The Official 2019 Debt Smackdown
Welcome to the Official* 2019 Debt Smackdown!
Happy new year everyone!
I know a few of use have been chomping at the bit to get going with 2019's debt - so with out further ado, I present this years spreadsheet! First of all, quick thanks to everyone on here who supported this last year, and helped make sure the Google Sheet remained in tip top shape.
So what's this about? If you are holding onto some debt as you enter 2019 - and would like to get rid of it - this challenge is for you.
To the participants from last year, welcome back! For some of us, our total debts are too large to smack down completely in one calendar year, so if you're here from last year, congratulations on your progress and let's keep on doing this! In 2018, we collectively paid down over $1,500,000 in debt! An increase of OVER $600,000 than in 2017!
For all new participants, we are happy to have you join in this year! New blood is always welcome. Let's all motivate each other to pay off those debts and continue moving forward to financial freedom.
Per last year, this is a shared one between the two forums/communities. Hopefully, that won't bring any problems! (Link to the Forum post [soon])
How it works:
1. List the amount of total debt that you owe.
This step is to give you an awareness of your current debt situation. Feel free to share, this forum is a safe and nonjudgmental place. You can also decide to keep this information private, you don't have to post your total here if you are not comfortable doing so.
2. Post in this thread the total amount of debt you would like to pay off during the 2019 calendar year. (This part is required.)
Feel free to break down the amounts by credit card/type of debt. Also, if you have a specific plan or some ideas on how you plan to pay down the debt, you can post that too. Maybe your plan will spark some ideas for others on how to tackle their own debts!
3. Check in monthly in this thread and report on how your debt smackdown is going. (This part is required.)
4. Post monthly on the 2019 Google Sheet to track your progress. (This part is required.)
Claim a line on the spreadsheet, and post your total debt to be paid off, and the monthly amount that you send off towards it. Some people track their total payments and don't account for interest, some people account for principal only. The method you choose is up to you!
If you come across this challenge later in the year, no worries, you can still jump right in. Just put zeroes in the months where you had not joined the challenge yet, and start in the month you join in.
Last year, we collectively paid off $1,500,000. Let's smash that number again in 2019!
Please let me know any issues with the sheet - sometimes things are a bit wonky when making new ones!
*Official in the sense that there's a spreadsheet. Not official in the sense that it's made by YNAB. I'm just following naming conventions here :)
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June Checkin:
10100 paid toward my Car Loan! The last payment will come with the next paycheck middle of the month. It has been hard working so many hours but I am used to it and hopefully, I can keep the same amount of hours and use the extra money for savings and investing! -
Hi all! Hope everyone had a great June.
It's been crazy busy here with the EOFY, hoping to get some tax back to boost the pay down.
Until I entered this months figures, and looked at my progress in the spreadsheet, I was feeling quite down, it felt like I wasn't getting anywhere, doubts started creeping in over the month, and I was beating myself up for getting in this situation in the first place. I paid $2732 off the debts for June bringing it to a total of 37.87% paid down in 3 months! This challenge and community really helps to keep things in perspective and positive, thank you ✨
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Purple Butterfly Each month comes with up's and down's and you make adjustments along the way. You're doing great! 😀
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Aaaaand the alternator's out on our 2012 MDX that we JUST serviced to the tune of $2500 last month. Yes, I am super stoked about this. Praying it's wammable and not more serious AND that I don't get the itch to buy another car. Yuk.
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Finally added in my numbers from June and July! We did not make the kind of progress we need to in order to hit our goals, and now I am thinking our goals are not going to happen at all, but that being said, we've paid off almost $7000 this year so far, so I can't complain. However, some of that came from minor windfalls, and we won't have any more of those as far as I can see, and I quit my job so the extra income is really not gonna be there.
We've been in the credit card float for quite a while. It is my nemesis. I end up in it over and over and over again. We'll pay it off, and I'll fall off the wagon and before I know it, we're in the float again. However, last month was pretty much unmanageable. I had to drain some categories I had been saving for in order to make the full statement payment because we spent too much the month before. It was rough. This month, hopefully our statement will be manageable, and we should be putting an additional $1000 or so toward the payment, so we should see the float become a lot easier to manage as we chip away at it bit by bit.
