Blogging Away Debt Blogging Away Debt follows real people on their journey to debt freedom — with tips on the debt snowball, budgeting, cutting expenses, and staying motivated.

by Hope

We are there guys! We and by we, I mean I hit $10,000 in my high interest savings account this past month. Woot, woot! So now it’s time to turn my eye to my remaining debt – time to pay off those student loans. Finally!

This is the balance as of today.

And today, I scheduled an extra $400 payment. That was my overage last month after all my regularly budgeted items plus hitting my $10K goal in savings.

The Plan

I will continue to put $130 into my various investment accounts and savings accounts every week. This is broken down as: $50 into high interest savings and $80 into investment accounts. Those are on auto-draft.

All monies outside of my regularly budgeted items will then be poured into my student loan debt. Looking at the past few months, that should end up being a minimum $2,000 per month to my student loans. As I’m writing this, I realize that I have not shared my updated budget. I’ll get that shared in the next week or so.

Work

Work continues to go well. Most of my work for the past 6 months has come from 3 main client and a handful of small projects. I’m currently working on applications for a number of other small clients/projects. And have two smaller projects to complete this month in addition to my ongoing work from my 3 primary clients.

I’m enjoying a very nice work/life balance for the first time in a really long time. In the past it has always seemed I had too much or too little work. Now I am enjoying staying busy and earning a good living, but having the time and capacity for a life. In addition to ongoing caretaking for my mom and supporting my dad, I’ve found a church I love, joined a couple of women’s Bible studies, and signed up for a number of free classes at the local library. This week I’m going to a book making class.

Life is good.

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.