Happy Singles' Awareness Month!

Due to Holiday strain, I have not written for awhile. Said Holiday period also created shall we say a hiccup in my budgeting and payment activities. I.e., I paid more than the minimum, but nowhere near what I had been paying during previous months. While this is regrettable, it is not the end of the world, and personally I believe debt is stressful enough without punishing myself for having a fun holiday time. Also, for those who know me well, neither is my setback surprising since I LOVE giving gifts and also pretty things in general. This being said, I have committed to working extra hours within the limits of my health to mitigate any damage my "retail party" may have done to my plan. For anyone who doesn't know, I set myself the challenge of paying off the entirety of my student loans within a year of becoming gainfully employed post-grad school. I seem to still be on track with monthly allocations, but there is definitely room to grow in discipline. I hope that tax season will treat me well, as this will be the last time I can use the 'student deduction'. I do plan to use all money received from taxes towards my loans, and help speed up the process, so fingers crossed for beneficial tax process! I hope others in debt were more successful budgeting during the holiday season, and remember that fallbacks or no it is more important to get back up and fight on!

Also, I have had some curious conversations recently. Mostly with guests/friends at the restaurant where I serve to generate extra income. Basically they find out about my degree and "career job", and are all..."so why are you working here". At which point I explain about wanting to be debt free ASAP. Some can groove with it, and some make comments about how it's not a big deal just to gradually pay off. Many say the hours I'm putting in are too extreme and "don't I miss my evenings"? And in some way, each of them are right. For some, just making regular monthly payments is fine for many years. But for me, who has autopay on everything possible to I don't forget to pay it, I do not need something else to remember to do, or remember to even write down to do. Also, the extra interest I would end up owing just paying the minimum is unacceptable to me, and would buy a used car ( which I could use!). Not cool.

So to answer these questions:
     Do I miss my evenings? - Yes, sometimes I do. But not as much as I'd miss the money, and most evenings I'd just be watching Netflix or something unproductive anyways.
     Don't I get exhausted working 70 hour weeks? - Often. But I give up shifts when it's necessary and have at least one night off a week to rest.
     What about a social life? - Well, my boyfriend works alot at night as well, so that scratches that. And in many ways, serving is a very social job, and I get plenty of 'socialization' both with guests and coworkers/managers.

The biggest regret I have is when I get over-tired, and my remaining energy makes the chances of my exercising very very small. I do miss working out regularly, but to do substantial  cardio, I would cut into my sleep, which for multiple reasons I need much more than cardio. Besides, I get exercise on the job, believe you me ;) .

Here's toasting a successful spring!