Peripherie You've got this! We'll all be here cheering you on in 2020.

Peripherie not taking on any new debt is a really worthy goal, and it pays off more in the long run, even if your payments end up smaller on the existing debt.
Way to go for making the commitment!

Peripherie sounds familiar!

Madkat-Z SAME. The car loan has got to go.

Madkat-Z You only have $3,000 left on your mortgage?? That's AMAZING! You go, you!

J. Wellington Wimpy I wish that was the case.😂

I have a long way to go still. That is just the chunk I want to nuke this year. 😎

Technicolor Cheetah PLEASE promise you'll share about this vacation! I love when we get to see dollars in our budgets add up to something great.

Sidenote, your name coloration in the spreadsheet brought me much joy 🌈 It's the little things.

Veronica I'll share!  The vacation won't be all fun and games, there's going to be a lot of driving and a lot of being (we all need downtime and to not go-go-go all the time.  Yes, it would be fun to go to that sight or this fun thing, but maybe a trip to the park is a better choice instead...).  And it's going to be a huge stress, my husband is already having panic attacks, and my son is autistic so all the change is difficult.

If I could change the colors of the font in my name here, I would, too.  Alas, it is not possible.  Because it's the small things that bring me joy as well and I believe I'm a better person for it.

Technicolor Cheetah (okay, it's possible manually, but I wish we could keep it, too 😂)

I'm a firm believer that our family vacations are significantly more successful when we commit to staying in, resting, reading, enjoying time together and the environment where we are every other day. We tend to do one explorative activity day followed by one day of complete rest in the most peaceful place we can find. There's nothing like it.

Ivory Wildebeest My car will be 11 years old in the coming year and while I know the time is coming, I'm not quite ready to let her go. I have a small chunk in a Car Replacement fund, but I'm going to put off using it for as long as possible. I'm hoping your car holds on for a while! :)

Faness 

Our oldest car is 19 and despite wanting to put off replacement for another few years, it's leaking every time it rains or snows.  Spouse has just caulked the sunroof but if that doesn't help, it's time.  I'm hoping to put it off until fall.  I didn't want to buy yet, as we purchased our first new (and possible last new)  car in late 2018 and we still have a car note from that.  I don't want two!  So ideally we'll buy something 5 years old with cash, but possibly with a small car loan.  

Technicolor Cheetah I hope the caulking holds, but (if not) I think being rained on inside the car is a safe place to draw the line. Fingers crossed it holds for a bit longer! Not having a car note is a huge part of why I don't want a newer car. 😅

Faness 

Spousal unit reports that the carpet is no more wet today than it was before it rained off and on for 2 days straight; even if we have to re-caulk quarterly, that's totally a win.  Wiping condensation off of the inside of the windows in the morning is a pain, not to speak of the potential for mildew.  I've also pools of water at my feet (carpet should not squelch) and had water dripping from the rearview mirror and on my feet from somewhere under the dash when I go around corners.  Fun fun.  Not!  

I'm still going to keep my increased funding to new (to me) car category even if it doesn't start leaking again.  If nothing else, I'll have new drivers starting in 3-4 years (!) and it will be good for them to have an inexpensive car to drive, especially when they can chip in for insurance when they get jobs.  Ain't nobody getting a new car for graduation here!  And unlike a buddy of mine in high school, my kids won't be driving a Saab at 16.  

Technicolor Cheetah Wait, we have a Saab! It's now 14 years old and hasn't run in over a year, but it's there! Any 16 year old that wants to get it running is welcome to it. 😂 (Deciding its fate is on my to-do list for the first quarter of the year.)

A car that you can swim in is still a car (as long as it's running). I was a teenage cliche and put a nice dent in the family vehicle after getting my license, so I think having an inexpensive first car is a great way to keep the newer cars safe.

Faness 

My buddy's Saab was fairly new.  I myself was driving a Datsun when I learned to drive that was 2 years younger than myself and Little Train that Could-ed it's way up hills.  There are lawnmowers with bigger engines, I needed a pillow to see over the steering wheel, and $10 filled the tank.  Ah, those were the days. 

I'm mostly thinking that an inexpensive but safe older car may help with the pain of putting teens on our insurance, especially since I have 2 boys (and one of them has the common sense/attention span of a flea).  

Technicolor Cheetah If you can get the bulk of the water dried out, I heard about a trick of taking an old sock and filling it with rice and leaving it on the dash, it's supposed to prevent the foggy windshield, no clue if it works but it sounds like a decent theory. It might help you to get some of that last moisture out once everything has mostly dried out. I hear you on the rain, though, it won't stop raining here either.

