The good news?

We’re still moving in the right direction – FORWARD!

We decided to pay less on the truck this month and set aside the cash since we were ahead on payments. I’d rather have a little more cash on hand just in case. In light of the current economy, we’re playing it as safe as possible.

Here’s where we’re at –
Auto Loan 1: $0
Credit Card: $0
Student Loan: $9,680.19
Auto Loan 2: $11,379.87

The big question…

How long can we hold on without my husband’s job?

Our initial numbers (without unemployment benefits) put us at 8 weeks. Our reductions to debt paired with our cash in savings and unemployment benefits put us at…

9 months.

Had this happened before we had taken control… had this happened before we made the decision to live below our means and reduce debt… we would have made it through a month, maybe two tops.

But now, we’re looking at 9 safe months. 9 months to find a job before things get hairy. Sure we won’t make progress other than minimums and we certainly won’t eat anything other than Ramen noodles but, we can hold on.

I have four words to say –

Thank. You. Dave. Ramsey.

1 – If you are hoping for a huge change… this is not the answer. Not all changes are permanent and/or large. Some adjustments may last as little as 3 months.

2 – Loan modifications are not quick. If you can’t wait the standard 9 weeks for the review of your file and another 5-9 weeks for paperwork processing, you don’t have enough time and you may want to move forward with other options like a short sale or foreclosure.

3 – Give an accurate listing of all your expenses. Don’t exaggerate but don’t minimize either. Have a good understanding of exactly how much you are paying. Keep this information available for when you call the bank.

4 – You will be rejected if you have recently made large purchases or if your credit score is low. You shouldn’t be making large purchases anyway so I can’t say as if I blame the banks for this stipulation.

5 – If you have a second mortgage with another lender, they will likely require you to get approved for the Making Home Affordable Program on your first loan before they will consider a change to your second mortgage. If you are accepted for the program on your first loan, it’s easy to submit the same paperwork for your second mortgage.

6 – This should not be your only option. It’s worth a try, but don’t fool yourself into thinking this will solve your problems.

7 – If your home is not a Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac mortgage, this program does not apply to you… BUT some lenders are still willing to modify other types of loans.

8 – This is a voluntary program. No one HAS to help you. Sure it’s good business sense to lessen foreclosures on the banks part, but if you are a problem child, don’t expect any help. Banks don’t want to keep you as a customer anyway. Be kind, courteous, and polite even if you are frustrated.

According to the bank’s calculations, my husband and I qualify. We are now in the first 9 week waiting period while they review our files. We have stellar credit scores and we haven’t made large purchases in a long time. We are good candidates for an interest rate reduction from the over 7% it is currently, down to the market rates of 5-6%.

Do I really think it will really happen?

No. But it’s worth a try.

That was a mistake.

Today, my husband’s co-worker was laid off and another was reduced to part-time without benefits. It looks like less than a 3 month count down until my husband gets the axe.

I am terrified.

At this point, since we had to clear out part of our savings, we can only last 8 weeks without his paycheck.

That number sends a terrifying chill through my bones.

I’m focusing on the good though:

1. He still has a job today.
2. I lost my job last year and we survived.
3. We’re both healthy.
4. The new seasons of Private Practice and Grey’s Anatomy have started.

It’s all about priorities.

I had NO idea how expensive it is to be a part of a wedding. New rule – no more weddings except for family.

We made no progress and made only the minimum payment on the truck.

Debt Breakdown:
Auto Loan 1: $0
Credit Card: $0
Student Loan: $9,731.52
Auto Loan 2: $11,532.21

I was angry since we had just paid off our card – and because we’ve been burned in the past when we allowed others to use our credit.

Just as I expected, there were problems… but not the kind of problems I had guessed. Not only did the guys pay before they left, they overpaid by $20 each (we’re giving it back).

Our credit card still took a hit from my husband (I’ll talk about the REAL expenses of a cruise in a later post) but we’ll be able to pay it off before it rolls over and starts to accrue interest. We won’t be able to pay extra on the auto loan but at least we’ll be heading into October without credit card debt.

