Better late than never, right? I’ll spare you the details, but here is a quick post to see how I closed out 2018.
First, how did the December 15 paycheck turn out?
We already knew I had a zero-based budget that was a tad bit unrealistic, but I was determined to work through it.
My fixed bills were only slightly over-budget, primarily due to data overages on my cell phone bill. Still don’t understand why that’s a thing in 2018, but whatev. Overall, not too bad on the fixed expenses.
Now about these cash envelopes….
I was over everything based on my budgeted cash envelopes. However, keep in mind these cash envelope amounts were based on trying to allocate the amounts left over after allocating for the fixed expenses, and not really based on what I needed or how my life is set up.
Seriously, $40 for gas for two weeks in Atlanta? Particularly with the holidays and everything, this was laughable even as it was written down.
The holidays are a stressful time for a lot of people anyway, but I plan to be much better prepared the next time around.
Overall, coming in at $268.79 over budget wasn’t too terrible, especially given the $372.82 medical expenses.
Overall Bills and Balances
I totaled up my bills and balances, and as of December 27, 2018, my total debt number is $182,137.22. The majority of this is student loans, but still.
While this number is discouraging, I must note that as of July 28, my debt number was $185.723. I was a bit intimidated about how long my debt journey will be, but after I compared the total numbers, I felt better. Decreasing my debt number by a little over $3,500 in five months is not too bad, particularly since I was still living my best life, mostly.
You have to do what works for you. You can do it.
We can do it.