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imaginaryannie I solved that float problem by reducing my limit as I paid it down - it was hard each month committing to that new amount and knowing I couldn't spend more (If I don't have the credit available transactions decline - I asked the bank to set it that way), especially as I had income reducing at the same time, but wow has it made a difference to me managing the CC. The minimum limit my bank offers is $500, and yeah, I have to stay on top of my transfers a little more than once a month, but that's way easier than that sinking feeling at statement time when you realise you have 10 days to come up with some amount that's way beyond what you can pull together. I was able to reduce in increments of $500/month which was barely doable (I earn less than 2K/month, so it was TOUGH those few months cutting my spending by 1/4 of my income, but less tough than juggling everything to make the numbers work) - I don't know how the banks work where you are and whether that strategy would work for you? It was pretty cool making that request to reduce the limit each month, very satisfying in spite of being so terrifying.
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WairereRose Thanks for sharing! Honestly, initially, I completely dismissed your post because I really can't reduce my limit that much because we do make some large purchases for our home pretty regularly and I need that flexibility, however, we have been getting to a point where I should definitely at least halve my credit limit because we're nearing 50% utilization almost every single month. I'm definitely thinking about it.
I actually work at my bank, so I know it's possible, I just have to pull the trigger.
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imaginaryannie Do you have notifications on your cards when you spend money? I get a ding on my phone each time the credit card is used, and I can set it to give me another ding if we hit a certain amount of credit utilization. Those notifications keep me a little more honest because I KNOW I'm going to see that amount again, not just when I swipe the card, but again on my phone.
Really being present with what I am spending is helpful. I actually put a note on my credit card for a while that had a picture of one of the things I wanted as a goal. That way every time I pulled it out, I saw my goal, and then I could remember to think "Do I need this as much as I want my goal?" If the answer is yes, it's an easy purchase, if it's no, then I can put it away again.
You'll get through it, it just takes creating different habits and awareness around the spending. When you get there, you get to savor being able to buy things KNOWING that you have the funds ready and waiting! -
farfromtheusual My CC does offer notifications! This is a great idea, especially since husb doesn't enter his transactions, and 5 days later when it posts and imports, I'm asking details about what he spent somewhere that sells everything so I know where to categorize it. I definitely notice that when I use ApplePay and it gives me that notification, I almost feel shame about it all day, because like "why did you spend $8 at Panera for breakfast when there is food at home, Annie?"
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imaginaryannie I can relate to the shame, but it is also key to work through that and stop shaming yourself. Shame will only create more of those purchases in the future. So if you can spare to have $10 in a category for going to Panera, and then when you go you're able to be like I'm Awesome AF for having $10 in my category to get some Awesome Panera and I'm only going to need $8 of it. And if you don't have the $10 in the category, you say I'm Awesome AF because I'm going to get myself some Awesome Panera and I'm going to enjoy the F out of it even though I don't have the money in the category.
Removing the shame out of it will help get through those moments faster. It's a work in progress, it doesn't magically poof and go away. But you can stop yourself in the middle of that brain spin cycle and just say, no, I'm not going to think that way about how I spend my money. I'm an adult, I can choose to spend it however I want, and some days that means I'm going to splurge a little, even if it is a bit of over spending.
As for the notifications and charges, I have the same problem with my BF! He orders from amazon and I'm like ok so is this underwear or something for the house?!?! The notifications will at least let you know when things are being spent so you can keep an eye on it and enter stuff as it comes through, instead of finding out about things days later. In the beginning that might be the best thing to help both with awareness and with being conscious about spending when it happens.
One thing that helps me is to be able to recognize that I don't have it so bad. However bad you have it, I can guarantee you that there are others that have it worse and it will get worse for, and there are others that have had it worse and are clawing their way out of the hole. So keep on doing what you're doing, and don't tell yourself anything in your head that you wouldn't tell a good friend that you love.
