2017 Goals for Double Debt Single Woman

Posted on January 1, 2017 by Double Debt Single Woman

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

The new years bells haven’t even stopped ringing and yet I’m already posting about goals, because, well, that’s what you do at this time of year.

See my past January goals and December check-in posts here:

2013 Goals | 2013 Year End Review

2014 Goals | 2014 Year End Review

2015 Goals | 2015 Year End Review

2016 Goals | 2016 Year End Review

DOUBLE DEBT SINGLE WOMAN GOALS FOR 2017

ONE – Pay down my student loan debt from $88,935 to under $65,000.

This is Read More

Net Worth and 2016 Goals for Double Debt Single Woman

Posted on January 10, 2016 by Double Debt Single Woman

I began this blog in the Winter of 2012 and at that time I had a six figure negative net worth. I had no assets. My financial picture was entirely comprised of liabilities. I had been completely oblivious to the financial dire straits I’d put myself into until that point in my life. My student loans were coming off of forbearance and there was no way I could afford the minimum payments. It was game over. In January of 2013, I gave up my studio apartment, sold or gave away almost everything except my clothes and books and moved into a rented room. Read More

2015 Financial Goals for Double Debt Single Woman + FS-DAIR

Posted on January 3, 2015 by Double Debt Single Woman

Happy New Year!

It is that time of year again. I unveil my 2015 financial goals. Before I do, I’ll look back at my recent yearly goals.

2014 Goals:

Pay off remaining $22,770 balance in credit card debt
Open and contribute to 401k up to point of employer match when eligible

2014 Outcome: [partial success]

Paid off $16,780 in credit card debt [remaining balance: -$5,990]
Paid $8,720 in student loan interest [0.o -Yeah, this is insane.]
Opened and contributed to retirement funds [+$6,578 (including employer match)]

In the footer and sidebar, I have added a tracker for my retirement and other savings to help me have a fuller picture of my finances.

2015 Goals:

Pay off remaining credit card debt of $5,990
Reach $20,000 in retirement savings
Reduce student loan debt to $108,000
Save $6,000 in savings (Yes, my lack of an emergency fund is scary.)
Pay cash for an international trip – $??

My student loan goal doesn’t look like much of a drop, but you have to remember that the first $750 that I pay each month is just going to interest, not principal. So it will take nearly $15k in payments to get from $113k to $108k.

Undoubtedly, I have some more thinking to do to figure out how to prioritize all of these goals. Save for retirement or pay down debt?

Will a noble samurai rescue me from my quandry? Enter FS-DAIR

Financial Samurai has posted a formula for determining how to prioritize debt repayment vs. retirement funding. His FS-DAIR (Financial Samurai Debt and Investment Ratio), looks like the tool I’ve been hoping to find for a while now. How does it work? This chart lays it all out in a clear format.


Source and Image Credit: FinancialSamurai.com

Basically, any debt that you have carrying 10% or higher in interest, should be paid off post-haste, at the expense of any investing (beyond the 401k employer match). Once your debts have interest rates at 9% and below, things get interesting. Read Sam’s FS-DAIR post for examples of how this works. For instance, Sam uses the following as an example for someone deciding how much to put toward student loans vs 401k.


Source: FinancialSamurai.com

My student loan debt is made up of many separate loans with different fixed interest rates. I will need to run the numbers to see how this would shape my plan of attack. I’ll do a follow-up post on this in the not too distant future. Thanks, Sam for lending me a sword to use in my battle!

Net Worth – Double Debt Single Woman – January 2015

As my debt drops in 2015, I’ll be tracking my Net Worth. My first goal will be to see it drop down into the 5-digit zone. Soon you will also be able to track it here @Rockstar Finance. I will be pretty low on the ranked list, but I will be gunning for higher and higher slots. Watch out Finance Phoenix and Feisty Finance!