Hi all,
I am back with my January report!
I’ll start with the good news. I got a small contract that will help cover my monthly expenses for January and February! Very thankful for it, especially because I wasn’t out looking for another contract (got my hands full with my current contracts). It literally just came to me.
The bad news is that the loonie, i.e. the Canadian dollar, keeps falling. I will probably have to re-adjust my debt reduction tables in 3 or 4 months to better reflect the average exchange rate. Not looking forward to that at all as it will increase my amount owing by at least $10K CAD. *sigh*
Anyways, let’s go back to business.
My dining expenses went back down! Only went out to eat with friends once and the rest was for family takeout.
DINING EXPENSES
| NOVEMBER | DECEMBER | JANUARY |
|---|---|---|
| $133 | $201 | $59 |
My spending on gifts actually went up from the $240 it was at Christmastime. I spent $291 in January! That was mainly for a snowblower for my Mum because I was tired of having to shovel snow and I didn’t want my mother to be breaking her back to do it either. And, since I earned money this month, I gave a little to my Mum.
I also spent $82 on groceries.
For entertainment, it was again another good month spending-wise. Not so good though for my social life. I only spent $10 for a Groupon type recreation deal that I will be using in the next couple months.
ENTERTAINMENT EXPENSES (TRAVEL, DRINKING/PARTYING, RECREATION)
| OCT | NOV | DEC | JAN |
|---|---|---|---|
| $30 | $13 | $0 | $10 |
And my dental expenses went back down to normal monthly levels.
Here is where things stood at the end of January:
| NAME | JULY 31, 2013 | JANUARY 31, 2015 |
|---|---|---|
| Mastercard | $6,123 CAD | $0 CAD |
| Visa | $8,653 CAD | $15 CAD |
| B-school loan | $96,800 USD ($109,142 CAD) |
$78,555 USD ($88,571 CAD) |
| Ontario Student Assistance Program (OSAP) loan | $20,931 CAD | $18,134 CAD |
| Student Line of Credit (LOC) | $9,678 CAD | $0 |
| TOTAL | $154,527 CAD | $106,705 CAD |
December’s balance was $108,196. So that means that in January I paid off $1491, far below my minimum threshold of $2500 per month in debt reduction. But I’m in lockdown mode financially now so I am okay with that number.
I have started out the year behind schedule. But one of my clients promised to pay me the massive amount owing by the end of this month. Hopefully that happens. So that by March I will be square again and can make up the payments. At the same time, if things don’t improve I will have to start finding new contracts around then too.
Here’s to hoping things work out financially for me this month!
Debt Squasher 