Technicolor Cheetah I laughed much harder at this than I should have. My friend has a car with a lawnmower engine - so much so that the cruise control would cut off going up hill. Despite any "I think I can" chants, it could not. 😂

farfromtheusual

I'd fear we'd have mildewy rice if I didn't pull it out and microwave dry it.  One morning I had to squeegee my windows both inside and out.  I usually keep an old prefold cloth diaper in the car, they are great for mopping up, and it was very wet when I dried off all the runlets I'd made.  I try to leave the windows down in the driveway on sunny days after it rains, that helps.  

Faness 

There were very steep and long mountain grades to both the north and south of my hometown.  If I wanted to be doing more than 30mph at the top, I'd have to floor it well before the grade started since the car simply couldn't maintain speed, it didn't have the torque.  So I'd be doing 85 at the base of the grade and 55 if I was lucky at the summit.  If there was any traffic whatsoever and I had to slow, that was it, game over, I was in the right lane with my hazards on, blinking my way up the mountain at a snails pace in like 2nd gear.  I shudder to think of trying to drive the Grapevine on 5 in that car.  

Technicolor Cheetah That might still be an option once you get more of the water out. And microwaving it might not be a bad thing. Rice is pretty cheap in the greater scheme of things, and having a dry car is a good thing! It'll mold/mildew even without the rice if the moisture stays in it.
I hope you're able to get it dried out a bit better soon! We've been dealing with lots of rain here, too, and that's not fun at all!

Hot Pink Admiral I like your balanced approach here, paying down debt, saving up more True Expenses and aging money all at the same time. 

Faness I'm pretending our basically brand new mortgage isn't real debt for a while longer 🙈

Faness The best feeling I've ever had is when I got the letter from the government telling me my student loan was paid off.  I'm cheering for you from my corner!

Pixel spender Thank you! When the time comes, I may frame that letter. 😆

Faness I was long in the "it's okay because it's 'good' debt camp, but for the past two years have really pushed to pay down those loans. A mentor in grad school also suggested I not worry too much about them, as they're kind of the price I pay to be doing the work I want to be doing. And on some level, I'm okay with both those things (the second one more than the first, especially because that 'good' debt caps the annual tax write-off at $2,500 per year, and I'd rather be putting that aside in a tax-sheltered retirement account to work for me instead of it working for the loan companies, but I digress).

Part of what really motivated me though, was hearing from a colleague who'd just retired that he was still paying his student loans. I'm so grateful he told me that, though, as it gave me extra motivation to get these behind me. Glad I joined this group this year, we can do it!

Spider Plant Thinking about paying student loans into retirement was a painful jolt, but it makes me feel better about the payments I've made thus far. That will not be us! :)

Even with an aggressive pay-off, I'm pretty sure I'll still max out that "good" debt cap, but I'm hoping I won't be able to say that after this year.

Faness Same here! I think my loans were originally for 25 year terms, which as a grad student I was like "Sure, that's fine". This year is year 10 of paying them off and 2019 I think is the first year I won't max out the write-off. I re-fi'd them to 5 years, which lowered the interest rate (and of course upped the payment) but if I can keep it up, I should be done in about 2 years from now. Unless I'm able to really go to town and crush them in less! I'm excited to keep this momentum with the group here, and will post my balances over on my journal every month too.

Spider Plant Isn't it funny how much easier it is for things to be "fine" in student logic? I remember having the same train of thought, and a counselor who told me it wouldn't take me that long to pay them off. But you went from 25 years, to 5 years, to 2! You're so close to the finish line! 🎉

All of mine still say 30 years because I left them on the minimum repayment plan. My goal for this year includes paying off the loans with the highest interest rates, but if I can manage that, I'd love to refinance the remainder next year.

I'll be watching your journal for your update! :)

MoneyMonster Progress is definitely happening. If you haven't yet, join the 2020 savings challenge for that buffer - especially if you like spreadsheets and new threads!

Schiaparelli Hat You've come so far!! Did you participate in the Debt Smackdown before last year?

Faness  Thank you. I also did the 2018 Smackdown, which helped me kill just under 50% of my original debt load. Tracking and sharing the payments have kept me focused on paying more than the minimums.

Schiaparelli Hat That's Impressive! Debt Freedom is right around the corner for you (and I can't wait to watch you get there!). :)

Schiaparelli Hat 

Have you thought about what you're going to do with all the money once the debt is gone?  I also love hearing about people's plans for their 'extra' money when they no longer have payments over their head.  

Technicolor Cheetah A portion goes into Job Loss category, some will go to maxing my 403b, and the rest to enjoy things like finally visiting friends in Dallas, taking some weekends away with my sister, etc.

Schiaparelli Hat Congratulations on your spectacular progress last year, and best of luck knocking it out this year! I'm curious about your "Job Loss" category - is that like an emergency fund, in case you lost your job? Or is it something else?

Krys Hi Krys,  And thank you. I have an EF and a job-loss fund. My ideal for the Job Loss fund is to have three months of living expenses, just in case. My EF goal is smaller, at about $3000.