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June and the beginning of July has not been good. I paid off one credit card in April /May and now I have put a balance back on it. Not a whole lot, but it is indicative of the fact that I should not have credit cards :( Anyway, ploughing on with the total I set at the beginning of the year.
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As of today, I am going backward on paying off debt. I started out with $8,203.71 in debt. I now have $8,281.30 in debt. That's $77.59 more in debt than when I started. I paid $3,278.55 in debt but spent more than that in the last 6 months. I know it could have been worse. It's my fault for spending impulsively. The long term goals that I have obviously have not been more important than the immediate satisfaction of spending money that is not budgeted. I take responsibility for what I have done and will work at doing better going forward. That's the best I can do right now.
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internettie You can do it! You seem to be in a much better place than you have been in the past. Progress is not always linear. Keep up hope!
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internettie While you didn't make any "progress," I applaud that you're still here and trying, when it may have been easier to give up. You can do it!
For a really, really long time, I used YNAB not the way it was supposed to be used. I bought things I wanted without abandon, and just figured that future income or a windfall somewhere would cover it. Since I was (and still am) riding the credit card float, I didn't see the true pain in doing it this way.More recently I've started using YNAB exactly the way it's supposed to be used. Before I make an impulsive purchase, I stop and think to myself about which category I want to take the money from. I have money in a category toward a vacation with my mom, and I know that's super important to me, and I know that reasonably it would be the first one to WAM from. Thinking about giving up the vacation makes the bathing suit, book, or whatever I was thinking of buying at the time seem so much less important. It's a huge change in mindset, and I'm still not perfect at it, but I am making progress! Just some food for thought.
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internettie We can't "fix" any problems until we're aware of them. Awareness is always the first, and biggest, step forward. Once you have that, then you can begin to choose differently. That's all it really is about, just learning to stay present and make different choices.
You've got this. -
imaginaryannie thank you for the encouragement. I do try to tell myself that I'm still in the game and as long as I keep trying I'm doing better than I was when I wasn't even trying.
I had that same thought that some windfall would pay for my impulse purchases. Sigh.
I did a couple of things after reading your post. First, I made sure to budget to zero so that every penny was budgeted specifically for something. The next thing I did was rearrange my main categories so that debt is first since it's the priority, then Long Term Savings Funds so that I can always have that reminder before I go to a category to spend what is really important to me. I also broke out things that I label "Do I Really Need To Spend Money On This?" from my variable expenses like groceries, laundry, transportation, medical supplies, prescriptions & OTC meds, and hair cut/color. The things I don't need to spend money on are spending money, treats/gifts/donations for puppies, office supplies, household stuff, and shoes & clothes. I have plenty of everything and really don't need to spend money on extra stuff. I also changed the name of my Travel Fund to Grace - If She Needs Me, I Want To Be There (Grace is my sister). Seeing that at the top of the Long Term Savings Funds list reminds me what my priority is. I think doing all these things will help.
Thank you for all the suggestions and ideas. It was very helpful!
Photo is of me and my sister at Helen Hunt Falls here in Colorado Springs. She is why I made/make changes to my finances.
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farfromtheusual I know that just being aware is a great first step. I just need the constant reminders of what my priorities are. I made a collage for my desktop and my iPhone of the things that I want to save money for, in addition to getting out of debt. Staying present and being aware will help me to attain my financial goals. Thanks for the support and encouragement. I've got this some days but on the ones that I don't, well, we know what that can bring. LOL I'm doing my best and at least I am taking responsibility for my mistakes and trying to do better going forward.
Photo is one of the collages I made.
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internettie Awesome! I love your imagery!!
Even on the days you think you don't got it, you still do, you've just forgotten that! -
farfromtheusual thanks! Visual aids are key for me. I do easily forget so the collages will be a happy reminder that I'm not going without but working toward wonderful things!
