January Check-in!

Total of $444.03 paid towards debt this month. Looks like my federal student loan payments have been suspended due to economic relief from the pandemic, so I only paid on my private loan. I only have one, so the entire payment went to that instead of being split up across several different federal loans. I only have about $3000 outstanding on my private loan, so hopefully I can knock out most or all of it this year and then snowball that into the other loan payments!

Also, thanks to reading something that farfromtheusual posted I have decided to increase my monthly car loan payment from the minimum due of $213.27 up to a round $250. This extra amount should cover interest plus a little extra to the principal each month, allowing me to pay off that loan just a little sooner. 

All in all, a strong start to the year. Here's to many more months of progress in 2021! 😎

Violet Rain Woot!! That's awesome! Way to go!

February Check-in!

Total amount paid to debt this month = $442.08. Continuing to only pay towards the private student loan while the others are in forbearance. $250 going towards the car loan payment. Things are moving along nicely with debt payoff, despite it being a short month. According to the spreadsheet, I have paid off nearly 15% of my overall goal so far. Onward! 😁

Violet Rain wahoo!

March Check-in!

Another $442.08 towards debt payoff in the past month! I like that I'm paying extra towards the principal for my car loan and laser-focusing on paying off my one remaining private student loan. Right now my main financial focus is on putting as much as possible into my moving fund because our lease will be up at the end of June. After the move, I can begin to shift my focus more towards debt payoff and make up for lost time. Still aiming to pay off my private loan ASAP and snowball that payment into the car loan. Right now the spreadsheet shows me at 22% of total goal payoff. Onward!

January 15: Check in - line 33! 🌿

We're doing a version of the 34 day reset - it's basically a no-spend January, to see just how much we can save to put towards our debt.  I have been really surprised by just how much we can do when we choose not to eat out or make spontaneous, unnecessary purchases. (though semi-budgeted for, thx Stuff I Forgot To Budget For category 😉) Some of this extra push came from a windfall too, of about $300.  While I've enjoyed seeing how much we can save without extra spending, I do miss some of those simple pleasures like not having to cook eating out... so no-spend January will definitely be ending with January. 😂

Progress so far:

Payments made: $1000

Balance remaining: $6000

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Payoff Goal:$7000 

Paid so far: $1000

14.29% of goal met!

Lauren WooHoo! Go you good thing 🎉🔥

February 25: Check in - line 33! 🌿

February was just not our month. 😅 Between my husband's work moving offices and very cold weather, we were not having the best time...then, Murphy stumbled into the picture. A fender bender with our 2006 Pontiac G6. 😭So, this month's debt payment was WAMed for a shiny new bumper. 

Alas, not our finest hour, but we'll be back on the horse in March! We're hopeful for a decent tax return this year, so fingers crossed for an extra push next month!

No new progress, still sitting at $6000 remaining balance and 14.29% of our goal met. 

Lauren hang in there, Buckaroo 🤠 You’re doing great!!

Lauren not back sliding counts for a lot!

March 25: Check in - line 33! 🌿

Turns out, we had a big priority shift this last month! We live in an area filled with trucks and large vehicles, plus a longer winter...our little 2 door Pontiac just wasn't cutting it anymore. We started feeling quite unsafe driving it, so we made a big change and purchased a larger vehicle for winter/general safety and more space, should we decide to expand our family! It's made such a huge difference for us and it's going to be a good car for many years (knock on wood), so I feel good about the purchase. That said, we did end up further in the debt zone, but with a solid payoff plan thanks to a flexible budget! 

Update:

Payments made so far in 2021: $1000

New Goal balance remaining: $14,000

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❗️New Payoff Goal:$15,000 

✅Paid so far: $1000

6.67% of goal met!

A little late on the February check-in, but it's been busy!  2020 was full of financial drama for us, so thankfully there was not much of note in January.  Since the 0% interest on student loans was extended, we're only paying on the car loan and personal loan right now.  We're technically still making our regular student loan payment, but just keeping it in our account until the interest-free period ends.  The plan is to pay whatever we have saved right before interest kicks in and that will knock out a nice little chunk of principal.

