a fresh start?

Now for the fun part, old Christmas pictures.








One day I'll share with you guy's the collection of dresses i was subject to wear on all the christian high holidays (Christmas, Easter etc)

Weekly Money Check-up

Yes Another "Weekly Money-Check-up" courtesy of My Pretty Pennies. Why you ask? Because after spending 2.5 hours last night on a return/risk analysis for the 3 different asset classes over the last 5,10,15 years I am wayy to exhausted to be creative.

1. The most I’ve spent this last week was on The water bill, $85.59, I hate utilities.

2. Today I feel optimistic towards money. SSBF is in a pick 'em league for football with his dad. Each week everyone picks winners for all the games and whoever gets the most right at the end of the weeks wins the $500-$600 pot. SSBF won the first week! Yes we have to split the proceeds but I will take $250 any day.

3. Money can’t buy happiness. One free/inexpensive thing I did last week that made me happy was Laughed at a book in the book store called "Awkward Family Photos" .

4. I will consider this week a success if I don't buy any more gym clothes.

5. One of my most memorable birthdays was in 2007, when I turned 23. SSBF took me up to Philly for a Phillies game with my sister, best friend and her now fiance. The trip up was annoying thanks to loads of traffic along the way however SSBF made the night unforgettable by catching a Jimmy Rollins homerun ball with his left hand! We ended up on the local news and I got to run around Philly that night telling everyone on the street that "my boyfriend caught a Jimmy Rollins homerun ball!"

Enjoy the weekend!
Oh yeah, and don't forget to enter my giveaway for a beautiful custom ring , it closes Tuesday at 10 pm.