Would I loan money again on my credit card? Even though it actually worked out this time, I’m still SOLIDLY on the no side.

My husband is attending a bachelor party this weekend and the event required one credit card to book the trip for all five attendees (the bill could not be split). Most of our friends know about our recent credit card payoff (maybe shouting that fact from my roof and breaking into song was a clear sign) and naturally suggested that since we ‘had the room’ on our card (as if it were free), that my husband pay for the entire trip and be reimbursed later.

I’m not going to lie. I am upset.

Perhaps I’d be more trusting if this hadn’t happened before with concert and event tickets and in the end, we were always short. People conveniently ‘forget’ to pay or promise to pay later and then get annoyed when reminded. Plus, the credit card will be kept on file in case there are damages to the room or if alcohol is consumed.

When I asked why someone else couldn’t pony up a credit card, he told me it was because everyone is nearly maxed out but us. Um… isn’t that a good reason NOT to loan these people our credit card?

My husband and I rarely fight but this is a sensitive issue for me and I feel like we are opening ourselves up to a lot of potential debt.

Am I overreacting?

Dave Ramsey suggests paying the extra amount on your lowest debt (which would be the student loan) but the minimum payment on our truck is more 4 times higher than the student loan. Plus, the interest rate on the truck is twice as much.

Another good reason to pay more on the truck is to quickly rid ourselves of the hefty payment. In the event of job loss, a student loan can be deferred due to financial hardship – auto loans are not nearly as forgiving.

We’re hoping to have the truck paid off in 10 months or less.

Here we go!

Total Starting Debt: $38,495.86
Total Paid: $16,727.33
Total Remaining: $21,768.53

Breakdown of Remaining Debt –
Truck: $11,934.57
Student Loan: $9,833.96

We’re nearly halfway there. I got an updated payoff date according to our Debt Snowball Calculator on DaveRamsey.com…

December 2010.

We shaved off 4 months so far. Can I get a Woo Hoo?

OUR CREDIT CARD IS PAID OFF!!!!

We decided to use the rest of our extra paychecks to pay off the remaining balance. The checks didn’t cover all we owed but my husband worked some overtime and we were able to clear the rest.

We set aside some money for the bachelorette party in Vegas and the secretly located bachelor party. I would have probably opted not to go to Vegas but the bride is my soon to be sister in law and well… who can say no to Vegas?

Why don’t you sell the truck?

I neglected to explain the reason we’re carrying the truck payment. It’s funny that no one noticed the debt on the truck earlier. It wasn’t until we paid down enough on the rest of our debt to make the truck HALF our total debt that someone asked about it.

My husband had a Chevy that gave out on us a few years ago and he’s one of those few people who actually need a full size truck for work. He tows trailers, fills it with concrete, moves landscaping, etc. A reliable full sized truck isn’t an option… it’s a requirement. We financed a Toyota truck for 26K two years ago and at the time, it was a great deal – or at least that’s what everyone likes to think after leaving a used car dealer.

Fast forward a few years, a few gas hikes, and a few construction related dents later and suddenly…

The truck is more than just a little upside-down – it’s hanging from its toe nails.

We’d MAYBE be able to sell it to someone for 8K… if we made them test drive it in the dark and promise them it got 58 miles to the gallon completely powered by canola oil. But since we’re honest folks, that’s not an option. Plus, we’d have to buy another full sized truck reliable enough to take the 25 – 30 thousand miles a year he drives for work.

Take the nearly 5 thousand we’d have to pay for our upside-down loan and add it to the cost of another truck and it just doesn’t make sense. I’d rather bite the bullet, pay if off by mid-year next year, and have a truck I know works for us.

We didn’t get as far ahead as expected (sounds like a broken record!) but we had to pay $1,400 in tuition this semester. I’m CRINGING at the thought of books.

So where do we stand?

