progress bars
I’m so happy about my little progress bars! They’re even better than my quasi-quarterly statements. I could use some more progress bars, but I don’t see the point right now. My ING savings pot and my old credit card debt payments are the only things besides starting an IRA that are important to me right now (and they’re the only areas where I am making any progress worth measuring).
I’ll be done with the ING goal quite soon - certainly by August. That doesn’t mean that I’ll stop saving, but I just plan to start saving in a different way. That’s when I plan to start my Roth IRA, if impatience doesn’t get the better of me first! I’m going to split the amount of direct deposit from my check into my savings account between my ING fund (the smaller amount) and my IRA that I’ll start with August’s extra paycheck (the lion’s share). I think that’s when I’ll make a progress bar for three months’ living expenses, and see how long it takes me to get there.
Recent changes to my tax withholding will help me pay the old college debt that much more aggressively. When I’m done with the debt consolidation, which is actually a line of credit that I picked up to get a lower interest rate and a fixed term for my balance, my next target is my private student loan, and after that, I will pay my car loan off early. Then, provided my budget can handle it, I’m going to start trying to pay off my big whopping grad school debt. Maybe I’ll even get off the graduated repayment plan! That’s the grand overview. The faster I can raise my income, the sooner I can get this stuff done. In the meantime, I am paying minimums on all of my debt except for the debt consolidation loan. It feels good to know that I am shedding the baggage of my college consumer debt - all those car repairs, prep courses, textbooks, groceries, interview suits, (ahem - that one trip to Florida) and the like. It will be such a psychological victory to conquer that goal!!! I anticipate finishing that progress bar by next August. If I’m really good, I can finish early. I might have enough juice to ask someone for a mortgage after I pay it off.
