December Expenses

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Here is a breakdown of my expenses for December.

Household

$474.34

Utilities

$130.32

Transportation

$210.08

Food

$95.31

Entertainment

$154.55

Student Loan

$894.46

Books

$126.90

Medical/Dental

$171.27

Total

$2257.23

Expenses were up mainly because of paying off my private student loan.  My expenses will be down this month since I’m returning to school and quitting my jobs.

December Savings/Debt Repayment Percentage

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My savings/debt repayment percentage for December was 55%.  I paid $1095.23 towards my student loans and contributed $350 to my IRA.  This was out of a total income of $2617.84.  I did carry some savings into the month which went towards paying my student loan but I also received a paycheck on the last day of the month which was too late to use the proceeds towards paying debt or an IRA contribution.  Therefore I think it is pretty accurate to say that my savings/debt repayment percentage was 55% of my income.  This is the last month I’ll keep track of the percentage for a few months because I won’t have much income while I’m in school.

December Income

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Here is a breakdown of my income for December.

Job Income

$2492.47

Online Income

$23.96

Surveys

$20

Lawsuit Settlement

$77.04

Interest

$4.37

Total

$2617.84

My income was up mainly because I worked more hours for the month.  My income will be down severely in January since I’m returning to school.  I hope to significantly increase the amount of my other income to help offset the loss of job income.

New Year's Goals

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My first goal for the New Year should probably be to stop procrastinating since I’m not getting around to posting this until January 3rd. Since I’m returning to school my financial goals will be limited but I’m making some non-financial goals as well. I had a pretty good year in 2007 financially. Some of my 2007 financial achievements are listed in this post “Saving On Minimum Wage.” Since then my total contribution to my IRA is $1250 and I paid over $2000 total on my private student loan to completely pay it off.

Here are the goals for 2008:

  1. Don’t incur any debt other than student loan debt. -This shouldn’t be a problem.
  2. Improve my blogging- Since I’m returning to school it will be easier for me to access the Internet. I plan to establish a regular M-F posting schedule and do some other things to improve my blog.
  3. Lose 20 pounds-This may have been a goal last year also but I weigh the same as I did at the beginning of last year. I just have to start using the fitness center and cut back on the junk food.

Those are my main goals. There are plenty of other goals I’d like to accomplish in 2008 but these goals come first.

Small Electric Bill and Big Gas Bill

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My latest electric bill was only $11.14 for 50kwh of electricity.  My gas bill was $84.72 which was larger than I expected.  I keep my thermostat low but my apartment is poorly insulated and drafted.  My furnace looks to be quite old and is probably not very efficient.  For now I have to have gas since I can’t do without heat.  Sometime in April or May though I will once again cancel my gas service.  Next time I move I’ll make sure the place has electric heat.