Schiaparelli Hat Thanks for the clarification. I am working on my EF now, and will be contributing toward a larger, 3-6 month EF (what I see you're calling the "Job Loss" category) after that. I wasn't going to call it anything different, though. Do you find value in separating it from the EF?

Krys I do find it helpful to keep them separate in my budget and my mind. EF gets hit first, after my What Fresh Hell?  category which I have for stuff i forgot or those things that bite me in the butt.

SapphireSweetie It sounds like 2020 will be a big year for you!! 

Veronica Yes it will! I have to get rid of these loans so that I can aggressively start paying my student loans! I am a few years away from debt freedom and these challenges help me stay consistent and motivated!

SapphireSweetie $2630.76 sent to debt this month. Not a bad start however, I did add 887 of debt to my plate this month due to adding a very necessary vacation. I have been going hard on debt payments for the past year with no time off and have been feeling burnt out. I had reallocated some funds and already out $300 to this debt and the remainder will be paid off by my next pay on 2/14. Once that is complete, no more new debt!

SapphireSweetie sometimes you have to do a little self care to stay afloat. Good for you for already having a plan for managing it!

SapphireSweetie February check-in. $1938.90 sent to debt this month. Not too bad, but I definitely wanted to put more towards it. Vacation is paid off and I owe $1595.75 on my next target debt. The monkey wrench in the plan is that I anticipate owing taxes as well as having to put together my daughter's summer camp deposit of $500 both needing to be paid prior to 4/15/20. I really need to side hustle but I am tired from my full time job and the travel time that goes a long with it. I have a plan for it but *sigh* march will be interesting.

SapphireSweetie March check in, $1749.43 sent to debt this month. Like many of you, due to Covid-19, I have decided to switch mostly to savings and relaxing my debt payments a bit. Just want to be sure if something goes down that my family and I are prepared. I am praying for all of those folks who have lost their jobs etc. These are truly trying times. Once Covid really blew up, I reassessed my budget and quit eating out immediately as well as cutting the budget in other places.  I will continue to do this until we all weather this storm Stay safe all.

SapphireSweetie I absolutely agree!  Have to stay safe best we can...that debt will still be there (with bells on I'm sure!), but our lives are what are important.  I've done same (little bits of debt pay off, but I've re-adjusted to putting more to emergency fund)...can always ramp up the debt payments when this nightmare is over.  Take care!!

Sweet Tangerine Yes, when things go back to normal we can always use some of our savings for one big debt payment! Stay safe out there!

SapphireSweetie April check in. $1528.42 sent to debt this month. I have changed my debt payoff strategy a bit. Right now I have the Coronavirus Forbearance on my student loans so I have decided to shift that $400 monthly payment to my car loan. My car loan is my focus right now and with a $15K balance I may be able to pay this off by the end of the year, thus putting $425 back in my household. Most people say "keep paying the student loans" but with the 15K in interest I owe on them that 2K will be better spent knocking the principal down on my car. I will go back to paying the student loans after the forbearance is over on 9/30/20. I hope everyone is holding up well!

SapphireSweetie sounds like you've thought through the strategy! You've got to do what works for you, and it will feel good to get rid of one loan completely, I'm sure!

farfromtheusual Yes! I cannot Wait to be done with this car loan and  have that money back in the house!

SapphireSweetie The main takeaway is you are still paying off debt, just shifted your focus. And actually it will feel great when one debt is GONE! :)

SapphireSweetie May check in. $1872.65 paid to debt this month. I am starting to feel normal again with making debt payments. I am still saving, but not an exorbitant amount per month. Praying nothing traumatic happens and I get to keep my job. Still a stretch goal for me to pay off my car by the end of the year but I am going to try my hardest!

SapphireSweetie  June check in. $2300.57 to debt this month. The focus of my debt payoff is my car. I started focusing on this debt with my 4/24 paycheck and a balance of 16,203.  As of Friday's payment the balance is now 12,254. Stretch goal is to knock it out by the end of the year. Already looking forward to next year's debt smackdown so that I can finally start focusing on my student loan monster!

SapphireSweetie wow! That's amazing!!

SapphireSweetie So much progress in so little time - Nicely done! :)

SapphireSweetie July check in $2283.20 sent to debt this month. I have been spending a lot on my "everyday use" credit card that I pay off every month (not included in debt payoff for the month) and I really need to rein that spending in. I will be mostly using cash this month so that I am not literally spending thousands on this card. Now granted I did pay for a beach getaway with it but still, too much money was spent. August will be my reset month. 

SapphireSweetie August check in. $3136.11 sent to debt this month with $2100 of the going to my car loan. This payment finally puts me under 10K on the car loan! It will be tight but Im hoping to wipe out the car loan by the end of the year. 

SapphireSweetie Congrats!! That's an awesome milestone!