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internettie I love your call to action - “save 3 months of expenses today!” That’s gotta bring laser focus!
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WairereRose I know it won't happen today but I can work toward it today!
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June Check In: Paid $4,934.83 down on my car loan and student loans (mostly car). I'm anxious to (hopefully) get the car loan paid in full during the month of July. Then I'll be back on track with the original debt. In June I took on a side hustle delivering groceries for Instacart. I haven't been able to pick up many hours in the past couple of weeks because of other commitments but I'm hoping to earn a little extra to throw at the car this month.
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Taylor L Wow!! Great work!!
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Another month another thousand knocked off the mortgage. 🥊
- Starting Balance (January 2019): $69,112.11
- Current Balance: $61,050.08
- Paid Off this Year: $8,062.03
Overall Progress Update:
- Starting Balance (April 2018): $74,400.00
- Total Paid Off: $13,349.92
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Partial Check-in for July. I've paid the minimum for the month on the Balance Transfer card that holds the bulk of my debt, so that's $84 into the pot. I'm still around 1.2k more in debt than I was in January, which isn't ideal, but overall I'm technically still in less debt than I was in November, when I started budgeting...I think. I kind of messed up my accounts along the way 😅
So this, with any luck, is going to be the month where I start paying more than the minimums on my debts! Thanks everyone for sharing your stories - successes and failures. Successes give me inspiration, and the failures make me feel like I'm not alone on the struggle bus.
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Late to the party, but just come across YNAB and this forum. Looking to cull some credit card debt, amongst others and just generally get on a better platform for me and my partner.
We have ave around £13,000 outstanding and already been working through adjustments to our budget. Watched quite a few Dave Ramsey Youtube vids and he talks a lot of sense.
Going in pretty conservative, but hoping to get £2,500 paid off by the end of the year.
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Alright, I am a latecomer to the challenge but wanted to jump in. I began using YNAB last month after 6 months of living pay-to-pay after financial separation from my ex-wife, and getting absolutely nowhere paying off debt (on the contrary creating more!) or planning for things that are needed. Debt has piled up over the last 2 years and it was time to get a handle on it.
Anyway, long story short is that I am planning to pay off AUD$10,593.10 by year's end comprised of half my credit card debt and an amount I owe my dad.
It's a not inconsiderable amount in a reasonably short space of time, but after on 24 days using YNAB, I am feeling good about being on a better track.
June: $650 (it's a start).
July aim: ≥$1,300
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spyral Late updated on July. Only paid down AU$650 due to conentrating on putting money towards a couple of other important things.
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spyral Rolling with the punches is a key part of the YNAB method. Priorities change and your budget should reflect that. It sounds like you were able to focus on other things and still made some progress - which is great! :)
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This week, I sold my car and with the proceeds I am paying off my school loan ($17k), credit cards ($4k) and large payment to my 2nd mortgage ($5k payment).
So total YTD debt reduction is $17k (Jan - April) + 22k (July) = $39k debt paydown! i am finally free of the student loans after 18 years of paying
Up NEXT:
(1) Take over a short term car lease of 18 months with monthly payment amount of $500. During these 18 months, I will also save so that at end of the car lease, i have at least $15k for downpayment.
(2) re-focus on our 2nd Mortgage balance of $10k - i will pay an extra $400 per month towards principal
(3) September: I anticipate about a 10k bonus and this will go in savings for property taxes and federal taxes
(4) October: I anticipate about a 5k bonus . I will put this towards savings or towards the 2nd mortgage or will use it for our October vacation.
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Maroon Viper -- That is really exciting you're finally free of student loans. Good for you!
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Maroon Viper
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June and July check-in on paying off car loan
June - $1175.03
July - 1046.86
$1386.83 remaining!
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ecr250
This is so exciting. You are almost there. Go Go Go.
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ecr250 Great job. Almost there!
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HappyDance Tishy Wishy Thank you! I'm really excited!
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I guess I skipped June's update, but here's the scoop for now.