Credit Card: $3,674.06
Student Loan: $9,884.81
Auto Loan: $12,233.12

Total Original Debt: $38,495.86
Total Paid since Oct. 2008: $12,703.87
Total Remaining: $25,791.99

We’re supposed to get some scholarship money for school but because of the California budget crisis, we aren’t holding our breath. If it does come through, we’ll immediately apply it toward our credit card.

We’re finally over the 10K hurdle… now I’m ready to hit 15K!

Credit Card: $4,437.12
Student Loan: $9,935.46
Auto Loan: $12,738.30

Total Original Debt: $38,495.86
Total Paid: $11,384.98
Total Remaining: $27,100.88

Starting Debt: $38, 495.86
New Debt Number: $27,814.62

Total Paid Since October 2008: $10,681.24

Woo Hoo! We’re over $10K

We were hoping to get ahead of schedule and have our credit card debt paid by July but it’s looking like August or September (still ahead, just not as much as we wanted to be) thanks to the California DMV fees and the higher taxes.

But I guess that’s part of a journey.  It can’t be all fun right?

I worked a tough job for a ‘big box store’ to pay the bills while applying for any decent job available. I finally landed a great job in December. 

I’ve struggled with unexpected expenses – like a monthly $150 property tax hike and a 1% sales tax hike…

I’ve made lifestyle changes – the biggest one is my use of public transportation…

I’ve struggled with monotony…

And I paid off my car.

Here is where I am on my debt journey.  Somehow, we’ve squeezed $10,000 toward our debt – $30,000 to go.  Sure I’d like it to be more, but $10,000 isn’t a bad number.

I can’t wait to finish this journey and finally become…

DEBT FREE!!

WE ARE CREDIT CARD DEBT FREE!!!

After 38 months of pinching pennies, increasing our income and riding on the roller coaster of debt reduction – we have finally come to the end of the credit card ride. We are no longer a slave to them. We are free now…and it feels…wonderful.

I feel like I can stand up straight since our credit card debt isn’t pushing us down. A huge weight has been lifted. At the same time, there is a feeling of “What’s next?” We’ve been at this for over three years. You really do get used to a routine and now things will be shaken up. It will definitely be a period of adjustment. With change comes some fear but a lot of excitement!

You may be wondering what we did with regards to our savings. Due to a payment that is taking longer than expected to get to us, we ended up pulling $1,499 from our savings account to make our debt payoff a reality. We should have the money by the end of the month but I didn’t want to cut things too close – I wanted to be debt free by our goal date of May of 2009. As soon as that payment comes in we are going to put it straight towards our savings.

We first thought we would do something grand when we paid off our credit card debt, like splurge on a family vacation (we have yet to go on a vacation with the three of us). After thinking about it, we are going to hold off on that and simply have a pizza party to celebrate. We need to get more money in our savings before we do anything big. Perhaps next year will be the year for our vacation. We’ll see how things go.

I’d like to thank everyone for reading. You have helped to keep us accountable for our financial decisions and without your support I’m not sure if we would have kept going at reducing our debt like we did. You have been here for the rough and sometimes very sad times and helped to keep my head above water during those times. I’ve said it many times before, but words cannot begin to express my gratitude. If I was writing this on paper…you would see little tear drop outlines all over it. I was okay with writing this post up until I thought about all of you and then the waterfall started. Thank you all so very much. You have helped us to make it to this special day.

As things sink in a little bit more, I’ll share with everyone our plans for the future and also take a look back at our journey. I am excited to be starting the next (credit card debt free) chapter of our lives

Quick Edit – I almost forgot to update my NCN Network chart so I just went and did it

While our relationship has been great and I have appreciated your monthly letters of good tidings, I’m afraid I have to end things. You see, I recently met with my tax man and he told me we’re getting back a small chunk of cash which means… all the money I’ve been saving can finally be used to rid myself of you.

I know you have lots of friends like me and you probably won’t miss me but I’m sure you’ll miss the nearly two years of interest I would still owe you if we continued to be friends.

Please don’t take this personally, your service has been exceptional. We’ve actually got along quite well the past few years but it’s not you… it’s me.