SapphireSweetie September check-in. $3034.12 sent to debt this month. 2150 of that went to the car loan. This is such a long journey for me and I am so tired y'all. This is my second year doing the debt smackdown and my third year on this debt free journey. Literally most of my free money goes to debt payments and I feel I need a reset. I am 81.90 percent of the way to my goal for the year and with that I am going to take a small break and do a little retail therapy today. I'm not giving up, I'm just tired. Not sure what the rest of the years debt payments are going to look like for me, might not be as much b/c I want to enjoy my money just a bit more. 

SapphireSweetie there is absolutely nothing wrong with that. I have learned that if I try to tighten down the budget too much, then we majorly back slide, which makes it even more depressing and lengthens the whole thing that much longer. So find whatever balance works for you. You didn't get into debt overnight, and so not getting out overnight is normal, too. I think I've been hanging around the smackdown now for over 3 years, and this is the first year that I am FINALLY getting rid of my credit card debt for good. I've still got a car loan, so I'll be here next year, too. Hang in there, and do what you need to in order to find the balance that works.

farfromtheusual  Congrats to you! Looks like we are both in it for the long haul! Your right my debt didn't happen overnight so I need to give myself grace and take a break when needed. Thanks for the inspo!

SapphireSweetie You're welcome! That's what we're all here for!

SapphireSweetie October check-in: $3019.69 sent to debt this month with the majority of it going towards the car. I am 93.98% to goal and I have a little over 5K left on my car. I am very happy with the progress that I have made this year. I recently got some unsettling news that the project that I work on might be ending so it is even more important for me to finish this loan off. With that being said my debt smack down for next year will be significantly smaller  in comparison to this year as I prepare to go into storm saving mode come January. 

SapphireSweetie Congrats on the progress! Progress is progress, no matter how big or small, so whatever next year holds as long as you're mostly moving forward it's a good thing!

SapphireSweetie November check in. $6473,92 sent to debt this month. I have officially paid off my car this morning!!!! This was my big goal for the year and I am ecstatic to finally be here. I am 119% at goal! I will probably take off for December (still debating) and then start attacking my private student loan in January 2021. Woo-Hoo so happy to be here!!

SapphireSweetie Congrats!!! That's amazing!

SapphireSweetie Amazing!! Must feel different driving it!

SapphireSweetie Thats amazing! Driving a car that is COMPLETELY yours must feel SO good!

SapphireSweetie December check in. Another successful year in the Official 2020 Debt Smackdown! In December I sent $1387.80 to debt. For the year I have sent $31,355.57 to debt!!! Holy Cow!!! 16K of that went to paying my car off! So proud of myself! Next year I will not be sending as much to debt. I pretty much only have Student Loans left and I am just not in a huge rush to pay them off.  I would much rather focus on a health emergency fund and doing some things around the house that I have put off.  Happy Holidays and see you all next year!!!

SapphireSweetie Congrats!! That's a huge number!!

SapphireSweetie Incredible job! Holy cow is absolutely right!! 😍

Angel's Mom I'm so glad you're here! I know what you mean about spending the first few months playing around with the software, but I'm glad you decided to dig in. You've got some big goals for debt payoff in 2020 and I hope this year is super successful for you. We'll be here to cheer you on!

If you haven't already, take a look at our 34 day challenge - it's just a small prompt every day in January and a bit in February that helps you connect with your budget and set your intentions for the year. 

Aerie 2020 is your year. I love that you listed out how much you would get back into your budget from paying off those debt - it feels like a true motivator. 

Aerie The fact you juggled job losses and personal situations and still managed over 70% of your goal says a lot! Great job persevering and coming back for the next round! :)

Veronica Totally agree! Love the freeing up money!!! Well done Aerie!

Veronica On one of the YNAB podcasts, Jesse says that off debt is better than saving when you look at the interest rates and money back in your pocket once the debt is gone. So don't feel bad if you aren't "saving" much, since getting rid of any debt is saving in reverse. :)

Purple Foal I really like "saving in reverse"

Matthew Hayes Kerplooie is a great way to make bad things sound more fun. And with the kerploo behind you, 2020 is wide open for tackling that goal! ;)

Ivory Tiger You're set up for a great year! I'm sure it was tough, but I'm glad you prioritized your dog and house safety, knowing that you have the tenacity to pull out of the debt when the timing is right. It sounds like 2020 will have great progress for you.

Veronica It was so, so tough to make the decision to use credit cards # 2 and 3 in November/December 2019, especially because we were looking forward to paying off credit card # 1 (our "last" credit card) and tackling the auto loan this year. But life happens, and we are focusing on paying these 0% APR cards off within their promotional periods. If the worst occurs and we can't finish credit card # 3 within the 24 month period, then we'll just transfer that sucker to another 0% card and deal with it. We accepted the onus of repaying nearly $19k for a home improvement project in 2 years knowing we didn't prepare properly for it. Lesson learned.

