In September, I finally decided to take the plunge and start up this website to share my personal finance journey. So far after about ten days it’s been pretty exciting and overwhelming. I am a total newbie when it comes Website design, so I’ve spent most of my free time YouTubing WordPress “how to” videos and not as much on producing more content so far.
As I mentioned on my recommended page, I use my Whiteboard every month to track my Student Loan Debt, Monthly Goals, and Yearly goals. It keeps me Organized as well as keeps me motivated to accomplish my goals.
Below are my October 2016 goals.
Student Loan Debt
Currently, I have two loans left at Great Lakes.
- $8.38k @ 3.15%
- $1.58k @4.25%
In October I plan to pay off the remaining balance on the $1.58k loan as well as an additional $250 towards the $8.38k. Starting in November, I will only have one Student Loan left and will be able to snowball all my payments into one.
My minimum auto payments will post on 10/15, and I will call Great Lakes to make my additional credit card payment over the phone with my new Chase Sapphire Reserve card (I pay off the credit card immediately after the payment posts). Making the payment via Credit Card will help me eliminate my debt and also help with meeting the minimum spend on my card. Check out my post on paying my federal loans via credit card here.
At the beginning of the year, I set out a goal to pay at least $18,000 towards my loans this year. So far Jan – Sept 2016 I have paid $14,459 and should be on pace to pass the $18,000 goal in November :).
Website
As mentioned above I was pretty excited to get the site started in September. Starting in October my primary focus will be to produce valuable content.
- Provide at least four useful posts
- Setup Social Media accounts (Twitter, Snapchat, FB, Pinterest)
- Improve Writing
- Seek feedback and improve the blog – Seek Coaching
Personal Education
- I plan on reading at least two books this month.
- “Rich Dads Cashflow Quadrant” (Finished “Rich Dad, Poor Dad” in September) – Robert Kiyosaki
- “168 Hours” – Laura Vanderkam
- Read more Personal Finance / Financial Independence blogs and articles (3 to 5 Daily)
Meditate
As mentioned on my recommended page I have a brain sensing headband that I use called Muse. It is a great tool I use for meditation.
For October I plan to increase my meditation days from 3 to 5 days a week. I hear many successful people advising for people to meditate more and I need to make it a bigger priority in my life. With Muse, I feel confident that I can improve many aspects of my life if I make meditation a priority.
Let me know in the what you think in the comments! I will keep you all posted in November on my October goal results!
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