I Took 8 Hours Off Without Pay Last Week, and I’m so Happy I Did!

It may sound counterproductive for my ultimate goal of paying off debt and getting ahead financially, but last week , I took off of work 8 hours without pay (PTO).  And I was giddy as I walked out the door! Why? Because not only have I been working my butt off recently before I switch …

Why I Haven’t Paid Toward My Almost $100,000 in Loans This Year

It may sound strange, what with my whole blog's premise resting on my journey to become debt-free: I haven't paid one cent toward my loans so far in 2018. If you've seen my recent updates, you know we've had a busy start to the year with our wedding last month! While we budgeted for the …

How I Use My Bank to Budget, Without the Hassle of Cash or Envelopes

When I started reading tips for how to pay off my debt and learn to budget, the most surprising idea that I found was to create a cash envelope system. It makes sense, once the theory behind the concept is explained: if you take how much money you have in the budget for a period …

Why I Am Obsessed with Target (and How It Saves Me Hundreds!)

My husband (and mom, and friends) all know of my slightly extreme love for Target stores. I can only blame my sister, who taught me how to differentiate the different types of deals you can apply to any Target trip and to aim for the longest receipt possible. (Long receipts do not necessarily mean many …

How I Have Divided My Savings Account

There are probably thousands of banks out there willing to hold your money for you; probably hundreds of those that offer to let you create multiple savings "accounts" within a larger account to divide your money based on what it is being saved for. It helps to keep track of how much you have toward …

Get Your Perkins Loan Cancelled…without disability or death!

I've read several sad articles about students who either became disabled or passed away, and as a result their loan providers began coming after their families for payment. (It is honestly ridiculous! But before I find my soap box...) I found out last week (which, with the nauseating amount of research into student loan repayment …

Grad School Scholarship Opportunity May Pay for My Last Year

While we are double checking the numbers on how much we actually spent on our wedding this month, I wanted to share a little bit about an incredible opportunity I have been given. My employer loves helping put employees through school, especially if it means there will be a return (in the form of guaranteed …

And Two Become One…We Got Married!

This semester has been super busy so far for us, but not for academic reasons; two weeks ago (as of yesterday, in fact), my hubby and I officially tied the knot in front of 52 of our closest family and friends! The 10 weeks since New Year's leading up to that day were busy, but …

Fall Semester is gone…and 2018 is here!

Fall semester was a really hectic time for us here in our humble little apartment! My fiance unfortunately lost his job, which has led to a lot of watching our bank accounts (especially with the wedding costs finally rolling in) and the ever-painful job hunt. He's had three interviews with really great companies over the …

Second Job Opportunity

In the last 24 hours, I have made four shift trades at work. This was either due to school work that needed to be done (like when my lab professor moved our final and assigned me a time just after my 12 hour night shift would end) or personal reasons (like wanting off for my fiance's …