Celebrating Your Money Wins – Volume 4

You can have debt and still be good with money.

Full stop.

I know. Good day to you, too, friends. Some of you might be scratching your head or making a beeline to the comment section right now, but hear me out.

I have six figures worth of debt and will for the foreseeable future. (Don’t worry; it came with a great backyard and you’re all invited.) Even though I don’t have a colossal debt payoff story yet, I’m still good with money. I have money wins on the regular. So that’s what this little slice of cyberspace is going to keep on celebrating. Small wins, big wins. It doesn’t matter. A win is a win, and a party is a party. Especially when there are GIFs. 

via GIPHY

Our garden kicked it into full gear this week. We’ve nabbed a handful of cherry tomatoes, and everything we are growing shows promise. Even the experiments—edamame, Brussels sprouts, an a pineapple heirloom tomato—are all going strong. The first true haul came from our yellow squash. By my estimates we shaved…wait for it…$3.89 from our grocery bill this week! It’s not big money, but nothing beats homegrown veggies. And you know I’m a big fan of saving everything, even if it’s just a few pennies.

To keep the party going and to steer us out of the produce section, here’s Zero, Kat, and Mystery Money Man. PS – The last win is so mysterious (and on brand WINK).

Zero at Zero2FIRE

What is your money win?

I was at around $85k net worth in January this month, and I was like, You know what? A great goal would be getting to $100k by 30! 30’s a big milestone (hah), and I should have a goal of some sort. I’d never really calculated or maintained a running log of my net worth, but I really wish I did so I can see how my assets grew in the past 3 years hustling in NYC on a fairly modest (if not outright ridiculously low) salary, so I figured let’s start today! So I compiled a net worth spreadsheet, got the numbers, and found out I was at around $85k. So I needed $15k to reach $100k. But around then, my roommate left to move to a new job, so I thought I’d be living alone (and paying more than double the rent I do now). But still, saving $15k in 18 month seemed doable.  Then I discovered the Personal Finance Twitter and Blogisphere. And got a roommate. And started saving 50% of my take home, and realized I could get to $100k by end of 2018. Now, half a year in, some side hustle money contributing, it seems like I might finish around September or October.

Why are you pumped?

I’m pumped because I’ve heard the first $100k is the hardest, and it’s the first “big milestone” I’m going to reach. I can’t wait for multiple 6 figures, but this first one is huge!

What can others learn from it?

Setting a clear, tangible goal that I can measure every month (I keep a running monthly record on my Instagram of my net worth and my savings for the month) keeps me accountable. It makes the goal not a fuzzy “I wanna…”. It turns into a “I’m going to, and here are the steps I’ve already taken to make this happen!”  Nothing is left up to chance, so I know if I follow my steps, I’ll get there! (Aside from emergencies we can’t control, of course, but great thing about having a positive net worth and actively saving is that I’ll be able to pay for it without taking out debt.)

(Penny’s note: Swing by Twisted Paths, Zero’s blog, where she is starting to layer in more of her personal finance stories.)

Kat

(Penny’s note: SQUEEEE! Kat reached out to me on Twitter to share her awesome story. She doesn’t blog, but she does have a Twitter account that is full of sass (my disclaimer) and strong language (her disclaimer)!)

What is your money win?

I’ve been putting $50 per paycheck and $25 every other week in that account. Any time I’ve gotten “extra” money, I’ve been putting it in there. Because I live by myself in Boston, one month of rent is a lot of money and it feels like it’s taken forever because little things keep popping up that I have to cover. But this month, I’ll have that one month rent done, which feels like a milestone.

Why are you pumped?

I’m pumped about this because my job is a bit up in the air at the moment. I work for a startup and there may be some major changes this year. We’re not sure, but I’d rather be prepared and want to have some kind of cushion if something happens. I had had about $500 in an emergency fund for a while because I was focused on debt payoff, but I decided recently to let that rest for a bit and build up that cushion.

What can others learn?

I’m not sure what other people can learn from this, but to me, it’s meant a lot to celebrate the tiny steps. Having paid off half of my debt, getting to a positive net worth, and now having enough of a cushion to at least pay a month’s rent. They’re not “final” steps, but they feel AWESOME! And I’ve celebrated all of them with a nice glass of wine and a face mask. Not spending a ton of money, but still doing something nice for myself.

Mystery Money Man

What is your money win?

I receive a small amount of songwriting royalties on a quarterly and monthly basis for songs I’ve written and recorded. They are made up primarily of monies collected from streaming services such as iTunes, Spotify, Google Play, etc., and some sporadic radio airplay.  It’s usually only a few dollars each month because they pay next to nothing. So I pay little attention to it. In the past couple of months, however, I noticed the amount spike (about $150 to date), but I still didn’t bother looking into it. After another payment went in the other day, I decided to take 5 minutes to log into the app for my “royalty account”. I was shocked to see that the reason for the increase was that one of my songs is in fairly regular rotation on a number of pop/light rock radio stations around the country.

Why are you pumped?

It’s not a lot of money by any stretch, but the passive income, combined with a sense of artistic accomplishment is pretty unbeatable.

What can others learn?

I see it as a reminder that creating passive income involves a ton of work up front, but the investment can pay off, often when we least expect it. So don’t give up.

via GIPHY

Final Thoughts on Money Wins

Now, I know what you’re thinking. These are some pretty exceptional wins. No worries if songwriting isn’t your wheelhouse (though I think this has mystery podcast written all over it a la Starlee Kine’s Mystery Show if podcasting is your thing!). There are so many ways to win at money. You do remember how excited I was about the squash, right? It all counts!

If you missed any of the past money wins, check them out here:

Volume 1 – Kate, Revanche, Melody

Volume 2 – Jody, Aitza, Little Miss Fire

Volume 3 – Sarah, Kathy, Tara

If you’d like to join the money win party, drop me a line at shepicksuppennies (at) gmail (dot) com with your answers to the three questions. Whether you are a blogger or a reader or both, you are welcome to party here!