Original Bal Pmt Final Balance
Mastercard: $1144.46 $61.00 $1083.46
Visa: $355.42 $674.41
TOTAL: $1718.70 $1757.87
So I've made the $61.00 payment for the past two months. I am really hopeful I'll have a couple of fat pay checks that will help me pay off the additional debt on the visa. I'll be getting my contacts again in about a month, and that usually gives me a $200 rebate in the form of a visa. I think I might use that for mundane stuff and put the additional on my credit card instead, or do half and half depending on what my income is looking like. I'm so ready to be done with this debt!
I did notice that my net work is in the positive at the moment. I don't think it will stay that way, but at least it's hanging around the line again instead of way below it. Next month will put me REALLY close to almost being below $1000 on the balance on the mastercard, which would be amazing!I just have to keep chipping away and keep looking for ways to increase my income so I can stay out of the float and keep the number going down!
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Coming late to the party -- first post on a YNAB forum.
I started using YNAB in January to help with debt reduction / improved savings. I started with over $44,000 in debt. I've paid down close to $15,000. I'll have another credit card paid off by the end of July. My goal is to be out of debt by the end of 2019.
With YNAB, I've been able to save one month ahead. I've never had that before; I'm in my mid-50s. I've not gone without anything while paying debt. This entire experience has been wonderful. I spend a lot of time now dreaming about my life without any debt (I've been in debt almost my entire adult life).
The other wonderful thing is that the more cards I pay off, the less anxiety I feel about "did I miss a payment?" "when is the next one due?" and constantly juggling things. I feel really good.
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sasha_blue
Welcome! And congrats! I started in January as well and I've seen my net worth increase over $10K as well. It's been a game changer. In a year, I think I'll be able to save more for the future than I'm doing now and that's not something I've been able to consider before!
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Congratulations to you as well.
To be ready for the future, I created my own retirement plan (ran it by my accountant, who approved it).
Taking charge of my finances and learning new things has been incredibly empowering. You don't need financial advisors or any of that stuff. All you need is commitment, trust in yourself, some uninterrupted time, and a good book (highly recommend Bogleheads).
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Welcome to the forum, sasha_blue ! I'm so glad to hear that YNAB is helping you feel more empowered with your finances. You've made amazing progress this year! I'm looking forward to hearing about your progress.
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Checking in for July: $882
So, better than the last couple of months, but I should still be putting way more towards debt based on my income. Although, my freelance side hustle has been very slow lately so that's not helping things. I need to work on getting some new clients. I asked for a raise at my main job... so hoping that comes through.
Lately I've been great about the little things like not spending too much eating/drinking out, sticking to my budget with clothes & beauty. But I've had a couple vet issues lately so those ate up a bigger chunk than I had saved in the vet category. But honestly travel is my big problem currently. Why can't I just say no to trips? While I do allow myself one big trip each year even while paying off debt, these little long weekend ones are killing me. I'm way too good at rationalizing "experiences" in my head. So I'm definitely going to need to up my side-hustle game/ get that raise.... and say no to my friends/parents next time they ask me to go to Palm Springs/Italy/Aruba/Miami.
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MoneyMonster I chuckled reading about the trip addictions. I completely understand. I had 3 pretty great trips this year, the flip side is that I could have paid on my debt with the money I spent. I think it's a good idea to have a cap on the # of trips, this way you only agree to go on the ones that appeal to you the most (tough when they all sound great) and set a budget for each trip that doesn't heavily affect your debt payments. Hopefully your raise comes through AND your side hustle gets more clients.
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July Check In - Paid $1372.49 across all my cards. Did a balance transfer from my two (2) visa cards to my Discover with 0% APR for 12 months. Now all my credit card debt is on 1 card (yay!) and I can simply make one payment a month, instead of scheduling payments across all my cards.
This month I paid off my balance on my Amazon store card!
I am two months away from paying off Paypal Credit.
I am four months away from paying off my Mastercard balance (also on my Discover card from a balance transfer earlier this year).Writing this made me realise that I've made really great progress this year so far.