Ivory Tiger 

I kind of look at it this way: what have I learned from this lesson?  And what will I change in the future to prevent this?  So I bet when you're done with repayment, you'll be plumping up the true expenses that got you with new debt in 2019.  I also hope that you're feeling good about your budget and that your plan is working for you; I know I love knowing that mine is showing me so much clarity about where we are and where we want to go in the future.

January check-in (complete): Paid off $1,320.47 as outlined below.

• Credit card # 1 = $500.00
• Credit card # 2 = $85.75
• Credit card # 3 = $350.00
• Auto loan = $384.72

Total debt paid down YTD: $1,320.47.  

Below are the remaining balances for these consumer debts:          

• Credit card # 1 = $2,400.00 (0% promotional APR for balance transfer ending July 2020). 
• Credit card # 2 = $943.19 (0% promotional APR for balance transfer ending June 2021). 
• Credit card # 3 = $18,183.00 (0% promotional APR for balance transfer ending December 2021). 
• Auto loan = $17,106.54 (3.24% APR).

Ivory Tiger 

At that rate, you'll be sitting pretty before the promo rates end!  

February check-in (complete): Paid off $1,320.47 as outlined below. 

• Credit card # 1 = $500.00
• Credit card # 2 = $85.75
• Credit card # 3 = $350.00
• Auto loan = $384.72

Total debt paid down YTD: $2,640.94.   

Below are the remaining balances for these consumer debts:           

• Credit card # 1 = $1,900.00 (0% promotional APR for balance transfer ending July 2020). 
• Credit card # 2 = $857.44 (0% promotional APR for balance transfer ending June 2021). 
• Credit card # 3 = $17,833.00 (0% promotional APR for balance transfer ending December 2021). 
• Auto loan = $16,769.68 (3.24% APR).

Ivory Tiger You're doing excellent and consistent work on this debt!

March check-in (complete): Paid off $1,320.47 as outlined below.  

• Credit card # 1 = $500.00
• Credit card # 2 = $85.75
• Credit card # 3 = $350.00
• Auto loan = $384.72

Total debt paid down YTD: $3,961.41.    

Below are the remaining balances for these consumer debts:            

• Credit card # 1 = $1,400.00 (0% promotional APR for balance transfer ending July 2020). 
• Credit card # 2 = $771.69 (0% promotional APR for balance transfer ending June 2021). 
• Credit card # 3 = $17,483.00 (0% promotional APR for balance transfer ending December 2021). 
• Auto loan = $16,474.76 (3.24% APR).

April check-in (complete): Paid off $1,453.47 as outlined below.   

• Credit card # 1 = $500.00
• Credit card # 2 = $85.75
• Credit card # 3 = $483.00
• Auto loan = $384.72

Total debt paid down YTD: $3,961.41.     

Below are the remaining balances for these consumer debts:             

• Credit card # 1 = $900.00 (0% promotional APR for balance transfer ending July 2020). 
• Credit card # 2 = $685.94 (0% promotional APR for balance transfer ending June 2021). 
• Credit card # 3 = $17,000.00 (0% promotional APR for balance transfer ending December 2021). 
• Auto loan = $16,135.04 (3.24% APR).

May check-in (complete): Paid off $1,370.47 as outlined below.    

• Credit card # 1 = $500.00
• Credit card # 2 = $85.75
• Credit card # 3 = $400.00
• Auto loan = $384.72

Total debt paid down YTD: $6,785.35.      

Below are the remaining balances for these consumer debts:              

• Credit card # 1 = $400.00 (0% promotional APR for balance transfer ending July 2020). 
• Credit card # 2 = $600.19 (0% promotional APR for balance transfer ending June 2021). 
• Credit card # 3 = $16,600.00 (0% promotional APR for balance transfer ending December 2021). 
• Auto loan = $15,792.96 (3.24% APR).

June check-in (complete): Paid off $1,470.47 as outlined below.     

• Credit card # 1 = $400.00
• Credit card # 2 = $85.75
• Credit card # 3 = $600.00
• Auto loan = $384.72

Total debt paid down YTD: $8,255.82 (49.6% of target goal).       

Below are the remaining balances for these consumer debts:               

• Credit card # 1 = PAID OFF!
• Credit card # 2 = $514.44 (0% promotional APR for balance transfer ending June 2021). 
• Credit card # 3 = $16,000.00 (0% promotional APR for balance transfer ending December 2021). 
• Auto loan = $15,451.37 (3.24% APR).

It may be a little tougher to reach our debt payoff goals moving forward since we are down to one income due to COVID-19. Our goal is to pay off credit card # 2 by the end of 2020 and make minimum payments towards credit card # 3 and the auto loan. 

July check-in (complete): Paid off $670.47 as outlined below.      

• Credit card # 2 = $85.75
• Credit card # 3 = $200.00
• Auto loan = $384.72

Total debt paid down YTD: $8,926.29 (53.63% of target goal).        