Car Loan - $9,655.51/$9,461.37
Personal Loan - $27,433.00/$26,899.29
Student Loan - $36,846.61/$36,846.61

Hey all!

I haven't been doing a great job of keeping up on the updates this year, but I'll be better moving forward.  I delved into graduate school in January, which is what was eating up all my time, and quickly came to the realization that it was not the right path for me.  Between school and my job (which I love), I had zero time for my family and that wasn't acceptable.  So I dropped that weight off my shoulders and I'm back!  Good news on the financial front, though.  We'll soon have about $8k to put towards principal on the personal loan and that's a huge win!  We're still saving our school loan payments up and will pay a lump sum before interest starts again.  And now that we're a full month ahead, we can start throwing any extra at debt.  We might just hit our $20k principal goal for this year after all. 😎

Car Loan - $9,655.51/$9,068.63
Personal Loan - $27,433.00/$25,806.72
Student Loan - $36,846.61/$36,846.61

Coral Mare Mortgage balance between 1/1/20 & 1/1/21 decreased by $3,872.42.  This includes rolling the refinancing costs back into the loan.  Let's see if bi-weekly payments help the balance drop, even when the house isn't the focus debt.

Coral Mare So awesome that yall are team driving. My BF has suggested that before, though I don't know that I could get my CDL. He's an amazing driver, though, but he only does local stuff. My mom had friends that got deep into debt, and decided to sell their house and get a rig and their licenses and they paid off their mortgage and debt within a few years, and then stopped driving to settle down. It's a really powerful tool if you choose to leverage it! Kudos to yall!

Orchid Guitar 

January Check-In: $1,855.67

Orchid Guitar 

I forgot to make one point for clarity and for others who are in this complex time of student loan debt payoff... We have been holding back the cash for our student loan debt payoff until the interest begins again. It's safely stored in its own bucket. The amount I will list in the debt smackdown is the amount placed in the bucket each month.

Our Thinking

We decided with the uncertain times that we would keep the cash as long as possible. We both are disciplined and know that it would be a true emergency for us to spend the money. It allows us options, though. We're a one income family, and while that job seems secure, we'd rather have the options as long as we can.

Orchid Guitar that sounds really wise. And it will be fun when you can make one giant payment when the time comes!

farfromtheusual 

So, so true! I am very excited to see the drop right before interest starts up again! I think that's part of the difficulty of waiting is I don't get the satisfaction each month of seeing the principal go down. But, when it does, it will be fun!

Orchid Guitar you're right, but just think of how big of a drop it will be when you make that huge payment!! THAT is going to be awesome!!!

farfromtheusual 

Yes, I have dreams of that day :)

Rachel January check-in: $917 down!

January always feels easier to fund than other months. My partner typically gets some kind of end of year bonus and we also have Christmas gift money to work with! 

We've got a privacy fence project in the works for February or March, so we're toying with the idea of a no-spend Feb to make sure we can keep meeting all of our goals in addition to paying down these cars. 

We're also toying with the idea of becoming a one-car family - would love to hear from folks who've done this. Was it an easy change? Were there unexpected downsides? 

February check-in: another $917 down! Slow and steady and boring 😆

Rachel Slow, steady, and boring is good, right!?

farfromtheusual 100% absolutely!

Rachel March check-in: another $917 down! I'm SO motivated by the idea of getting this monthly amount back to work for us in other areas. A more official update: 

Starting Balance: $11,000
Paid off in 2021: $2751
Remaining: $8249

Rachel April update! We used part of our stimulus to up our car payment to $1500 this month - woo woo!

Starting Balance: $11000
Paid off in 2021: $4,251
Remaining: $6,749

Rachel wahoo!!