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Tishy Wishy You have! Congratulations on paying off that Amazon store card. Well done! The rest will follow. 😄
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Nicole Thank you
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June and July check-ins. I paid $2004 toward debt last month and $2455 this month. I'm going to have to find more money to throw at debt if I want to make my goal this year.
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Pay Me To Draw Y
On the plus side, you've hit your stated goal above of $11k+ already! So you've made considerable progress, even if you don't make $26K+! You've probably paid off that variable student loan or are close!
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I don't check in on this thread very often, but I do on the spreadsheet (b/c spreadsheets are amazing). To date I'm 74.09% complete. Seems like if I just keep on keeping on, I will reach my 2019 goal in December, which imo is pretty badass and incredible. I've been using ynab for years and am just starting to really try to stick to things, or at least to paying things off. I will have about the same amount I'll need to pay for the next 1-2 years to be completely debt free, but still exciting.
- Original 2019 goal: $8,753.91
- Paid off to date this year: $6,485.50
- Left to pay in 2019: $2,268.41
Keep on keeping on friends 🤘🤙
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gosolino
I cannot argue with your assessment: clearly badass and incredible! You are killing it. Well done.
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Just updated my pay downs for July. I'm at 72.03% of my goal and right on track to meet my yearly goal by the end of 2019. I'm geeked!
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I added an extra $10 to my payment for July. I hope I don't slide backwards, but I had it, so I figured I should probably go ahead and apply it. That may not seem like much, but to my tiny budget that's digging my way out from under debt it's extra, and that's a good thing! So here's my numbers:
Original Bal Pmt Final Balance
Mastercard: $1144.46 $61.00 $1083.46
Visa: $674.41 $10.00 $664.41
TOTAL: $1718.70 $1747.87
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farfromtheusual Every bit counts!
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Nicole Yes, it does! Though I think I back slid a little bit while on vacation. :( I'm going to have to wait until my pay check comes in later today or tomorrow and see if I can keep it all covered.
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July progress report on my battle against the student loan beast.
As of March 31, 2019: $251,414.81. This is my starting balance after joining YNAB in mid-March, 2019.
As of today, July 18, 2019: $239,872.78
July notes: Regular monthly payment resulted in principal reduction of $1,106.54. Got a mid-year bonus at work and used the bulk of it to make an extra principal payment of $5,000.00. Total reduction of principal in July: $6,106.54!
Year-end goal is to get the balance down $31,414.81 (from the March 31, 2019 starting number) to $220,000.00. With an $11,542.03 reduction since I've started making these progress reports, I'm now about 36.74% there.
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July check-in: 81.4% to my goal. $10,411 paid. Should be 100% by the end of the year.
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July check-in: Made my last payment on my car loan $5698.35, I am debt freeeeee!!!🎉🤑🎉
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Orange Sloth Congratulations!!!
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Orange Sloth Congrats!!! That's amazing! :)
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Orange Sloth Wahoo! Congratulations!!!!!
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Congratulations, Orange Sloth ! That is fantastic. 🎉 🚗
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Thanks everyone! Good luck and you can do it!👍
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Orange Sloth Congratulations!! This is amazing!
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July's check in. Nyah. Extra payment of $163.32. Things are just... not going according to plan this year. It feels like I've had to change the game plan every single month that rolls, and frankly, I'm doing good just to send a tiny extra payment. I wanted to do so much more. I'm not sure I'll hit my snow-ball goal. Money comes free for the snowball next month. But things have changed radically since January, and now that money might get diverted. I guess that's life. I'll keep moving forward.
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Navy Blue Colt It happens, and you just keep rolling with the punches. I'm not having such a great year either, due to some decisions that I've had to make along the way. Hang in there and keep chipping away at it. As they say, this too shall change.
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Navy Blue Colt Keep moving forward! ❤️ Life happens. It's great to set a goal, but hard to predict what the future will hold. Your budget is a map of your priorities. It is adaptable and flexible, and it changes as your circumstances change. It sounds like you're doing just that!
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