Below are the remaining balances for these consumer debts:                

• Credit card # 2 = $428.69 (0% promotional APR for balance transfer ending June 2021). 
• Credit card # 3 = $15,800.00 (0% promotional APR for balance transfer ending December 2021). 
• Auto loan = $15,107.48 (3.24% APR).

Unfortunately we are down to one income due to COVID-19. Our goal is to pay off credit card # 2 by the end of 2020 and make minimum payments towards credit card # 3 and the auto loan. 

Ivory Tiger Way to go for continuing to push forward. I hope you can get back to 2 incomes soon!

August check-in (complete): Paid off $670.47 as outlined below.       

• Credit card # 2 = $85.75
• Credit card # 3 = $200.00
• Auto loan = $384.72

Total debt paid down YTD: $9,596.76 (57.65% of target goal).         

Below are the remaining balances for these consumer debts:                 

• Credit card # 2 = $342.94 (0% promotional APR for balance transfer ending June 2021). 
• Credit card # 3 = $15,600.00 (0% promotional APR for balance transfer ending December 2021). 
• Auto loan = $14,762.67 (3.24% APR).

We are on track to pay off credit card # 2 by the end of 2020 and make minimum payments towards credit card # 3 and the auto loan. We have an additional amount set aside that we want to put towards credit card # 3 as soon as we get back to 2 incomes, but we are holding onto it for now for safety.

Ivory Tiger I love that you've been able to plan and adjust for the income changes! Hoping you're back to two incomes soon and that debt is a thing of the past! :)

September check-in (complete): Paid off $670.47 as outlined below.        

• Credit card # 2 = $85.75
• Credit card # 3 = $200.00
• Auto loan = $384.72

Total debt paid down YTD: $10,267.23 (61.68% of target goal).          

Below are the remaining balances for these consumer debts:                  

• Credit card # 2 = $257.19 (0% promotional APR for balance transfer ending June 2021). 
• Credit card # 3 = $15,400.00 (0% promotional APR for balance transfer ending December 2021). 
• Auto loan = $14,419.56 (3.24% APR).

We are on track to pay off credit card # 2 by the end of 2020 and make minimum payments towards credit card # 3 and the auto loan. 

October check-in (complete): Paid off $841.91 as outlined below.         

• Credit card # 2 = $257.19
• Credit card # 3 = $200.00
• Auto loan = $384.72

Total debt paid down YTD: $11,109.14 (66.74% of target goal).           

Below are the remaining balances for these consumer debts:                   

• Credit card # 2 = PAID OFF!
• Credit card # 3 = $15,200.00 (0% promotional APR for balance transfer ending December 2021). 
• Auto loan = $14,072.92 (3.24% APR).

We plan to make minimum payments towards credit card # 3 and the auto loan. We have an additional amount set aside that we want to put towards credit card # 3, but we are holding onto it for now for safety.

November check-in (complete): Paid off $884.72 as outlined below.          

• Credit card # 3 = $500.00
• Auto loan = $384.72

Total debt paid down YTD: $11,993.86 (72.05% of target goal).            

Below are the remaining balances for these consumer debts:                    

• Credit card # 3 = $14,700.00 (0% promotional APR for balance transfer ending December 2021). 
• Auto loan = $13,726.60 (3.24% APR).

Ivory Tiger way to go, that's huge! (especially in 2020!)

December check-in (complete): Paid off $2,084.72 as outlined below.           

• Credit card # 3 = $1,700.00
• Auto loan = $384.72

Total debt paid down YTD: $14,078.58 (84.58% of target goal).             

The larger credit card payment includes some of the money that we have been setting aside each month for this purpose but holding back for safety. The time felt right to make a larger payment right now.

While we didn't meet our overall debt payoff goal for 2020, I am proud of how we rolled with the punches. We may have lost one income but we are still making progress towards our debt smackdown. This year we have successfully paid off the following amounts:

• Credit card # 1 = Paid off $2,900.00. Remaining balance = $0.
• Credit card # 2 = Paid off $1,028.94. Remaining balance = $0.
• Credit card # 3 = Paid off $5,533.00. Remaining balance = $13,000.00 (0% promotional APR for balance transfer ending December 2021). 
• Auto loan = Paid off $4,616.64. Remaining balance = $13,378.12 (3.24% APR).

We will be back in 2021 with a goal to pay off that last credit card (home improvement project) while making minimum payments towards the auto loan!

Ivory Tiger Congrats!!

Ivory Tiger Your family lost an income source and still hit ~85% of your target for the year - that is no small feat!

Ten years to retirement, Carla! I love this goal.

I'm just picturing you starting next year's debt smackdown with your total debt cut in half, under $20k and feeling ready to tackle anything! 

Powder Blue Foal You've got this! 

Pushy Possom Building a house is one of my bucket list items! I hope you'll share more of the process with us when the time comes. Maybe a journal here?

