A milestone and renewed optimism
We started using YNAB principles in October 2019 and the software in December 2019. As of today we are clear of credit card debt - any balance on a credit card we have now is swept up in the autopay & was fully funded before the charge anyway.
We still have some student loans & a mortgage, but they’re much less expensive to service.
It’s a huge relief. I used to get bent out of shape about our finances around tax time and payday and it wasn’t until my spouse handed me the (library copy) of YNAB that I saw a method, an actual practice, that could actually change our basic situation. It took a shared vocabulary and shared priorities to get here (I joke that I took on a part time job - budgeting- for those first months) but I’m damned proud of our efforts.
Next week we may burn it all down and look at the budget with fresh eyes, but for the moment I’m savoring this.
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I love these inspirational threads :)
I had a win which was - I saved money in a category for federal taxes that hadn't been withheld from my paycheck. I just did my taxes and indeed owed money. But I owed less money than I had saved, so after paying taxes, I got to redistribute the balance of the category into my other priorities. It felt like getting a tax refund! It's never been so much fun to pay extra tax before! LOL
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Henry Household said:
(I joke that I took on a part time job - budgeting- for those first months)I can relate to this statement. I, too, definitely made learning the software and the method a top priority, deep diving into all the online classes and haunting the former forum for all the wisdom I could glean from the experienced users.
Fist bump on your win. Knocking out the credit card float is a big one, both financially and psychologically.
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HappyDance I think I can say we’ve been “off the float” since the beginning of using YNAB - all new purchases were made with budgeted money even though we had a big balance of costly interest generating debt. Which seems kinda weird but also kinda magical in that we actually made, improved, and accelerated the payoff plan. Prioritizing the paychecks and spending went a lot better than our stab at Kon Mari-ing our house...
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Hearty congratulations to you and your family!! This is a formidable accomplishment. 🎉🙌
I also love that you're savoring and celebrating. Sometimes, we zoom right by these milestones, but it feels so good to relish it and remember later how good it feels. 😄
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Dela Thanks! It’s still sinking in that a goal I wished for but didn’t know how to achieve (until a year and a half ago...) is now real.
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