I wish you the best in your future endeavors… none of which will involve me.

All my love, but none of my cash,

Rebekah

That’s not too bad. We should be able to get that amount replenished within a few months. With summer quickly approaching we can breathe a sigh of relief that we won’t have huge gas bills for a while and our electricity bill will decrease unless it’s an overly hot summer. We can also spend a little less on groceries since we’re planning on having a garden this year. Nice, fresh produce sounds so good right now!

The end of April sure is coming up quickly!

Before my husband and I married, his wise grandfather sat us down to share what he thought was the most important marital advice we would get, “Always live below your means and never, NEVER buy anything on credit. Save a little each month and pay cash for everything.” As young 20 something know-it-all’s, we married and immediately financed two cars, purchased a home even though he begged us to wait, and continued to use our credit cards. My biggest regret is the fact that I ignored the true wisdom of a man whose sole goal was to help me. I couldn’t be sorrier.

My husband and I started to attend a financial counseling course and felt that, for once, we may have a debt free future. Unfortunately, a week after starting the course, the company I worked for closed and our world took a tailspin. Suddenly those bills we could easily pay in the past looked unreasonably daunting. On top of everything, three large corporations in San Diego conducted major cuts and flooded the market with job seekers.

In searching with intense fervor for jobs in the past, a deep sense of defeat hung over my head and I couldn’t help but feel that I was a failure when I wasn’t able to land them. BUT, there is a light at the end of the tunnel! We buckled our budget, worked odd jobs and long hours, and we not only paid our car payments and credit cards…we paid our mortgage payment too! Even when I am without a job, somehow we’re surviving!

I know what it’s like to feel overwhelmed. I know what it’s like to cry every single day. I know what it’s like to cringe at the sound of a mail carrier bringing another load of bills. I know what it’s like to feel as though I will never break free from the heavy thumb of debt but…

I know I can do it.

I will be writing more tonight about where a portion of the $850 came from…

Our savings is $3,800.

We are past that very sweet point where we could technically be credit card debt-free since we have enough in our savings to cover our credit card debt. Yay!

As tempting as it is, we are not going to use our savings to pay off the last of our debt. At least not right now. We do have a tax refund coming that will pay off some more. If all goes well with our business we will be able to take some more income from that next month (it contributed to this latest chunk of debt-payoff).

We are in the home stretch so we are going to push hard for this. We may end up using some of our savings to meet our goal date of May 2009. We’ll see what happens in the next 41 days.

omg, are you really only $199 away from savings=debt now? Aaaahhhh!

Yeah, it sort of feels like that – Aaaahhhh! Our savings is at $3,800 and our credit card debt is at $3,999. I wanted to be able to pay $199 more but we just couldn’t do it right now. By the end of the month, we should be able to hit that milestone.

Then will come $3K, $2K, $1K, $500. We still have a way to go, but I am getting excited that we are getting so close!

We still have a bit to go, but we are getting closer. The next big milestone for us is the day where our credit card debt equals what we have in our savings. Just knowing that we could pay it off right then and there will feel very nice. At this time, we aren’t planning on doing that. I enjoy having the savings there. That’s not to say we might use some of it to finish off our debt. It all depends on what is happening at the time.

Back in April of 2006, things looked like this:

April 2006
Mortgage: $337
Auto Loan: $258
School Loans: $208
Credit Cards: $950
TOTAL: $1,753 / month

That number still gives me the chills. That is WAY too much money that we were paying a month for past spending.

Here’s what it looks like today:

February 2009
Mortgage: $330
School Loans: $238
Credit Cards: $99
TOTAL: $667 / month

We have reduced our minimum monthly debt obligations by $1,086/month. That is an awesome chunk of change.

When our credit card debt is paid off, our only debt obligations will be to our mortgage and student loan. Our current plan is to start hitting our mortgage because our student loans have a lower interest rate and with ours we can try to qualify for a forbearance if certain hardships occur. My husband and I both have loans and we never consolidated them together. So if something happens to one of us, the surviving spouse would not be responsible for the other one’s student loans. I really don’t like thinking about things like that, but it was a factor in our decision to pay off our mortgage next.

