Making Cents

I have moved already!

2010-05-13T01:23:00.001+12:00

Decided to use Wordpress instead. I have moved to:

http://moneyfreedomlife.wordpress.com

So I received my payslip....

2010-05-12T22:47:00.000+12:00

.... and they've messed it up again! I was meant to be paid overtime for an extra shift I worked 4 weeks ago and I've now had to chase them up on it twice, but still they don't pay me. It's getting a little ridiculous. I suppose I can't expect much though. I've been working for this company for 2.5 years and no one has ever received a pay rise even though the business is growing by leaps and bounds.

That's another reason I'm unsure of going back to study. Although I can't count on my pay increasing much in the near future, if I go back to school and start work in the web design industry there's a high possibility I'll be starting on lower pay than I am now. And there's no guarantee I'd find a job in the industry straight away. So that's the dilema. Take a chance, leaving an industry I'm unhappy in and take a pay cut, which will push back my savings and home buying plans, or stay for a secure pay but hate what I do.

Too Many Options

2010-05-12T19:59:00.000+12:00

I've been trying to decide what to do later on in the year/next year and I just think I have too many options! It's doing my head in. How do I know I'm going to make the right decisions?

One option is I quit my job in October and move to Australia. I might like it, I might not. Another is to holiday in Aussie first and then decide (leaning towards this one). I would then probably move some time after New Years. But now I've been thinking of what to do if I decide to stay here. I want a change of career. I currently work in customer service in the tourism industry which is not well paid and not particularly desirable (at least not at the company I work for). I've been giving some thought to Web Design/Development. Natcoll have a 1 year diploma in Web Development which looks pretty good, though I'm not sure if that would be sufficient to get a career going. Apparently it can be pretty difficult to get established. Any advice from web designers out there?? :-)

Financial Low Down...

2010-05-11T00:57:00.003+12:00

Ok, so here's where I'm at. In November 2008 I owed a total of $42,550 - $18,600 of that was student loans, the rest consumer debt. I was at my peak in August 2008 - I'm not sure how much I owed on my student loans then but my consumer debt alone was $27,000!

I was living pay day to pay day and using one loan to pay the minimum on the others. Once I hit rock bottom I decided enough was enough. I moved back into the family home (love you mum!) and wrote out a budget. Then I rewrote that budget about 6,000 times and eventually came up with a plan that worked. 70% of my pay went into debt repayment. The rest on board and petrol.

21 months later and the end is finally in sight! I've even got a nice little retirement fund going. I've been pretty lenient on myself lately though so I need to get that sorted. I figure by this time next year I'll be free of consumer debt completely. I'll still have my student loans, but in New Zealand they're interest free and you only have to pay 10% of your income above $19,000; so, for now, it really doesn't make sense to pay that off any quicker.

Introductions

2010-05-10T17:20:00.000+12:00

Hi, I'm Tracey and welcome to my blog. I've spent the last year and a half clawing my way out of debt and finally the end is in sight. It is my hope that through this blog I will learn more about personal finance, meet like-minded people and keep motivated to pay off my loans and increase my net worth.

I hope you enjoy reading this blog and any comments or suggestions are much appreciated! :-)

Tracey