Veronica We are excited but the process is new to me so I'm learning as I go..... 😁 A journal would be a cool idea! 

TC Jackie WOW! You saw that you were on the float and just took care of it. 2020 is off to a great start.

Hot Pink Mainframe It sounds like your plan worked out pretty well for you last year with three cards out of the way! Good luck this year

Just paid off my last CC in full! Thanks YNAB! Good luck everyone!

Congratulations, Hot Pink Mainframe ! That is amazing news. 🎉

Regina Phalange I love a good spreadsheet. Do you use undebt.it? I found it helpful for that type of visualization as well.

 I have checked it out, but haven't played with it yet. I have a massive spreadsheet with all the loan amortization tabs and extra payments, etc. so I have just been working with that for now.

Regina Phalange sounds excellent!

Tomato Barnacle Excellent goals. Good luck in 2020!

thebookishknitter You can do it! If you haven't already, join in the savings challenge also for extra accountability.

Rhiannon Debtfree It sounds like you've got an attainable goal and a stretch goal for the year. Way to set your sights high!

Violet Rain 

You've got a goal, awareness, and a YNAB budget. You are making your own good luck right there.  I'll be cheering you on.

Violet Rain Welcome! We're glad you're joining us!

Well, I didn't quite hit my goal for January. Only made minimum payments. But that's still $487 towards debt payoff! I'll see if I can increase that for February.

Just had to go through and update 5 months worth of check-ins LOL. I've been locked down since mid-March and sick since mid-April. Just now getting back to normal and returning to work. Have only been able to make minimum payments because I was on short-term disability and only getting 60% of my base pay. Last month I forgot one payment altogether - oops. 🙈 I'm going to blame that one on massive brain fog. But the good news is that thanks to my stimulus payment which I've successfully held onto, I'm almost fully buffered! Then I can start rolling in some extra funds towards those monthly payments and make up some more ground.

Violet Rain Wow! Congrats for hanging in there, that's a big deal. I'm glad you're on the mend! If it makes you feel any better, I forgot to make a payment yesterday, too. And I don't have a brain fog excuse!

Violet Rain I hear you on being behind. Today's big task is to catch up my budget. I've been bankrolling the joint food, so I'm hoping that over the course of the last few months that will have effectively wiped out my debt to the joint account. If it has, then I'll be probably starting a fresh budget so that things are easier to keep up to date. (I'm still running two versions as nYNAB is a little tricky for this oldie)

Checking in for July! A few things have changed since my last update: 

1. My monthly Discover card payment has been slightly lowered. This is a zero-interest account, so it makes sense to lower the monthly payment since I won't be accruing any interest. I can still send extra payments to it anytime I have extra funds to put towards debt, with no prepayment penalty.

2. As of August, I am now a month ahead of my finances! I hope to be able to start sending additional dollars to these debts and pay them off sooner.

3. I have automated as many of my payments as possible so I don't have a repeat of last month when I totally forgot to pay one of them. Now that I don't have to line up my paychecks with due dates or worry about being overdrawn, I feel comfortable putting stuff on Autopay to ensure it gets paid on time. 

I just updated the numbers for July on the spreadsheet and it looks like I'm slightly over 50% on my way to reaching my paydown goals for the year! Just gotta stay focused and keep doing the things. 😎

Violet Rain That's all really awesome news!! Congrats!

Check-in for August! 

Everything got paid this month, on time thanks to putting everything on Autopay last month! No more late fees or forgotten payments!

Total amount paid was slightly lower due to the changes to the Discover card payments, and it looks like my student loans are about to be deferred/partially deferred again, so that amount might go down this month too. Still planning on funding the same amount so I can send the extra to my car loan and get that paid down faster. I should probably do the same with the Discover payment category, since it's what I've been used to paying. Every little bit helps!

After updating the spreadsheet, as of today I have $2600 remaining until I reach my payoff goal for the year. Divided by 4 months, that's $650/month. I don't know if I'm going to reach that goal, but I'm going to do what I can to get as close as possible to it. I've already paid off nearly $4k this year and my mind is boggling with possibilities on what else I could do with that money once all of my debt is paid off! I'm going to allow that daydreaming to propel me into paying off as much as I can for the remainder of the year. 

Violet Rain Those are some awesome steps forward! Congrats!!

Violet Rain Dreaming paves the way for the future! I know I've mentioned the quote before, but I think it's worth repeating - "Shoot for the moon. Even if you miss, you'll land among the stars." I hope you get further than you had even imagined! :)

September check-in!

$451.81 sent to debt this month. Still recovering from an overly spendy month in August, so I'm just staying on track with the regular auto-payments. I'm good with this plan.