We will also start working on saving money. We’d like a bigger emergency fund, a new car fund and we need to get cracking on retirement savings. It will be a big period of financial catch-up after we’re done paying for past financial mistakes.

Of course, doing that means playing catch-up now that I want to look at the detail behind the surplus. Already I see a big difference with cutting soda from our diets.

Anyways, I am a member of the No Credit Needed Network. I haven’t updated my chart there in some time so I did that today. I shouldn’t have slacked with that one. Look at how pretty our chart looks!

BAD Chart at NCN Network

Almost 87% of our credit card debt is paid off. There’s so much yellow there on our chart now

Starting tomorrow, there will be a week of numbers and reflection…

Maybe it’s because of the economy. Maybe it’s because I almost forgot to make a credit card payment (but didn’t – whew!). Maybe it’s because I just recovered from being sick and I made calzones for dinner tonight. In any case, I have a bit of a knot in my stomach and I want it to go away.

I think it may be is fear-related. We are getting so close to the finish line that I am waiting for something to happen to derail us. It’s not a rational thought, but it’s there. It’s not the first time I’ve felt this way and I’m sure it’s not the last.

I did a search on the internet and found an article that somewhat relates:

You are actually doing what everyone does — anticipating a future experience…Routine anticipation of events typically doesn’t prompt anxiety…However, new or special events add anxiety to the mix — that fear that we haven’t anticipated enough and we’re not prepared well enough for every possible contingency.

Via CounsellingResource.com

That explains my brain so well. I like to be prepared – at the very least mentally prepared. Paying off our credit card debt is a big event and it is getting so close to being a reality. A set-back now would be a very discouraging thing to get through and that is probably why there is a knot in my stomach.

I have to remember that we are in a lot better shape financially now than we were a year ago. If something comes up, we have so many more tools now to be able to handle it.

January may end up being a really nice month financially. I’m a little scared to see our next gas bill (due to this arctic chill in the Midwest), but other than that things are going well. Our income is up and we are still keeping our expenses fairly low. I am pleased to be able to get our debt down to $5,499.

I realized that we are only technically $1,759 away from being credit card debt free – that’s if we decide to use our savings to pay the rest off when we get close enough. I’m not sure if we will do it or not. I guess we’ll see when we get there

I haven’t talked about our budding business recently because for a while there, things went stagnant. I have been busy dealing with family issues (related to a medical issue) so I wasn’t doing my part. I’m not the best at multi-tasking. I prefer to focus on one thing and the business wasn’t the most important thing the past few months. Family comes first. Now that I have my bearings with the family issue, I can get back to the business.

I have very high hopes for 2009. I’m actually very excited for the new year. I think it’s our year to really shine. We should have our credit card debt paid off and if all goes well we may have our highest annual income yet in 2009. Yep, I’m excited!

I guess I am feeling a little uncertain about the economy right now. I want to get our credit card debt paid off so we don’t have to worry about that looming over our heads if something happens to our income. I cringe when I say this, but in a dire situation, it could be helpful to have available credit. Trust me, though…it would have to be a VERY dire situation for us to go into credit card debt again. I don’t like thinking about that much since I definitely don’t want to go there.

Of course, the best thing in a dire situation is a hefty emergency fund. We’re talking at least a year’s worth of income in the bank. In light of all of this, I think after our credit card debt is paid off we will plump up that emergency fund big time. It will take a while to do, but it will be worth it.

Every now and then, I get an email from a reader that brightens my day. It’s about the success they are having with their debt reduction. It gives me a little kick that I need and the latest kick made me say to myself, “You know what, you can squeeze out a little more money this month to get that debt total under $7K.” So that is what I did. Our current debt total is $6,999.

