by Hope
And time for the big reveal…after the dust has settled from the house sale, the car sale and the refinance of my highest interest loan. Here are my numbers as of today!
| Debt Name | Current Balance | Interest Rate | Min. Mo. Pymt | Original Balance | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Checking Account | $741 | 0% | $0 | $741 | Going down, Jan 2015! |
| CC Intro Rate - Retail #2 | $3500 | 3.99% | $39 | $3500 | Retail #2 refinance |
| Personal Loan - Car | $5000 | 12% | $96 | $5000 | Car Sale Difference |
| Credit Card - Consumer | $5043 | 13.90% | $105 | $4,974 | Minimum Payments |
| Student Loan | $32,805 | 2.875% | $0 | $31,687 | Forbearance until Feb. |
| Credit Card - Retail | $0 | 25.99% | -- | $2,265 | Refinanced - Dec, 2015 |
| Car Loan - Accord | $0 | 0% | -- | $1,900 | Paid Off - Dec, 2015 |
| Car Loan - NV | $0 | 6.79% | -- | $31,138 | Sold - Dec, 2015 |
| Line of Credit | $0 | 15.95% | -- | $1,248 | Paid Off |
| Credit Card - Retail #1 | $0 | 0% | -- | $413 | Paid Off |
| Property Tax | $0 | 0% | -- | $700 | Paid Off |
| TOTALS | $46,794 | $240 | $83,566 |
So a couple of things to note.
CC Intro Rate – Retail #2: I was able to refinance my high interest debt (Retail Card #2) to a 6 month introductory rate of 3.99%…so of course, my goal is to pay it off within the 6 months.
Personal Loan: I had to take out a personal loan in order to pay the difference in what I owed on the NV and what I sold it for.
Because of all the stress, changes and a little bit due to the holidays I did not accomplish my December goal of paying off the utility bills on the old house or closing out the checking account debt so those are #1 on my list this month.
So goals for this month…in priority order:
1. Pay off checking account debt
2. Finish paying off utility bills for old house.
3. Work on paying off CC Intro Rate – Retail #2
With the selling of the van, I’ve freed up approximately $1000 per month…$696 car payment, insurance payment and gas. I am confident I can accomplish these three goals this month!
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.
Great update Hope! This is exciting!
Just wondering–is the $1000 or so you’ve freed up to pay toward debt each month in addition to any other extra money you have to lay toward debt or is that he total amount? I know you have $240 in minimum payments, but are there fewer expenses with your new living situation so that you can pay extra toward debt? I know your income is somewhat variable, I’d just love a number that is your total debt sinking number (or goal) every month. If it’s $1240 right now that’s great! If it’s more, awesome! I know paying off the checking acct and refinanced loan are first priority, which should he able to happen in 6 months. If you get that done I wonder how close you could get to paying off the other two loans (so only having your student loans left!!!) by the end of 2015? Or at least getting close? Would love to see your projections for these goals.
Very excited for you and keep up the good work!!
I just posted what my “extra” is on my new monthly budget…Yeah!
Great job! Keep up the momentum.
This debt update looks awesome, Hope! I think a key element here is just how low your minimums payments are. Not only will you be able to knock out debt at a faster clip, but you’ll also be able to weather setbacks a little easier in the future. I don’t recall if you’re planning to try to live on last month’s income, but the low minimum payments will definitely make that easier.
I would like to live on last month’s income, but first…I MUST pay off this debt, especially with that 6 month intro rate…I definitely want that gone ASAP!
Wow, you’ve completely changed your debt situation with these big moves! I know it was difficult, but now you are seeing the results. Only $240 in minimum payments …. that is amazing! It means you are better able to handle big expenses AND pay off chunks of debt each month.
Like the first commenter, I would love to see some projections through the end of the year. You have some high spending months, low spending months and variable income. Given that, what do you think your debt payoff will be for the next year? 6 months if a year is too far out to project (I personally have only been able to project out to September-October). Also, like the first commenter said, a sense of what you think your new monthly debt payment goal would be very useful to see as well. These things are not just interesting/useful for the readers to understand your progress, but it might give you some targets to work for as well to stay motivated!
I just posted what my “extra” is on my new monthly budget…Yeah!
Wow – What a change!! Excellent job!
Did you refinance the $2,265 credit card? Now the balance is $3,500?
I thought that too. Not to rain on your parade, Hope, because you have made some major adjustments to your debt, and I really enjoy following your journey and am crossing my fingers for you, but: the way this is presented right now makes it seem the $3,500 were part of your original debt when you started blogging here and the $2,265 were paid off by you. Just for tracking purposes, this overstates how much you have paid off in debt. It makes it seem as though you have lowered your debt by $2,265 since you started blogging here when for this specific debt, you seem to have actually added $1,235 to your debt. Does that make sense?
Good catch, I should have explained that. The sale price of the car and loan difference needed the balance available on that CC (still intro rate for 6 months, plus the personal loan.)
To simplify it here, I just lumped them all together, hope that explains.
wow hope, it looks like you are really making great progress. congratulations!
Excellent Hope! You are kicking some debt to the curb – love it!
How much do you pay to debt each month? That would really help us see how quickly you’ll be making progress – thanks!
I just posted what my “extra” is on my new monthly budget…Yeah!