December Check In
Happy December! Today was the first cold day in Florida and it feels phenomenal!
The two goals I set for myself by the end of the year were to pay off 2 of my 4 credit cards (without increasing the balance on the remaining 2 of course) and to get my savings up to $4000 (3 months emergency savings).
The first is completed! Not only have I paid off 2 credit cards since June but I also had my credit limit raised by $4500. After paying off the second card, I got to see my credit score jump 37 points in one day! I am now only 3 points shy of good credit! I know some people say that credit score doesn’t really matter but I still have a car payment I’d like to refinance so I can pay it off sooner and with less interest.
As far as savings goes I have $3150/4000. With just my regular paychecks I wouldn’t be able to reach my goal with Christmas coming up, but I am currently awaiting news about my huge Florida’s teacher raise! The governor of Florida is one of the worst people ever, but I’m not mad about him signing a law that’s going to significantly raise my salary. The official decision was supposed to be made today and I should be getting a big back-paid check any day now! I still might end up a little shy of my goal until the first paycheck in January though because I’m going to make a big payment on my highest interest credit card with that money.
Looking forward, I took the risk of booking a fully cancellable trip for spring break. I had flight tracker alerts set and there was finally a big dip on flights to Cancun so hopefully the world will be settled enough for me to visit Tulum next March! Dreaming about swimming in cenotes and walking the pyramids is what’s going to keep me going this school year. After I meet my emergency savings goal I’m going to funnel money towards that trip and making it everything it can be! But I won’t be booking anything nonrefundable until it’s much closer and we know more about what’s happening with the vaccine.
I feel so great about this year and everything I was able to accomplish, but to be fair, starting a job making almost 50% more income is incredible. I can’t wait to reach all my goals and prioritize long term travel as soon as possible!
What are your goals for the end of the year?
