Diva in Debt

Consulting & Yoga Teaching Gigs

salyea — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 18:29:06 +0000

Although my primary objective is to secure a full-time job, I have my feelers out there for any way to make some money, which has started to pay off.

Thursday I met with the founder and COO of a start-up website who are looking for a community manager to build & execute the social media strategy for their site. I thought it was an interview and turns out they wanted to offer me the job.

It’s a part-time job that pays $1000 a month. At the most I’ll spend 40 hours a month on their project, working out to $25 per hour. When I went to the meeting I was going to ask for $100 a month; however, the connection with the founder is something that I’m hoping will turn out to be more fruitful in the long-term. She is part of a well-known and successful family and her husband could actually help my side-business. So I’m going to take the gig. Even if I get a full-time job I will be able to still work as the community manager; the side income will help me pay down my debt faster.

Additionally, I received an email offer to teach a weekly yoga class at a country club. However this is in the middle of the day. The pay is really good $45 guaranteed regardless if anyone shows up or not. I’ve not accepted this offer yet, because I’m waiting to learn about the job with the Fortune 100 tech company that I’ve been interviewing with.

I called the HR contact at the Fortune 100 company to let her know that I’ve received some freelance offers and would need to accept the offers if their job didn’t come through. I asked her if she knew when the decision would be made so that I could put off answering the freelance opportunities until then. I think this lit a little bit of a fire under her. I hope to hear something about the full-time job soon!

Zillow Update for August 2010

salyea — Sun, 29 Aug 2010 18:17:49 +0000

I own a condo in Southern California. I love it. It’s a 950 sq. foot condo in a high rise. There are so many great features to my building that I love: the pool, grills, workout room, sauna & steam rooms, 24 hour security and outdoor terrace to name a couple. Right now I have a renter living in my place.

The rent from my tenant only covers a portion of my mortgage. So I’m out of pocket for my exorbitant HOAs, property tax and insurance along with the difference for my mortgage. It’s quite a hefty sum actually, considering I’m unemployed. It actually ticks me off that I’m subsidizing another woman who is living in MY home and swimming in MY pool.

I’d sell it, but as many Californian’s I’m under water on my condo. I don’t feel like it is the right financial decision to walk away by short-selling. Plus, I plan on moving back there and living my retirement years in that building! It’s sort of my long-term nest egg.

But I admit when I pay the mortgage or get updates from Zillow (down $2,000 or 0.08%) it makes me think twice. It would free up alot of money for me. However, it’s just not the financial life I want to lead. I made this mess, I need to get myself out.

How I Spent My Weekend

salyea — Sat, 28 Aug 2010 18:17:38 +0000

As I write this I’m sitting on the back patio next to the pool of a 7,000 sq. foot home in Dallas, TX. The owners of the home have paid me $200 for three nights of dog/house sitting. The dogs are super easy; one Doberman, and two Pomeranians. The house is crazy; the decor is not my style. But I love the patio and the pool.

There are some things about living in a space this large that I would love, but probably many more that I would not.

For one you would HAVE to have help to keep the place clean and in fact they do. They also have a pool guy and a lawn team. The kitchen is nice and big. I do like the coffee/espresso machine and the counter top wine saver vault. I love the under counter wine refrig and big stove. But, this couple are now empty nesters; their youngest child just left for college. Do they still need this much space, or do they feel the need as most Dallasites to keep up appearances?

I wonder, if I could afford it would I like living this big? I don’t think so. What about you?

Job Update

salyea — Thu, 26 Aug 2010 03:15:57 +0000

I have been interviewing for two different jobs over last three weeks. One job is with a Fortune 100 company and pays about $30K less than my less job. This job offers stability and great benefits; although it pays low considering my experience.

The other job is with a start-up internet company. I would be the fourth employee and would be a part-time community manager for this company. As a part-time employee I would be paid an hourly wage of $100 per hour.

The part-time job would pay better than the full-time job with the Fortune 100 company. And I would have more time for my business project.

Well, at this point I don’t have a job offer. So we shall see.

August Goals

salyea — Fri, 06 Aug 2010 03:26:38 +0000

Here are my goals for August:

Get F/T job
Sell one $3K membership
Teach four yoga classes making $100
Launch my business website
Take care of eyes
Make $450 at my retail part-time job

2010 Financial Goals

salyea — Fri, 06 Aug 2010 03:24:38 +0000

Well I have an interview with a rather large IT company on Tuesday and I’m feeling fairly confident about doing well. Once I get a job, I’m working fast and furious on my 2010 Financial Goals. Here are my goals:

Save $1000 for emergency fund
Pay off Visa $8663
Save $800 for Christmas fund 2010
Pay off Car $5546
Save $3,000 for Fidelity
Save $1,500 for vacation fund
Contribute to company 401K to get match

12 Month Financial Goals

salyea — Sun, 02 May 2010 16:19:12 +0000

Once I get a full-time job, I’ve got some financial goals that I’m going to meet:

Max out contribution to 401K: $15,000
Fund my emergency fund with $1K
Pay back loan from my 401K – $1015
Pay off Visa: $5384
Pay off car loan: $6402
Fund Christmas/Gifts fund $800
Save additional $14,000 for emergency fund
Put $10,000 toward paying down HELOC

I plan on achieving all of this within 12 months of getting a full-time job. This all goes towards my ultimate goal of being debt-free!

2007 Finanical Goals

salyea — Sun, 07 Jan 2007 16:26:34 +0000

My financial goals for 2007 all depend on me getting a job, soon. I’ve been out of work for seven months now and my debt is mounting. Thank goodness for my HELOC. But I need to get going on my financial plan.

1) Reduce debt by 1/3

2) Save one month’s salary for emergency fund.

3) Stick to budget

4) Save $500 for Christmas Gifts

5) Save $1000 for vacation fund

6) Save for house fund

7) Contribute to 401(k) to get match

8) Develop passive form of income

I can’t wait to start working again!

Purpose – Live Debt Free

salyea — Thu, 04 Jan 2007 00:39:13 +0000

The purpose of this blog is to document my efforts to live a debt-free life. Currently I am $32,260.11 in debt, due to being out of work and rolling my credit card debt into my HELOC. I will utilize this blog to public shame myself (not so publically as I’m so embarassed by this I can’t even begin to tell my friends) into saving money and paying down my debt.

More to come…