My first week of my #NoSpendMonth was GREAT! Read about how I spent less than $50 on everything I needed this week!

Week One: No Spend Month

Posted by By April 8, 2017Posted inNo Spend Challenges, No Spend Updates2 Comments

Week One of my No Spend Challenge was not nearly as hard as I thought it was going to be. I had a few ups and downs as I expected, but I really think I excelled all week! Thank goodness for my Instagram #debtfreecommunity. HUGE shout out to The Budget Awakens and Frugal Desperado for doing this challenge with me! All three of these have been amazing sources for me when I wondered if this challenge was really worth it!

Week One of my #NoSpendMonth was GREAT! Read about how I spent less than $50 on everything I needed this week and how I did it!

Buying supplies for my no spend challenge

The few days before, I spent $21.43 at Super Saver getting chicken, fruit, veggies, and other stuff to make for my meals this week.

Then I spend $25 at Sam’s Club getting enough toilet paper to last through the apocalypse and coffee creamer for the rest of the year. They were both killer good deals and I won’t worry about needing them for a while so I am not constantly using my small budget this month to buy items. (Update: I bought the toilet paper in March and I still have a ton left in August. My coffee creamer lasted until July.)

I put $25 worth of gas into my Jeep! Gas is probably going to be the hardest part of this month because it doesn’t really matter if I go over budget, I have to go to work. That being said, I have been trying to monitor how often I am driving places and if I can make multiple trips into one instead of driving all over town! Most of my driving is to and from work and the gym.

I had to buy more pre-workout and ended up spending $90 at Max Muscle (They still gave me a killer deal) for some pre-workout. BCAA’s are good for sore muscles and recovery. Since I have been insanely sore after my last few workouts, I decided to give it a try. I had a little bit of money in my supplement fund. While it was an impulse, it was worth it to get me through week one.

Week One of my No Spend Challenge!

I think I have done great on my No Spend Challenge so far! I have forced myself to keep packing my lunch no matter how great McDonald’s coffee may sound at about halfway through my 12-13 hour work days.

My coworkers for the week were eating out and I kept sticking with it all week! I desperately wanted some food at work a couple of those days, but I stuck it out and made the best of it. Some of my coworkers were actually nice enough to share their food with me if they didn’t eat it all.

SPENT THIS WEEK:

Wal-Mart Groceries     16.21

Sam’s Club, Groceries   5.48

Sam’s Club Gas:           25.09

Paid Off:

Student Loan #3: $78

Student Loan #4: $92

Free family friendly things to do are sometimes hard to find. During my No Spend Challenge, I am attempting to come up with multiple things that make not spending money easier. Do you have a favorite that isn't on this list?

37 Free Things To Do Instead of Spending Money

Posted by By April 3, 2017Posted inMillennial Life, Money Saving Tips, No Spend Tips2 Comments

Free family friendly things to do are sometimes hard to find. During my No Spend Challenge, I am attempting to come up with multiple things that make not spending money easier. Do you have a favorite that isn't on this list?

 

 

I have officially started my No Spend Month and free things have become my best friend! It is already a little harder than I expected, but I know it will be great!  It definitely requires more organization and planning than I am used to! Especially working two jobs some days, I diligently pack the night before to make sure I have the things that I need for the entire day. I know that I am working most of the month, so I will not have a whole lot of time to be bored, but if you are completing a No Spend Month (Or even just a weekend!) there are a ton of great things to do with your time. During a No Spend Time, you don’t have to sit and be miserable!

I encourage you to do things that you don’t get to do very often and make the most of you time! Don’t sit around thinking about the things you could be doing if you were spending money! The more you find to do that is fun, the less you will think about spending money!

February Debt Free Progress Report

Posted by By March 6, 2017Posted inDebt Free Journey, Debt Free Updates1 Comment

As a 22 year old, I am working hard at being #debtfreeby23. It is going to be quite the challenge, but I am up for the challenge to be debt free!

My Story

If you have been following my story at all, you probably know that I tell my story at the beginning of every monthly report for those who just stumbled upon my blog. If you have read my story, feel free to skip ahead to my monthly report. I tell this story so I am not just some stranger, but instead someone who just might inspire each and every reader to follow the same journey!

My name is Elyse. I am 22, single with no kids and I am proudly on my way to being completely debt freeeee. I never really thought of myself as someone who was in debt. With no credit cards and no car payment, I was not the average American.  All I had was a few student loans. It wasn’t until a few weeks before my 22nd birthday that I got a loan for a Jeep and my very first credit card. I should say credit card(S). For the month of December, I thought it was so cool that I finally had a credit card. I was excited over it actually. I was learning about all the different rewards I could cash in and it was fantastic.

