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I’ve decided to add another section to my monthly reporting - finance charges. It’s one that not everyone may pay a lot of attention to unless they are keeping track of where their dollars are going. And when you do keep track - oh my…it is an eye opener.
It is so sad to see that I spent $417.49 in finance charges for March. But, by golly - it is so good to have it right in my face. I am ready to look this beast in the eye and defeat it (sorry - getting myself all pumped up here - think of the “Eye of the Tiger” song playing in the background as you review the report 
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Credit Card Debt
- Starting = $37,614
- Paid Off = $29,012
- Current = $8,602
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Posted: April 3rd, 2006 at 10:09 am
We keep close track of all our finance charges: credit cards ($47), car loan ($99), student loans ($766), and home loans ($2398). It keeps us motivated to move more quickly in getting them paid down. Afterall, we have better things to do with that $3310 each month.
Posted: April 3rd, 2006 at 11:57 am
Excellent idea Tricia - I really like this one.
Even though we’ve got a reasonably large balance on our credit cards, it doesn’t end up with large finance charges because they’re all locked in on low-interest-for-life-of-the-debt balance transfers (and we’ve stopped using them entirely). The one that’s now bugging me is the interest on the mortgage. Being a new home owner, that mortgage payment is almost entirely interest. And every month, they’re telling me exactly how much is going to their bottom line instead of ours… :/ If the credit card companies did something similar, I’d bet people would be a lot more motivated to get that credit habit monkey off their back.
Posted: April 3rd, 2006 at 12:18 pm
Great idea to keep close track of this. I would also include any fees incurred, such as late fees or over the limit. This would all be bundled in an expense category that I would call, “cost of debt.” Ouch. $417. Well, at least you are aware of it and doing something about it. Can I ask why it is going up?
Posted: April 3rd, 2006 at 5:45 pm
Great idea. Seeing the number will give you more incentive to pay the debt off. I don’t worry so much about the interest on my home because of the deductibility factor.
Posted: April 3rd, 2006 at 10:46 pm
john omm - Wow! Those are some serious finance charges! They are more than my family makes in a month. I keep track of my other charges, but not monthly. Usually quarterly I check on them. Now, for my auto loan I check more frequently because in 5 months it will be paid off. I love watching it dwindle
sean - I had to look for a few minutes on my one credit card statement to find where they listed the finance charge rate. They really should put it more up-front-and-center, but they don’t want you to notice
lamoneyguy - great question about why it is increasing. I currently have a project going on that and I hope to have a post about it within the next few weeks
chitown - unfortunately, I don’t pay enough in interest or have enough deductions to itemize. So I am just paying with no “benefits”. One good thing is that my home was only $35,500 and my monthly payment is $337.00. So, I’m not taking too bad of a hit compared to others.
Thanks everyone for your comments and your support!! I knew blogging about this would help keep me focused and more determined
Posted: December 31st, 2006 at 9:01 am
[...] Finance Charges Paid in March - $417.49 - When I added up how much it was costing me a month to have my credit cards, the total wasn’t pretty. [...]