Cinged aww, I do remember your lizard purchase :) How is the lizard doing??

farfromtheusual Combo Panda is doing great! We watched Wonder Woman 1984 last night after his bath and just chilled out for half the night. I've let him run around my son's room, and likes to find the smallest spaces to fall asleep in where it's difficult for me to reach or even find him, lol. He's shed around 3 times in the last 6 months and getting big! He doesn't pancake as much when I pet him, and even ran to me this morning when I went to feed him; usually he waits on his hammock until the bugs are in, but today ran up and waited for them. He really is an awesome little guy. 

On a side note, I totally just realized I can add pictures on here. 

I also just learned about the Community Journals, so I started one. 

Cinged OOOoO!!! SO cool! That's awesome that you are finally developing a relationship and some trust! That has to feel so good!!

Cinged Merit increase hit this month, and I got a 2.5% increase, so pretty close to what I was hoping for. I also forgot to check in last month, so this is two months in one. 
Capital One started with $383 in January, is now at $280.98 = $102.02 pd off
Chase started with $324, is now at $157.47 = $166.53 pd off
Discover started with $5519, is now at $4924.34 = $594.66 "pd off" (I just made a payment to cover spending on this card, so most of that "payoff" is current usage and interest).
Grand total of pay off: $863.21

Happy to report Capitol One is now paid off: $280.98 pd off!
Chase is paid off again: $166.53 pd off!
Discover was at 4924.34, now at 4539.43 = $384.91 pd off!

That makes $832.42 pd off, so I'll add that to last check in since they're both in March. 

Veronica Thank you so much!

mander82 I always feel like I have tiny goals compared to so many - but debt is debt, and what is a lot for some may not be for others, and that's ok. I haven't posted my numbers yet, but I'm only going to be paying about $3600 toward my debt this year, and it will actually be a bit less than that due to the interest. You can only work with what you've got, and every little bit is important! You're in good company!

mander82 any intentional goal is a good goal! I accrued CC debt quickly around 2016/2017 due to a variety of life circumstances, and it was only until about midway last year that I could pay more than the minimum payments (I usually tried to at least throw a hundred extra dollars or something to make a dent in interest). Last time I went (non-mortgage) debt-free I also did the snowball method; getting that first card paid off felt painfully slow but once each debt disappeared it was so freeing to see progress accelerate.

Gold Projector Are your student loans a mix of subsidized and unsubsidized? Mine is a mix, so some of interest and some don't. I have each one added individually in a tool called Undebt.it, and it shows all the different payoff types so you can see how much you'd be paying off overall and how much paid in interest. If you have some that are non-interest, maybe doing snowball with the interest loans first would help cut down on the interest you have to pay?

Congrats on your progress thus far, and good luck on your goals this year!! 

Cinged I also have a mix! You're right, I should prioritize those. I'm applying for an income driven repayment plan so I'm thinking FedLoan will take that minimum payment and allocate it as they see fit. Past that any additional snowball money would be best used to knock out the unsubsidized loans. Great idea, thank you!!

Gold Projector January check-in:

Chase CC: paid $1,490.93 (PIF)

Student loans: paid $100 to the smallest loan

Total paid in January: $1,590.93

Beginning 2021 debt: $119,156.55

Current debt: $117,565.62

Gold Projector Belated February check-in:

An unimpressive month. Paid 305.29 to my smallest loan. Trying to remind myself that progress is progress even when I can't throw a bunch of cash at my debt.

Total paid in February: $305.29

Beginning 2021 debt: $119,156.55

Current debt: $117,260.33

Gold Projector March check-in:

Well I definitely managed to make up for last month! I knocked out my smallest two loans out of 16, which is an amazing feeling. I'm paying for the rest of my master's as I go, which slows down my repayment of older debt. My employer offers tuition reimbursement though so hopefully that will be an extra few thousand later in the year.

Total paid in March: $1,258.33

Beginning 2021 debt: $119,156.55

Current debt: $116,307.29

Gold Projector Correction, because basic math is apparently beyond me: current debt is actually $116,002. Even better!

Gold Projector WOOT!!

