Total Credit Card Debt Paid Off So Far…$20,100

During my last debt update, I shared that we needed about $600 to bring the total amount we’ve paid to our credit cards above $20,000. At the time, I wasn’t 100% sure we could do it by the end of 2007.

One thing about me is that I tend to never count on income besides our normal paychecks. Last year, I received a Christmas bonus and I was hoping I would get one this year. But, I couldn’t factor it into our debt reduction until the cash was in my hand (so to speak). Well, the Christmas bonus did arrive, and I think it took over an hour to finally compose myself. It was the boost we needed to be 100% sure we could do it.

I initiated the payment late in the day on Friday, and technically it won’t hit my bank account until Monday. But it’s a done deal. Our credit card debt is now at $17,514. We have paid off $20,100 since starting this journey. If we can, we will pay more to our cards by the end of the month or I may put some more in our savings. With a move possibly coming up shortly, I have been thinking that we may want to beef up our savings account even more. We’ll see how things go for the rest of this month.

What’s the next mini-goal? Getting our debt under the $15,000 mark

Posted by Tricia on December 15, 2007 at 11:03 PM in Debt Updates | 18 Comments »
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Mrs. Micah responded:
Posted: December 15th, 2007 at 11:11 pm
Oh that’s wonderful, Tricia! And you’ve got the nice savings account too…it’s just an all-around good way to end the year.
Ryan S. responded:
Posted: December 16th, 2007 at 12:00 am
Tricia, that’s just great! You’re way more than halfway to your goal; if you can do this, you can do anything.
Jason responded:
Posted: December 16th, 2007 at 12:34 am
Tricia, that is great news! You continue to be a real inspiration to those of use just starting out (and to veterans). I vote for your next mini-goal to be $18,800 – the half way point in your journey to financial freedom!
Sharon Firebaugh responded:
Posted: December 16th, 2007 at 8:55 am
I was not a reader until the summer of 2007. Did you do this in just one year? Wow, you have really given me confidence! I think I can make some needed changes, too, toward financial responsibility and debt reduction, beginning with a part-time job next month, hopefully! Merry Christmas and God Bless you and your family.
Tricia responded:
Posted: December 16th, 2007 at 10:36 am
Thanks everyone

Sharon – We started reducing our debt in February of 2006. So it has taken a year and ten months to get to this point. It seems like a long time, but it goes by so fast.

All the best to you as you work on bettering your finances!
Rob in Madrid responded:
Posted: December 16th, 2007 at 12:51 pm
One recent change my wife and I made is to close two bank accounts we have with overdrafts (will make monthly payments on both). While we could still use them there is something about having a bank account that always has a postive balance, even if its 14â‚¬. I told the wife the other day how much better I feel not having account with overdraft anymore. Sometimes it means waiting a day or two for payday to go shopping but that’s ok.
Katie responded:
Posted: December 16th, 2007 at 1:06 pm
Congratulations! This is so very inspiring!!!!!
Jen responded:
Posted: December 16th, 2007 at 1:16 pm
Congrats! That’s quite an accomplishment!
Sherri responded:
Posted: December 16th, 2007 at 4:35 pm
Congrats! I know it’s not always good to think this way…but just imagine how much more disposable income you will have when all your debt is gone! You will be able to build a large savings and plan for your sons education (or plan more extensively). It’s amazing you have gotten your debt down so far AND built a nice savings cushion. I just moved (again) and it usually costs more than you plan for, but luckily this time it cost us LESS than we thought! Best of luck with moving if it comes to that.
Maria responded:
Posted: December 16th, 2007 at 6:13 pm
Congratulations Tricia! You’re an inspiration to all of us!
Fellowes responded:
Posted: December 17th, 2007 at 2:36 am
Tricia, congratulations on the amazing progress. My first milestone will be eliminating 10K of debt which should be reached sometime in the spring. You have been and continue to be an inspiration to me. I look forward to seeing your progress in 2008. Keep up the good work.
boomer responded:
Posted: December 17th, 2007 at 1:16 pm
WOW! That is fantastic. Congratulations. Keep up the great work!!!!!
Eva in TX responded:
Posted: December 17th, 2007 at 5:19 pm
Good job! What a way to have happy holidays.
Marjorie responded:
Posted: December 17th, 2007 at 6:46 pm
Congratulations! That’s so wonderful. I remember when we hit the halfway mark in our debt reduction journey. We were so excited, and now we’re on our way to being completely debt-free in just a few months.

I look forward to following your progress on your blog!

Salut,
Marjorie
MollysBrother responded:
Posted: December 17th, 2007 at 9:56 pm
CONGRATULATIONS. I swear Tricia, I know it feels like it will be a long time away, but one of these days I am going to hear you yell “I AM DEBT FREEEEEEEEE” to Dave! LOL.

Keep it up. You have been an inspiration to so many of us.
Fecundity responded:
Posted: December 18th, 2007 at 1:54 pm
Congratulations. That’s an amazing amount of debt to get through in under two years. Well done and best of luck in continuing towards your goals.
wealthy_1 responded:
Posted: December 23rd, 2007 at 7:28 pm
Congratulations, Tricia! That’s so great that you were able to reduce your debt with your bonus!

Continued success!
steve responded:
Posted: December 7th, 2008 at 1:54 am
I prefer to think of my debt payments as savings–because (1) the definition of savings is the difference between your income and your expenses. If you have money to pay to the credit cards, you have money beyond your other living expenses so you could view it as savings, but applied toward a debt balance. In any case, your net worth is moving up by paying off the debt, which is what increasing savings does.

Also, (2) , when I am done applying my savings to my debt balances, I will simply apply them to CD, money market, or other investment vehicles. I will not view them as “disposable income”. I may increase my monthly spending and decrease the amount allocated to savings, but I am not thinking of the savings that I apply towards my debt payments as disposable income in any sense. After all, I am getting by pretty enjoyably and supporting myself without using those payments. Why decide to radically increase my comnsumption and spending just because I have paid off a debt? Of course, you have a lot more freedom because the debt is gone, but that doesn’t mean I will be considering using those monthly savings as spending money.

I hope this helps. It is a different perspective that I have not seen expressed very commonly.