Wrapping it all up | November + December 2024 Monthly Money Progress Report

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👋🏽 Welcome, reader! I’ve been doing this Monthly Money Progress Report on my Instagram to document my debt-free journey since January 2024. In August 2024, I decided to expand more about my journey here on this blog.

AUTHOR’S NOTE: I wrote this back in late Nov/Dec and I never got around to publishing it. I’m finally editing this in January to give y’all a final wrap up post for my 2024 Monthly Money Progress Report.

Hello, hello! 

I hope everyone enjoyed their Thanksgiving with lots of food. I ended up making Boston Market’s creamed spinach because I always crave it every year. Only to find out that they went under this year, so I’m glad I chose to find a copycat recipe and it’s actually SO EASY TO MAKE.

But let’s get to this month’s expenses and my progress with my credit card debt.

November was apparently a good month for my earnings because I hustled as much as I could. Tips were pretty good, so that went straight to my debt repayment.

But truthfully, November was another blur to me as I did some babysitting and the usual work at the restaurant, but the surprising turn of events was taking a quick trip to Atlanta to celebrate a small family wedding.

While this was another unexpected wedding that wasn’t part of my budget planning this year, luckily it was taken care of by my family and I didn't have to worry about spending a dime. 

However, once December rolled on by, I was frantically trying to finish a bunch of projects at work because I made a last minute decision to fly back home to NYC for the holidays. Most of my Chicago family here had plans to travel elsewhere for the holidays, so I decided to make my comeback.

I’ll dive more about my emotional homecoming trip later, but I literally had no budget for this trip. I did try to save at least $500-750 for this trip, but I knew that wouldn’t be enough.

So I decided to throw all my expenses on my credit card. Yes, I know, bad idea. 

But this was my first unplanned and impulsive trip that I was willing to take the hit since I was desperately home sick.

Because I had friends that understood my financial situation and even from people I never expected to have support, most of my lunches and dinners were covered by them. I’m forever grateful for their generosity. I even received cash from some friends which also helped alleviate some expenses. 🥹

I originally had planned on doing some grocery shopping since I was there for 2 weeks, but because I had so many leftovers from eating out, I didn’t bother to do this. I did pick up some coffee and did some solo dinners here and there, but it wasn’t the food expenses that were my biggest concern…

Since I was really homesick, I did end up purchasing some mementos that will remind me of home. NYC is finally fading out the Metrocard to implement OMNY, a tap-to-go system like Chicago’s Ventra, so I grabbed my last Metrocard and to honor that, I found a Metrocard pin at a gift shop as well as a Brooklyn cap.

I also grabbed a few souvenirs like gloves from the Rockettes show and an NYC ornament, and a couple of gifts that I wanted give to my coworkers back home in Chicago. All of purchases really added up in my credit card, as well a lot of space in my suitcases.

The most expensive gift that I purchased? I treated myself to a Catbird necklace that I was waiting to purchase for years. AND impulsively bought the pigeon charm because it was one of the last Vito's Gems pieces from this collection.

Do I regret it? A little bit. But when it comes to jewelry, especially something that I was patiently waiting for, I deserved it. 

I’ve been taking it upon myself to purchase items that I know that will make me happy. No more waiting for other people to do it for me.

Now that I’m sitting here in the middle of January looking at my bank accounts, I’m back up another $2,000 of credit card debt 🫠

It’s FIIIINE. It was WORTH ITTT. Just a little setback, but I’m ready to give myself a fresh new start into 2025.

I’m not entirely sure what my new Financial Plan for 2025 will look like, but I know that I still plan on doing this Monthly Money Progress Report to keep myself in check for this new year.

Thanks for reading, and I hope your New Year started off with a bang! 🎆 See you in the next Monthly Money Progress report.

-jemellee

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