We did have to squeeze that one since I was leaving a little buffer for some early Christmas shopping. I’m not a huge day after Thanksgiving shopper, but if something looked interesting we had the money. I thought about it, and most of the deals probably wouldn’t apply to us. After all, we are trying to let our needs guide our shopping – not the sales. Following the sales is how you end up with a lot of stuff you don’t need

As always, a big thank you to everyone for reading and your emails!

That brings us to a debt total of $7,299. I’m thinking we may be able to get under the $7K mark by the end of this month. We do have some bills that can arrive at any time (medical-related). If we have extra money and those haven’t come yet, that extra money is going towards our debt. We have our savings account to pull from if needed to pay those bills when they finally arrive.

I do still have weaknesses in spending and one of them is Christmas. I love giving gifts and buying for Toys for Tots. We have a budget in place, but if they money isn’t in our account – there is no way I can spend it. That’s my safety net during Christmas.

I’m not sure what the next milestone will be. Maybe it’ll be when it’s completely paid off

Our car decided to have issues again to the tune of a $300 repair. That was a bit unexpected so it was a bummer to start off November. But, I turned around and sold a few more things to make close to $200. Following the new method, that money was then put towards our debt and I added a little bit more to it to make it an even $200. It’s sad to see it go so quickly, but it’s for a very good cause.

That brings out debt to $7,799. I’m getting the taste of being under $7K in my mouth so I think I will be pressing hard in the next few weeks to sell a few more bigger ticket items that we haven’t sold yet.

September was not a good month. It normally is a rough one so it was expected. I thought October was going to be better and it started off that way. Then the medical bills started coming in. Words cannot express how much I dislike the health care system. More specifically, the health care system where I live. You can go in there and ask what you owe. They tell you nothing. A month later a bill shows up in the mailbox for something they forgot to bill six months ago. So very frustrating.

I keep telling myself to relax and breathe. It’s not the end of the world and never will be. It’s just money. We’ll make it through this and every other bill that will pop up unexpectedly in our mailbox since I know there will be more. Of course, this happened after my hours were reduced at work and before my husband got a part-time job (he took a pre-employment test today so things are still looking good there). But I still wonder how this all is going to turn out and I do feel some uneasiness right now.

On the other hand, I have been in such a good mood. I’m spending more time with our son. I’m getting some projects done around the house. I’m working on our new business. I’m even getting back into doing volunteer work. My health is improving and my wedding ring is no longer snug on my finger. As for the rest of the family, my son is happier and my husband is happier as well with this new arrangement.

All we need to do now is smooth out our income since cutting my hours shook things up a bit.

We said goodbye to many things, like furniture and a video game system. Those brought in the most money. We also did have a garage sale and sold more stuff. But a lot of that stuff was under $1.00 (cheaper nick-nack types of things). It all adds up, though. My son also sold some of his old toys and made over $75 (he kept all money from selling his stuff). He was quite the little salesman. If someone had a question on one of his toys, he was right there showing them the ropes – even showing them other toys. There’s a lego set he’s had his eye on for some time now and he worked very hard to earn the money to get it. He was so cute!

I think we are basically done with trying to sell all of the smaller things we have. We have had four sales now (last year and this year), so all remaining smaller items are being donated to St. Vinny’s. That store has helped us so much when money was really tight, so it’s only fitting to give back. There are a few bigger things still left, so I might advertise them in the paper or make up some flyers.

September has been a rough month financially with taxes, medical bills, a car repair bill and a few yearly bills that were due. Selling some things helped to make it a positive month after all. Besides putting some towards our debt, we used some of it to replenish our savings account a little. The balance today is at $3,600. Yay!

I was really hoping to have progressed farther than we have this summer. Before we know it, we’ll have heating bills and from what I’ve heard natural gas prices are bound to go up this winter. The Farmer’s Almanac is predicting a winter that is a little warmer than normal, so I am hoping that is the case. I never really thought much of the Farmer’s Almanac until I saw my neighbor pruning his fruit tree. There was still snow on the ground, but he said the Farmer’s Almanac said to do it. They had an awesome harvest. We have the same type of fruit tree and our harvest wasn’t as great (we didn’t prune), so guess who will be pruning next year when the almanac says it is time to prune?

