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by Hope

I wake up really, really early these days. My alarm is set for 5:30am, but I’m typically wide awake by 4:45am. A few days ago, it was even earlier. My mind just starts running…work stuff, plans for the day, plans for the month, etc. (I’m at the lake by 5:45/6am to walk my mileage every single day.)

Anyways, this particular morning, I got the urge to discard my savings plan for this month – travel and personal (not my Stash and Roth contributions). They are on automatic transfers, so the monies had already been moved to the respective savings account.

Now I know what you are thinking. OMG, what did she do this time?!

So here’s what I did…

I impulsively paid off another credit card. So instead of $790 to personal savings + $500 to travel savings, I ended up with $188 to travel savings and $1,101.88 to debt.

Wise move or too impulsive?

Accounts Closed

The other account you see listed in this screenshot is the CC I paid off back in February when I first got this job. It’s remained a $0 balance since.

And now that they are both paid off…I am making the call to close both accounts as soon as the payment is done being processed! Woot, woot!

What’s Next

This puts my Amazon CC at the top of the list to get paid off next. But then I got to thinking that my largest balance is my Frontier CC (outside of USAA) and thus it costs me the most every month in interest. So what do you think? Should I pay off my Amazon CC in September? I believe I can pay it in full next month. Or should I focus on the larger balance Frontier CC which would take at least two and possibly three months to pay in full?

I wish I could add a poll to this post. Because whatever the votes tally in the comments, that’s the direction I’m going. So tell me, which CC should I focus on next?

Sidenote: The reason I am focusing on these instead of my USAA CC is that I intend to close out all these accounts as they are paid off. My USAA CC, the longest standing CC will not be closed. I am also leaving my Sam’s Club and Apple CC open. But all other credit accounts will be closed.

Hope

Hope is a resourceful, solutions-driven online business manager with over two decades of experience helping clients streamline operations, manage projects, and grow their businesses through digital marketing and technology.

But life has a way of rewriting your plans.

A year ago, Hope made the decision to move in with her aging parents full time – a season she wouldn’t trade, even as it came with its own financial and emotional weight. Earlier this year, she lost her mother, and is now walking the tender, disorienting path of grief while learning what “forward” looks like from here.

Hope came to the Blogging Away Debt community in 2015 as a single mom raising five foster and adoptive children. She’s written through job changes, financial setbacks, and the bittersweet transition to an empty nest. Her kids are finding their footing in the world now – and so is she.

Rooted in faith and fueled by the same perseverance she’s brought to every hard season, Hope is ready to face her finances with fresh eyes and an honest pen. She believes that clarity, courage, and community can change the trajectory of anyone’s story including her own.

She lives in Austin, TX with her dad, loves adventures with her dog Addie, and is figuring out, one step at a time, what this next chapter is meant to be.