AmandaCham Welcome to the party!

farfromtheusual thank you. It does seem lovely here.  

Opal Freshness Gotta start somewhere! Welcome, and good luck on your goal!

Spider Plant Still paying off student loans after retirement?? Oh man, that is a wake up call, isn't it??  Congrats on your progress last year, and Good luck this year!!

Cinged Right? I was already putting extra towards them by the time I learned that, but it gave me even more drive and helped me shuffle my budget for even more ways to push for these to be done. I just started year 11 of paying mine (they were 25 year loans) and I should finish at a little less than the halfway mark, hopefully. Thanks for the luck and cheers for your goals this year too!

Navy Blue Pegasus 

First month we have successfully made the planned repayments. I am quite happy as the balance is under $3k on that particular card. We are hopeful that next month we will be able to pay it off if we can scrape together an extra $588 (psychological for me to pay off the card, not a big change in the grand scheme)

Start $35,687.66

Current $33,380.28

Interest Paid $201.77/$201.77

Navy Blue Pegasus I did the same thing with my CC this month. I had to reprioritize some funds I would've used to getting a full month ahead, but paying off the CC felt better and a bigger accomplishment.

Navy Blue Pegasus I am very excited to announce that our credit card is paid off!! Woohoo! 😄🎉🎉 There may be a small amount of interest next month but it is out of here! Now we are onto our final credit card for payment. Based on our current plan, we will have it paid off in Feb 2022.

Start $35,687.66

Current $30,484.22

Interest Paid $166.47/$368.24

Navy Blue Pegasus WAHOOO!! Congrats!!!!!

Navy Blue Pegasus So, it was an interesting Saturday budget exercise for us. I had broached the topic of looking at delaying some of our debt repayment in order to get a month ahead because I have heard really great things about it (thanks dakinemaui WordTenor Move Light Sound Life MXMOM for various tips in posts). And part of the reason it became easier to have the conversation is my LOC sent me an offer of 1.9% for six months on any balance transfer. Strange how that happens when you pay it off......like in February and the offer came March 1. 😂😲

Wow! I did not expect it to A) take so long to do or B) be as successful as it was. While we will be delaying the debt repayment slightly, we should be a month ahead by August at the latest and it is a game changer. It took a lot of math, a lot of discussion on reasonableness and a lot of making sure we were on the same page. The math part was because we had to do conversions from biweekly to monthly and vice versa for various expenses and income to make sure we were on a level playing field. Because we are both paid bi-weekly, we figured out our average monthly income and then how much of a buffer we had to build that we could draw down until we got to the three paycheque month to build it back up and repeat the cycle. It became like variable income in a way. We decided that any reimbursements from medical and children would all go to debt because it makes sense to us. I

I will be updating our new numbers on the spreadsheet for our debt repayment after our next paycheque. I may have some math issues and we may be further ahead already than I thought. 

Thanks to everyone for sharing their successes and challenges! It helped us have this tough conversation.

MadDog So with the end of the month i am happy to report that other than one payment to our debt that we had intended to hold to help build up our buffer, we are on track. I just budgeted almost a half month's pay all at once! I can see the game changing coming. We are confident because this is a three pay month to help boost the next month income.

MadDog wahoo!!

Slate Blue Cartridge I am actually line #56  

Slate Blue Cartridge   My goal this year is to start attacking our (almost maxed out) LOC.  It is at 96,696 with a $100 K cap.  This is obvi not great for credit utilization data that feeds our credit scores.  I have been paying only the minimum payments(interest only) for years... and it is time to get serious and pay this off before the end of my draw period in 2025.  If I can pay $2000 a month for the next 54 months it will be paid off in full by 6/2025! Let's go !!!

Maroon Sloth We'll help you stay motivated so you can meet your goals. This is my second year doing this and having to be accountable each month for what I've done even if it was just the min that month I was excited to see my goals balance dropping each month. And the rush you will get when you get that first thing paid off will also help. Best of luck to you. :)

Maroon Sloth My goal is to reduce debt by 36k this year!