I’m not sure what September will bring. Historically September has always been a rough month since a few annual payments are due. We’ll see how things go.

All is well now, and things are updated. Our current credit card debt is at $8,602.

I was alerted today that my feed is not working correctly. For those feed readers out there, I thank you for your patience. I will be looking into the problem this weekend when I have more time so that should be resolved soon.

Credit Card Debt: $8,732
Savings Account: $3,644

It is very tempting to “borrow” some of that savings account money to pay off more of our debt. There is another big milestone looming – paying off $30,000 worth of credit card debt. We’d only have to “borrow” $1,118 to do it. You can see how tempted I am because I ran the numbers LOL. For now, though, I really want to get our savings account to $4,000.

Once our savings account hits that balance, then it will be time to start kicking some debt booty again

All of our credit card debt is at 0% right now, and one missed payment would have been a disaster. Who knows how high our interest rate would have shot up. The payment wasn’t due until early June, but I wasn’t about to take any chances. I sent out a payment for $134 and our credit card debt now stands at $8,864.

What a difference a few years can make. I was able to find our minimum credit card payment from May of 2006…$743. Wow. No wonder we can breathe easier now!

Well, I couldn’t resist using all of it to put towards our debt. That brought it to $9,198.

But I couldn’t stop there. I had to contribute $200 more to put it under the $9K mark. Our checking account will be tight for a while, but if the money isn’t there…we won’t spend it!

That brings our total credit card debt to $8,998! We have paid off over $28,000 of our credit card debt. My little graphic at the NCN Network made it really sink in that we are getting so close to debt payoff now.

We are definitely in the home stretch

Unless our economic stimulus payment arrives in the next two days, our credit card debt will stay at $10,698 through the end of the month. When I calculate my net worth at the end of the month, we’ll see how everything turns out. I’m pretty sure this month will end up being one of the best months we have had so far.

It’s too early to project how May will go. The economic stimulus payment will give a much needed boost to our debt reduction and put us under $10K (yay!). We should have some more extra money, but we may end up doing some repairs around the house. You can only put them off for so long and spring is the perfect time to do them. Then again, I think I said that last spring too!

So we’ll see how things go

Okay, on to some links this morning.

First up is DebtKid, keeping it real, with a post about debt and loneliness.

Silicon Valley Blogger has an article about recessions. I’m not in tune to the economy as a whole so this was an interesting read for me.  I have read a few other articles yesterday related to the economy that didn’t sit well with me, and I’ll write more about them later.

Cleverdude started a mini garden. We have a small garden in our yard, but I’ve been thinking about bringing some of it indoors. With grocery costs increasing, it might be a good thing to do.

Lastly, congrats to NCN who just welcomed baby number three into his household! It’s funny, when I think of my son as a baby, I can still smell the “new baby” smell

Today we were able to pay an additional $600 towards our credit card debt bringing the total down to $10,998. By the look of things, that may may be the last big payment for this month. We’ll see, though, how things turn out with getting our fridge fixed. If the repair is covered by the warranty, we will probably have more money to put towards our debt.

Next month will be the big month when we break below $10K thanks to the economic stimulus rebate. I am getting butterflies in my stomach just thinking about it. For a while there, I wasn’t so sure we would be able to meet our debt payoff goal date of May 2009. Being at $10K in May of 2008 puts us in a good position to meet that goal. We would have to pay $833/month to do it (this assumes that we are able to keep our credit card debt at 0%).

A lot can happen in a year, so I’m going to stop there and not get too far ahead of myself. We are going to keep going with the strategy that has been working for us so far…we are going to pay as much as we can when we can and keep attacking our debt.

I am so glad that we received our tax refund and the delay was not due to us having to pay some money last year. I have been a first-hand witness to someone’s account being seized by the IRS so I feared the worst when I saw our refund was delayed. The IRS won’t give you money back if they show that you still owe money. So I know that we are completely in the clear and all is well there. Whew.

