I owe everybody and their brother money. In upwards of almost $200,000 in student loans, credit card debt, unbelievably high mortgage payments on a POS real estate investment etc etc. I was cheated out of my money, some I lost due to my stupidity. But, rest assured I will pay back every penny. I work for the government, credit card companies, student loan companies, and real estate financing companies etc etc. I'm what they call an economic slave. I work to make interest payments to everybody else. Well, the situation is horrible as I'm employed in a job that pays minimum wage. Its very hard to tally all up, but I will try my best as I go along. This journal is my attempt to record all my income coming in and expenses going out for everyday. My goal is keep my expenses down and increase my income as much as possible, and payback some interest expenses along the way.
this sounds like it could be interesting. The one thing im interested in is you must have gone to a decent school to have 200K in student loans and Im assuming you finished your degree. Why the crap job? Maybe we can help you with your resume. People say this is a terrible job market but I see opportunity. In business owners typically blame management for lack of performance even though the general economic condition is most likely to blame. So unless mr. manager had foresight into the pending problems that may arise and was able to plan accordingly mr. manager may be getting canned. This is where you step in and say ha! I can do a better job and you don't even have to pay me as much at fist!
$200k in student loans? I'm assuming you became a doctor or a lawyer? Or at least I hope so for your sake.
January 11, 2009: Income, Parental Gift: + $ 125 Expense, Transportation - Train ticket: -$ 181 Expense, Food - Coffee on the train + plus ($0.20 tip): -$ 2 Expense, Transportation - Metro ride: -$ 2 Total Cash Flow: -$ 60
Can you file for bankruptcy? Cuz I think 200k with minimum wage you'll never get over it. Did you make any calculation of how many years it would take? I've been in rough financial conditions in the past, and yes, taking note of every penny you spend help to reduce it. But on the long term it's just boring.
Bankruptcy is just not an option. I haven't even considered it. Also, government has recently (couple of years ago) passed a law where bankruptcy doesn't wipe out your student loans. So even if I declare bankruptcy my student loans follow me. There is a small point of opening, as the student loans are amortized over a 30 year period. My goal is to get rid of the credit card balances as soon as possible. That should get me to safer grounds. One thing I learned is that if you write down all your expenses as you spend right on the spot on a index card, you'd be careful in how you spend your money. That is my goal.
It may be a good idea for you to create a month-end balance sheet. That way you won't get frazzled by the minor daily cash inflows and outflows. So just create a basic "as of 1/31/09 Balance sheet" at the end of each month. Assets - Liabilities = Net Worth
January 12, 2008 Expense - Metrocard: -$ 9.00 (3 rides unused) Total Expenses: -$ 9 My goal is to keep my expenses as low as possible by writing down everything as I spend it then and there while spending it. This has worked enormously well so far for two days. I hope to do this forever and keep all the unwanted and frivolous expenses out as I get out of my debt and build up a trading stake. I think it is better to keep up with expenses daily, and income monthly.