You Don't Miss $20

One of the more unusual ways I found myself able to pay off my student loans was by paying $20 to my loans every time I signed into my online banking.  That was on average probably 3 times a week.  I figured that since I never seems to miss $20 after I had bought a big lunch, I probably wouldn’t miss it if I sent off $20 to the student loan every time I signed in.  Twenty bucks isn’t a lot these days, is it?  It's barely enough for a ramen bowl worth tip.  But let’s look at that number over time.

$20 x 3 (per week) x 52 = $3,120

That’s right.  By depositing $20 measly dollars when I was already signed in to my online banking, over three grand was paid off my student loans within a year.  But that’s not the only benefit.

Interest on your student loans is essentially charged “per day”.  I remember realizing that for every day I had my loans, I was being charged $6 in interest.  EVERY DAY.  I couldn’t believe it.  By paying $20 a day, you are paying off more of the principal of the loan.  So, for the $3,120 extra I deposited to my loan payments, I actually saved (assuming I paid on the last day of the year instead of the first because even though I like savings I don’t like math):

$3,120 x 1.05 = $3,276 ($156 minimum in interest saved!)

But, that’s just for that year.  Imagine if you paid only the minimum on your student loan for the next five years and that $3,120 is the last to be paid.  The savings actually look like this:

$156 x 5 = $780.

So, you have paid off your student loans approximately (if your minimum payments were anything close to my minimum payments) 4 months early. Further, the student loan folks don't penalize you for paying $20 a day.  It is basically FREE MONEY because you won't even notice its gone.  Sick people like me actually enjoy the hassle of knowing the transaction is taking place for so little money.

I am hoping I have gotten your attention on the interest savings alone, but let's look at the payment on the principal.

$20 x 3 x 52 = $3,120

That is a sweet chunk of change in one year.  That alone shaves 15 months off your loans.  But just imagine doing that for five years: $15,600.  I don't care who you are or where you went to school.  You have paid off a significant chunk of your loans by paying $20 to the man every time you signed in to bank.

If your wallet is getting a bit tight, you will find ways to cut back.  You won't buy that new shirt.  You will drink wine at home with your friend for $10 each instead of $25 each plus tip.  You will opt for the soup instead of the prime rib meal at lunch.  Just put the $20 to the student loan every single time you sign in.  You won't miss it (unless you have a family to feed in which case much of my advice can be ignored as you have a real family to budget for). 

The pride you will feel in knowing that for every $20 you are putting in you are saving $1 in the next year should keep you going.  See it as the reverse savings plan and watch that debt chip away.

IKEA hack - Kivik Sofa (DIY arm wrap and side table)

Of course, with one Ikea hack, you find another, and it wasn't long during my research on Ikea Kivik sofas that I discovered the "custom arm wrap" on Etsy.  There are a few artisans who make these glorious items, at a cost of approximately $200 each.  Since I knew I would want at least two, I realized it was going to cost about $400 (plus shipping) I obviously put off this expenditure.

It wasn't long before I was really thinking about these beautiful wooden arm wraps/side tables again.  My lovely dog assisted in this, as she had managed to chew/mangle the edges of the sofa when we weren't looking. (I know, I know, don't let the dog on the sofa...).  All lack of dog-parenting skills aside, I was humming and hawing about how to hide the marks, and remembered the arm wraps.

But, again, the cost held me back.  So, when I discovered this blog on how to do an arm wrap DIY, I was intrigued and immediately saved it to Pinterest.  But I was nervous.... I don't know how to cut wood! I didn't want to buy a saw and two saw horses!  These small thoughts held me back.  

I started telling a colleague (the same colleague who gave us our lovely dog) about how she chewed the couch and how I was considering these wooden arm wraps.  I showed the blog to her and mentioned my concerns, to which she basically responded "that is literally three pieces of wood glued and then screwed together - just get Home Depot to cut the wood to size for you, a three year old could do this project".  With that inspiration, I made the trek to Home Depot.

Now, in hindsight, I should have brought a tape measure to Home Depot.  I assumed that 10 inch wide wood would be 10 inches wide, when it, in fact, is more like 9.25 inches.  So, the first piece of wood I got cut was sort of a waste (although I am trying to make some sort of artsy project out of it...).  Overall, the materials cost about $75 but if I hadn't made that mistake it would have been more like $60 (although I already had lots of sandpaper).  I used a cheaper wood (pine).  I screwed the pieces together instead of using other recommended fancy wood putting together techniques.  But, in the end, I learned a lot:
1. When they tell you to sand with the grain, sand with the grain;
2. Bring a tape measure to Home Depot to make sure you buy the right sizes regardless of what is indicated on the sign;
3. You can save big bucks if you are prepared to live with something that doesn't look as good/finished as what you see on Easy (less than $40 per wrap was the total cost); and
4. Don't let yourself get discouraged - you are so much more capable than you give yourself credit for.

I am not going to give a step by step on how I. made it, as there are lots of blogs out there that you can find (Google: DIY couch arm wrap).  But to encourage you, I want to post pictures of the end result, which I especially like because I managed to stain them to be a near-match to the legs!