Kninja Knitter

April had some really nice highlights on the financial front here! (Not talking about my 401(k) or Roth IRA, though) Thought I’d share some of the best along with a couple things I learned along the way.

Money Milestones

It took me to the middle of the month, but I finally restored my Platinum status as a DoorDash driver. Following my vacation trip, it took quite a while to get there. But I worked on consistency – sometimes it was painful though! Since getting back my priority status, I’ve seen a huge boost in earning opportunities! I had my highest paying month for the year (over $700). Last week was particularly lucrative as I managed to work in shifts on six of the seven days of the week, and my average take for each was around $40. I’ll share more about what this means later.

I also had a high-earning month with my church gig – I think I’ve mentioned before that I’ve been filling in as interim director for one of our church choirs. When I agreed to take on the load, we expected a new director to be hired by February, but that didn’t happen. As Easter was approaching, I asked to meet with the parish music director, and he agreed that my compensation should be increased to account for the additional efforts I have had outside of church.

Debt Destruction

With the boosts to my income this month, I’ve taken the opportunity to pay down my highest-interest loan a little more. I’m already paying significantly more than the minimum payment here every month, so these additional payments bring down the principal even more. I’ve brought down the total debt balance by almost 5% this month and I’m on track to hit my 15% stretch goal for the quarter by the end of June.

I also found a new app to help keep tabs on my progress toward becoming debt free. Aptly called Debt Payoff Planner, I paid the 12-month subscription so I could input all my debts, and the projected payoff date is now December 2026 – at least four months sooner than my Excel file was projecting. And I think that doesn’t even include any additional principal payments due to DoorDash income or my annual corporate bonus. How cool would that be? I could celebrate my 60th birthday with zero debt!

Savvy Spending

That doesn’t mean I’m not using my credit cards, mind you. But I have a conscious spending plan, and I’m using bonus programs to earn cash back, particularly with purchases that boost the potential. I bought the electric lawn mower in April, and that was absolutely worth the expense. I had set aside money in my high yield savings account (HYSA) specifically for that purchase, earning interest as I waited for the sale price to pull the trigger and buy. Given what I’ve paid my “lawn guy” in past years, the machine will be “paid off” by the end of this growing season.

Smart Saving

I’m continuing to monitor my budget week-by-week. And given my DoorDash earnings, I’m setting aside money in that HYSA to cover my income tax liability – so again, I can earn some money while keeping that money handy. Since I’ve never held a 1099 job before, I’m learning all about the estimated payment requirements. My primary W-2 job is currently covering my bases, but I’ve been running calculations to see if I should increase my withholding so I don’t suffer a penalty next year. This is a pretty big lesson to learn!

Lessons Learned

Besides the income tax matters I mentioned above, I’ve become more intentional with my DoorDash activities. When I started back in January I really didn’t know what to expect, and it was easy to get frustrated! In this past month though, I made some key observations that can improve my experience!

• I turned off the Shopping Offer option – I plan to only enable it if I’m driving a shift in neighborhoods that don’t have the “problem” stores! DoorDash just introduced a new promo offer that gives bonuses if you have a certain shopper status (similar to the general Platinum status) – but I fall short in two of the six stats to qualify; and I fall short because Dollar General is notorious for not having items in stock, so I don’t have the 92% “original items found” – and that similarly affects the 99% “total items found” stat as some customers don’t want an alternative, or sometimes there is no alternative! Yeah, a joke. Plus, those shops (along with Aldi and Save-a-Lot) take a very long time to complete due to having to hunt for items, and the payouts aren’t worth it!
• If I’m in neighborhoods that don’t have a DG or the challenging grocery stores, I’m cool with shopping. Giant Eagle, Meijer and Target can be great gigs!
• Also, some jobs take me to a different zone based on the delivery location. After I complete the job, I can choose to switch zones or make my way back to my original zone. Depending on the location and how much time is left in my shift, I may change zones or I may not. I was doing a lunch shift recently where I would probably have lost thirty minutes of earning opportunities by going back to my home zone. With each shift, I learn a little more!
• I don’t have to work every day – and I usually schedule down time intentionally. Or life intervenes. Yesterday I went to the doctor and then had to pick up my prescription before the pharmacy closed. I cancelled my planned shift that was near my church (twenty minutes from home). Instead I came back to my neighborhood, picked up the Rx, and then started a short shift around here. I really like the flexibility that the DD gig provides. And being a Platinum Dasher, I get priority to “dash now” when it might not otherwise be available.

Looking Ahead

I’ve got fun stuff coming up in May and June, including two knitting related trips! This month I’ll be venturing down to Lexington, Kentucky, for the Kentucky Sheep & Fiber Festival. Besides the obvious shopping opportunity (which I’m budgeting for), I’ll be reuniting with a number of ladies from the Into the Wool Fiber Retreat I used to attend in Tennessee. We have ladies coming from Maryland, Missouri, Indiana and Tennessee, and likely adding a couple locals to the fun. In June I’ll be flying to Minnesota for Zombie Knitpocalypse, my first time at this annual event! Again, I’m budgeting for this – I’m sharing a room with three other ladies, and I recently bought my airline reservations.

I also found out just today that Laura Nelkin will be coming to Columbus to teach some classes at a LYS (local yarn store). I haven’t decided yet if I’ll go to any of her classes, but again, I’m reviewing my budget to see if it can work.

Final Flourish

Just to close out the post- and since pictures get more attention with these posts, I’ll share a recent photo – I snapped this on Easter Sunday after church. I was sporting my Papillon shawl and the dress I bought at Manos del Uruguay. The dress is so comfy and perfect for summer days, so I should get a lot of wear out of it – and also, it has pockets!

Knit on. 🧶