The equipment my husband sold was a bit bittersweet. It’s nice to have the money, but in a way we no longer have that piece of equipment to sell in a pinch. It was one of the nicer things that we owned that we knew we could get a nice chunk of change for. After researching the going price on eBay, we decided to just sell it back to the company it was purchased from. As expected, it was a very simple process and we received the money as promised.

Our next windfall will be with the economic stimulus check that we should receive via direct deposit in May (here is a link to the payment schedule). Depending on where we stand in May, that payment should take us below the “five figure credit card” debt that we have had for so long.

We will be in four figure credit card debt range. Wow. We will really be on the home stretch.

Now here’s some inspiration from Pants In a Can. He has paid off ALL of his credit card debt. How much? $28,000! Congrats!

Bjefferies is finding that it’s easier for him to reduce debt than lose weight. I’d have to agree. My thought is that with paying off debt you see that total go down immediately. It can take a little while for that scale to go down from eating healthy and exercising.

Arduous has an awesome list of changes she has made since starting her blog. There are quite a few things on her list that I’d like to try.

Tomorrow…I am going shopping for a pair of jeans

Times like these, I do the next best thing and pay as much as we can. That ended up being $200 for right now and that brings our debt total to $13,198. I’m hoping that some money will arrive by the end of the month and I hope to sell a few more things on Craigslist. If that happens, we could make it under the $13,000 mark without our tax refund.

There is a saying on the tip of my tongue…one that you sometimes say when you do the best you can even though you may not hit the mark? Hmm…it’s not coming to me.

In any case, I’m still going to try to do the best we can for March

It’s weird, because even though we still have quite a bit of debt left, I feel like we are in the home stretch. I feel pushed to pay off as much as we can as quickly as we can. I was going to wait for another check to arrive before paying extra but I decided to go ahead and do it. Our checking account will be pretty low until that check arrives, but we’ll be okay.

Looking ahead for the rest of the month, hopefully we will have our tax refund (about $500) and that will go directly towards our debt. I’m not sure how much more we’ll be able to pay. Our health insurance bill is due at the end of the month ($800 for two months) and estimated taxes are due early next month. Expense-wise, it’s a tough time of the year.

If we break below the $13,000 mark for the month of March I will be very pleased

- I sold a few things on Craigslist.
- The last few ING referrals I had were used (thank you to everyone who used one!).
- My husband received payment for some work he was doing.

That gave us enough money to put an additional $350 towards our debt today and now it stands at $14,899. I really wanted to do it right before my two-year blogging anniversary, but I’ll take being able to reach this milestone a little bit later

I’ve been bitten by the selling bug after sucessfully selling a few things through Craigslist. This weekend I’m working to get more things ready to list. Every little bit helps and I have my eyes on the next big milestone of breaking below $10,000 in credit card debt.

For some reason, the following popped in my head…”Patience young grasshopper…patience.” I have no idea where that’s from, but I think there’s something to it. We’ll get there given a little more time.

But wait…if we send $365, we could get our debt balance below $16,000.

With being so close to that little milestone, I couldn’t help but tack on more to our end of January payment. Our checking account will be very low for a little while, but that just means we can’t spend money

The extra money I sent today brings our credit card debt to $15,999.

Next up? $14,999

I’ve been reading lately about credit cards magically raising their rates. That makes me nervous, because one of the reasons given by the companies is that the card holder had too much debt. We still have a large balance on our credit card and it’s at 0% right now. If it raised, well, that would be very, very bad (to put it lightly). It’s time to get back to attacking our debt.

We’ve had some money sitting in our checking account waiting for me to figure out what to do with it. I’ve been pretty busy lately, so I set our finances on autopilot last week. I dug my nose in there today, and saw that we could pay $600 more to our credit card. Our credit card debt is now at $16,362.

I hope to be able to pay a little bit more before the end of the month, but we’ll see. I’m expecting a few checks in the mail, but I never count on them and I don’t “spend” them until I see them safely deposited into our bank account. Doing it like that keeps us out of trouble