Operation Debt Free and my Sand Castle

I want to be debt free.  I want to be a lender and not a borrower.  I want financial freedom! This was a large factor in my decision to pursue and accept a teaching position abroad.  I have wanted this financial freedom for years, but lacked the discipline to achieve it on my teacher's salary in the United States. I was making painfully slow progress on reducing my debts on a monthly basis.   This job provided me with a decent raise and offers me a tax free salary. My gross and net salary are one in the same! I also get this place that I like to think of as my little sand castle:

dining room

living room with my favorite water view

kitchen

guest bedroom

I enjoy living in this lovely 2bed 2.5 bath apartment in Kuwait.  It really was fully furnished.  I've added a few accent pillows, towels, and preferred cookware.  The school owns the building and none of us pay rent or utilities.  It's really more than I would have been able to afford living in the states.  All that being said, there is still potential to fail at my goal of financial freedom if I don't budget wisely.  A few years ago, I read a book by a financial advisor named Dave Ramsey.  You can check out his "The Total Money Makeover" here. Dave advises starting with a $1000 emergency fund.  I decided to have an emergency fund of  $2000.  Living in a foreign country, it can be quite costly to get home on short notice if the need arises. Right now, airfare to Ohio ranges from $1,00-$1,300 round trip. I was pleased to learn that my job reimburses airfare in the event of the loss of an immediate family member if such a loss should occur.  I have to keep in mind that they don't offer the money up front. While I pray that I would never have to deal with a problem like that, I want to be prepared just in case.  I would be devastated if I couldn't return home simply because I don't have the money.

The next step in Dave's plan is pay off all debt except for the house using a debt snowball.  I am currently working this step.  I have about $25,000 which includes credit cards and some student loans.  By the way, a debt snowball is when you pay off debt from the largest to the smallest.  I pay the minimum balance on all debt except for the smallest and make large payments on the smallest.  For example, this month I paid the minimum balance on all cards except for one card with a $401.00 balance.  I paid the balance off on that card.  Yay, one card has been paid off already! Next month, I will apply that $401.00 plus the $100 minimum balance I was paying toward the next smallest balance of about $1300.00 until that card is paid off.  The snowball builds because as each card is paid off, you apply that money to the next largest debt. I plan to write about my budget periodically to share my progress on how my total debt is decreasing.

One additional note related to debt.  I have taught in Title 1 schools for several years now.  This qualified me for loan forgiveness.  I have had to resubmit some paperwork recently, but I am eligible for all of my student loans to be forgiven because of my past teaching positions. In my position as a preschool teacher, I served some students with special needs although my title was not a special education teacher.  This qualified me for a larger amount of loan forgiveness. Be sure to check out this option teachers.  I will be glad to take the $85.00 a month that I currently pay on student loans and apply it toward my debt snowball once the loans are forgiven.

I created an estimated budget for my living expenses prior to moving here.  I have been here almost a month now and have an idea of what kind of adjustments need to be made.  I won't give exact figures today.  Many of my purchases to date have been "setting up house" type of expenses.  My grocery budget was fairly large when I had to buy basic items like cleaning products, food, basic spices, laundry detergent, and bath maths all in the same weekend.  I believe I will be able to truly judge what my average grocery and dining out budget should be in October, when I am more settled.

 There are some areas that I will need to increase my budget:
1. groceries: Groceries just seem to be more expensive in general here because many products are imported. I am American.  I am not a big name brand snob at home in the US.  However when the choice here is between a brand I recognize and a label that is written in Arabic, I'm going to pay a little extra for the recognizable brand.  I don't have a car.  I will end up paying more in the long run if I have to take a cab to return to the store if I am displeased with my initial purchase.
2. Gym membership:  I want to join a gym and work out regularly.  Gym membership is costly.  Plans seem to range from around $180-over $300 per month.  Many health clubs ask for the entire year's fees upfront.  I have to rearrange my budget in order to pay this up front.
3. Taxis- I'm not sure about this one.  I was only spending about $110 a month in gas in the states.  I assumed I would spend about the same in taxi fees here.  This estimate may be too low.  Last weekend I spent $30 in taxi fare going to the gym, to church, and the mall.  Some of this was shared fairs when I rode with a friend.  I have read that I can pay some drivers a flat monthly rate and not have to worry about paying each time I get in a taxi.  This option may be cheaper in the long run.
4.  Bank transfer fees- my job pays me in local currency, Kuwait Dinars, and has helped me set up a local bank account.  My bills are set up to be withdrawn from my US bank account.  I have to transfer the money from Kuwait to my US account via wire transfer.  I have learned that money gram is cheaper than Western Union.  I have also learned that both bank parties may charge for this service.  I  will anticipate up to $25 for this next month and will research the cheapest option for doing this.

What else is in my monthly budget?

1. Travel savings- there is so much of this world to see.  It isn't likely that I will be able to travel in the next couple of months because I am waiting to get a civil id in Kuwait.  However, I  am setting aside about $400 monthly for future travel.

2. Phone and Internet- right now I am paying double phone bills.  I have my US phone.  The data plan is turned off so that I don't pay any international fees.  I use Wifi on this phone for social networking and What's App.  I still pay the monthly fee to verizon in the US. I also have a local phone.  I pay a small monthly fee for it here. Additionally, I have a mobile hotspot for internet service.   It seems that I am paying about $150 a month for all of this.

3. Entertainment- I need a life here outside of work in order to be a well balanced individual

4. Tithes- God gave me this job. I give 10% of my income to the church

5. Miscellaneous