by Hope
Wow, I went back looking for my last complete debt update. Has it really been since January? I guess when I write small updates, I assume all the pieces flow together. Now I realize that may not be the case, I will be more diligent about giving complete updates.
| Student Loan #2 | $21,750.03 | $19,242.59 | $16,948.62 | 2.88% | $0 |
| Honda HRV | $21,200.00 | $12,769.08 | $8,485.02 | 3% | $600 |
| Hearing Aids - New debt Aug, 2021 | $4,500 | $4,500 | 0% | ? | |
| Total | $64,450.03 | $36,511.67 | $25,433.64 | $600 |
The details
This year has certainly turned into something I never expected – great new job, great new steady income, 6 week bout with illness and buying a house. All with not the one child I thought would be here this year, but three – Gymnast chose to stay last summer and Beauty moved in for her senior year. Never would have guessed how this year would go.
Therefore, it’s not surprise that my financial plan has been all over the place as well.
The Car
If memory serves, and I’m sure someone with a better memory then I will remember, I originally planned to have my car paid off by June. But then I went and got sick and bought a house…and here we are in August. This month, I plan to pay off Princess first semester of college. I’ve been making payments since we got the bill and the total due is now down to $2,000. (Her father did pay $413 of the $3,913 bill.)
That being said…I cut back on my car payment this month to assure I had enough to cover bill in its entirety. (I am still hoping her dad will come through with more but he is non-committal.)
With that being said…I am still on target to pay the car off next month! I will keep you posted.
Student Loans
When I was preparing to purchase my home back in May, I became worried that there would be unexpected expenses and I feared that surprise. As a result, I call my lender to ask for a one month deferment, only to learn that somehow my loans have been put into deferment until next June. I missed that news completely. I’m guessing some COVID mandate again.
Well, once I heard that news, I cancelled my auto pay and I’m sad to report that I’ve not made another payment since. But am remedying that now by turning on minimum payments ($307) for now.
New Ears
I wrote last week about my newest debt. I have ended up financing $4,500 of the cost, paying cash for the rest. And I have a year to pay it off with 0%. I haven’t received details on the loan yet, so am guessing my first payment will be due in September.
I also won’t know what insurance will contribute for at least that long. But after a call to insurance, it should be around $800, possibly more.
So this is where I am at today…as mentioned earlier, I will be more consistent with complete debt updates.
Hope is a creative, solutions-focused business manager helping clients grow their business and work more efficiently by leveraging expertise in project management, digital marketing, & tech solutions. She’s recently become an empty nester as her 5 foster/adoptive kids have spread their wings. She lives with her 5 dogs in a small town in NE Georgia and prefers the mountains to the beaches any day. She struggles with the travel bug and is doing her best to help each of her kids as their finish schooling and become independent (but it’s hard!) She has run her own consulting company for almost twenty years! Hope began sharing her journey with the BAD community in the Spring of 2015 and feels like she has finally in a place to really focus on making wise financial decisions.
Hope, you are doing amazing!!! Money will always ebb and flow, but I see you’ve reduced that debt by several thousand this year. I’m really happy to see this update. Keep tightening your belt to make up for those hearing aids (totally necessary!) and you’ll be debt free in no time.
I cannot wait! I am even enjoying playing with the mortgage calculator to see how “extra” payments (in the future) will affect the interest paid and time to pay off.
It might be a good time to check back in on recurring expenses creeping up, a cook from the pantry or no spend spend month to set yourself up to make some progress in the back half pf this year.
Completely agree…September might be a great month to do just that as it should be a quiet, uneventful month.
Also, props to you on going through a crazy year and making debt progress. So much change. I really think you could be totally debt free (including the mortgage!) in a few years if you focus. Maybe set a big goal for when Gymnast graduates high school?
Love this! I am currently rolling around in my head those college expenses. Princess will quality for Pell Grant this year and next, but probably not after that. Which means, Gymnast will not qualify at all. (Barring any job changes.) And in trying to be fair, trying to take that into consideration in my planning.
One of the reasons I suggested an update is because debt that is out of sight tends to get tossed to the wayside. My suggestion is post that car loan amount on the refrigerator along with a debt payoff date for September 15. It will mean that every time you see it that you are committing yourself to paying on it. I am hoping that you are able to pay off that 8000+ in less than 2 months. I’m also happy you checked on that student loan. I’m not surprised they are “deferring” it while it is interest free. Do your best to pay it down so that interest when it comes back is on a lower balance. Even 2.8% can add up. Good for you for telling them start taking some money. I would imagine next up after the car is focusing on getting the hearing aids paid off. How is retirement funding going?
Good suggestions…
As for retirement savings, I don’t really think about it as it comes out of my income both my 401K and ROTH before it hits my bank account.
My plan is to revisit my deductions, etc. toward the end of October as I prepare for the holidays and going into the new year. Goal is to up my contribution significantly.
Just something to keep an eye on – depending on your income that may impact how much you can put in your Roth. I know you said you make low six figures and that is when the max you can put in starts to decrease.
Good to note, I haven’t checked into that but should probably do that now.
Hope,
Great debt update – you are making really great progress and are poised to make even more once life settles down a bit.
Yes! I am feeling very positive these days.
Not to rain on your parade, but shouldn’t the new 4,500 debt be included under current debt? So, in the last update in January you had 32k in debt, and now you have close to 30k. While I am sure it is hard with a daughter starting school, buying a house, and medical expenses, a net change of 2,000ish in 6 months is not really dedicated debt reduction on a six figure salary. Perhaps a budget post could identify some areas where you coukd free up enough money to finally end this debt?
Yes, it should, I noticed that too.
You are right, it’s not as significant as I hoped.
Once you pay off the car, just roll those payments onto the next debt (hearing aids or student loans) and you’ll get there in no time. Either way you’re in much better shape than a few years ago.