November was a great month, even with my shopping spree madness early on in the month. I was able to get myself back on track and I eventually exceeded my goal of saving $515.47 to reach the $3,000 mark.
My grand total was $595.93 after I set aside $150 for my travel/wedding fund. I like to have a graphic that shows my progress but my goals have changed a bit so graphics wouldn't make much sense.
Originally, I wanted to save $9,000 to include enough money for a down payment on a house (FHSA Loan), a older used car for whenever my car dies or if an accident were to happen, and $1,500 left over for an emergency fund. However, after a lot of consideration, I'm putting my house dreams on hold for now to focus on my student loans.
I have 2 loans that are currently interest only until March 2015. When that rolls around, the monthly minimum is going to be out of my reach. Home-ownership can be a great investment but there are too many risks to face with my debt as high as it is. Also, I'm very comfortable in my apartment and I'm not sure I am ready to give up the heated garage in the Minnesota winters.
So where does that leave me for December? I want to get my savings up to an even $4,000 to cover a car and an emergency fund. That way I can go bat shit crazy on my loans in 2014. But that means I would have to earn $919.54 in addition to my monthly $150 travel/wedding fund. Especially around the holidays, this isn't easy to do and I have no idea if I can pull it off.
As I look at the work I have booked already for December, it's surprising how close I could be. I certainly hope that's the case because I've been pulling 12 hour days this week, including Sunday. But as my elementary school library displayed, "If you can dream it, you can achieve it."
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