October is going to be a rare 3-paycheck month for me, so I haven't decided if I want to use that to pay extra towards debt or beef up my emergency fund. Obviously, it probably wouldn't do much good for me to apply it to my student loans since that amount is so massive. It probably wouldn't make much sense to put it towards the cc payoff either, since that's an interest-free debt and it doesn't really matter how long it takes me to pay that off. However, if I were to apply my full paycheck to my car loan, that would be equal to 5 extra payments. That's nearly half a year's worth of payments! But as much as I want to take a shotgun blast to my car loan debt, I really need the safety net of an emergency fund too. I've been able to handle a few small Murphys, but I'd feel a lot more secure if I had at least $1K in there. I'm thinking I'll split the difference and put half of my extra paycheck in my EF and use the rest towards an extra car loan payment that will significantly knock down my principal (equal to about 2.5 months worth of payments). That way I'll both reduce my overall debt AND be more prepared for any emergencies. I'd love to hear your feedback on whether or not this is a good plan. Also, I love that I'm trying to figure out what to do with extra funds and it doesn't involve having to cover monthly expenses! 😁

Violet Rain I think your thinking is sound. And the funny thing is that when it comes down to it, it's actually a very personal 'mental' decision about what feels best to you. That sounds strange, but it's really the truth. Everybody else can tell you what to do, but if their recommendations don't feel good to you on the inside it's the wrong thing for you to do. So if you'll sleep better at night knowing that you have a bigger EF and took a chunk out of the car loan, then that's the right answer. I think that's the logic I would follow, too. Being able to ditch almost 6 months of the car loan is nice, and it will save you interest down the road, but being able to handle a bump in the road when it happens so that you aren't stressed about falling behind on the car loan is worth more to the peace of mind, I think.

Kudos to you for exploring your options!

farfromtheusual said:
Being able to ditch almost 6 months of the car loan is nice, and it will save you interest down the road, but being able to handle a bump in the road when it happens so that you aren't stressed about falling behind on the car loan is worth more to the peace of mind, I think.

 Oooh, good point! That actually really helps confirm that I'm making the right choice for myself, because if I fall behind on my car loan then my ex-husband has the legal right to repossess the car again since the loan is in his name. (This actually happened last year and I went for a few months without a car before he gave it back to me...but that's another story.) So I definitely want to make sure that I don't give him any reason to do that. Thanks for helping me confirm my decision!

Violet Rain Glad that was helpful!!

October check-in!

Y'all, I'm excited. even though it looks like I'm going to fall slightly short of my annual payoff goal of $6,300, I still will have paid off over $5,000 by December! I think that's pretty good for my first concerted effort at paying down debt, and hopefully next year I can keep the momentum rolling!

Update on how I used the extra October paycheck: priorities changed again, and so instead of making an extra payment to the car loan I decided to drop the majority of it into my EF/sinking funds. Good thing too, because just today I found a debt collection account on my credit report for a forgotten unpaid utility bill from almost 2 years ago when I moved (yes, I actually do owe the amount so I'm not disputing it) so I called to make arrangements to pay that off in full as quickly as possible so it doesn't have a long-term impact on my credit. I'm glad that I'm leveraging my money in a way so that I'm no longer thrown off by life's minor Murphys. Onward and upward! 😎

Violet Rain Talk about winning! If you're gonna miss a goal, miss it in the best way possible - and you certainly ARE! Shifting priorities is exactly the right reason to adjust expectations, and having the money there to handle ghosts  from our past is a big win! Congratulations!

Violet Rain wahoo!! That's awesome!!

 November Check-in!

Total paid towards my student loan, car loan, and cc payoff account stayed steady at $451.81. HOWEVER, that unpaid utility bill that went to collections also got taken care of and paid in full quickly, and when I did that my credit score SKYROCKETED by over 50 points! I'm now in the "Good" range, where I haven't been in years. Also, I've already surpassed $5000 total towards debt payoff this year, and when I do December's check-in that will have increased to a total of around $5,500! That makes me really happy. I will be going into 2021 with a good credit score, a consistent track record of on-time payments (something I struggled with until I was in the position to put everything on Autopay), and substantially less overall debt than I started with in 2020. I hope to keep that momentum going into the upcoming year and smack down even more of my debt! Onward and upward! 😎

Violet Rain WAHOO!!! That's awesome!!! I love it when one small thing makes the credit score jump! That feels SO good!

Violet Rain 

Violet Rain said:
I will be going into 2021 with a good credit score, a consistent track record of on-time payments (something I struggled with until I was in the position to put everything on Autopay), and substantially less overall debt than I started with in 2020.

 This is a big deal, and so is your total payoff for the year. Congrats!

Final check-in and yearly wrap-up!

I'm so glad I participated in this challenge! With the help of YNAB and all of you cheering me on, I was able to contribute a grand total of $5,506.94 towards smacking down my debt in 2020!!! That's a number to be proud of. Not only that, but as I mentioned before my overall finances are so much healthier than they were at the beginning of 2020. I fully intend on participating in the 2021 Debt Smackdown, and I can't wait to see what that number will be at this time next year! 😁