Towards the end of the month, I was cleaning off a bookshelf, getting ready to move (again), and found The Total Money Makeover: Classic Edition: A Proven Plan for Financial Fitness. This $15 book completely changed my life path at the time. Dave describes being debt free as such a rewarding and achievable thing. In his book, he says it will take work and it will be hard, but it will be worth it. He has been right. There have been days were I have completely questioned my sanity. I sometimes wonder why I don’t just make minimum payments forever like everyone else.

“Sometimes, you have to like like NO ONE else, so someday you can LIVE like no one else.” – Dave Ramsey

January Debt Free Progress Report

Posted by By February 1, 2017Posted inDebt Free Journey, Debt Free Updates3 Comments

How this single, 22 year old paid off $1,500 in debt in ONE month and how she plans to keep it up this year!
I just posted my goals about getting debt free a little over a week ago, but I have been working on this all month! I have big goals of paying off all of my debt by the end of the year and I definitely got a good start this month!

Now, I have to be clear that I did this without selling anything so far. I didn’t trade in my vehicle for a cheaper vehicle. The same items are still in my home and I still live in the same place.

I did pick up a ton of extra hours at work and I was a lot more diligent with my grocery shopping and eating out. The military also put me to work for a little while this month, which ended up as a pretty nice paycheck. I was also very meticulous with my budgeting throughout the entire month.

My Story

If you have been following my story at all, you probably know that I tell my story at the beginning of every monthly report for those who just stumbled upon my blog. If you have read my story, feel free to skip ahead to my monthly report. I tell this story so I am not just some stranger, but instead someone who just might inspire each and every reader to follow the same journey!

My name is Elyse. I am 22, single with no kids and I am proudly on my way to being completely debt freeeee. I never really thought of myself as someone who was in debt. With no credit cards and no car payment, I was not the average American.  All I had was a few student loans. It wasn’t until a few weeks before my 22nd birthday that I got a loan for a Jeep and my very first credit card. I should say credit card(S). For the month of December, I thought it was so cool that I finally had a credit card. I was excited over it actually. I was learning about all the different rewards I could cash in and it was fantastic.

Towards the end of the month, I was cleaning off a bookshelf, getting ready to move (again), and found The Total Money Makeover: Classic Edition: A Proven Plan for Financial Fitness. This $14 book completely changed my life path at the time. Dave describes being debt free as such a rewarding and achievable thing. In his book, he says it will take work and it will be hard, but it will be worth it. He has been right. There have been days were I have completely questioned my sanity. I sometimes wonder why I don’t just make minimum payments forever like everyone else.

“Sometimes, you have to like like NO ONE else, so someday you can LIVE like no one else.” – Dave Ramsey

If you haven’t read the book, I recommend you go buy it RIGHT NOW!. It will be $15 that changes your life completely. I will wait, just be sure to come back!

I officially started my debt free journey on January 1st, 2017. While progress seems slow right now, my goal is to have everything paid off by my 23rd birthday on December of 2017. I am a little uneasy about the goal, but I am going to work at it until I am debt free. I am trying not to look at the numbers and just keep looking at the goal ahead because the numbers will probably stress me out too much.

My goal is to get completely debt free, buy a house in cash, and continue to save for an even better house! I am extremely excited about the opportunities to come with my journey ahead.

But Debt Free At 23 has such a great ring to it.

How I Plan to Pay Off $34,000 In Debt In 12 Months

Posted by By January 25, 2017Posted inDebt Free Journey, Debt Free Updates6 Comments

No one really likes debt, but this 22 year old has a plan to be #debtfreebytwentythree

I always told myself that I was financially smart. There has always been some form of a budget. I have some savings. The only debt I had was student loans. I didn’t even get a credit card until the week before my 22nd birthday and I was irrationally proud of that.

Fast forward six months and I feel like I am drowning. Not that I am not making enough money, but that I realized how much debt I actually have.

$34,000 in student loans, credit cards, and a car payments. 90% of it being student loans.

I told myself I would never ever be like the rest of America, just running on credit.

But here I am.

I didn’t need my Jeep as bad as I just really wanted it. It is probably one of the nicest vehicles that I have ever owned, but I could have waited. Instead, I got a loan for it.

With the loan, came a credit card to help build my credit so my dad didn’t have to cosign a loan if I needed a loan again. Blah.

I did the math and just paying the minimum payments, I would be paying off my student loans for almost 22 years and that’s without the interest that would accumulate.

A month and a half later, after the Christmas shopping has been completed, I am feeling a little like every other American at this time.

The post Christmas- “I am broke” blues.

While “broke” may not be exactly the word that most people would use to describe a 22 year old that has a solid Army paycheck coming in two days, it’s definitely how I feel.