by Hope
Lessons I learned the last two months as I’ve started receiving income again:
- Paying everything at the beginning of the month can leave you struggling at the end of the month.
- Even with money coming in regularly, it feels much better to have a buffer in your checking account and at least a small emergency fund.
- After a year in “starvation” mode, even a little splurge right now feels too much.
Overall, April has been a great month financially. (You can see last month’s debt update here.)
| Debt Description | October, 2023 Total | Interest Rate | Minimum Payment | Current Total | Payoff Date (Est) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CC - Sams | $1,106 | 29.99% | $0 | $0 | April, 2024 |
| CC - Amazon | $1,497 | 29.99% | $53 | $1,462 | May, 2024 |
| CC - Wander | $1,630 | 29.24% | $75 | $1,605 | June, 2024 |
| Personal Loan #1 | $2,500 | 0% | $500 (beg April) | $1,500 | June, 2024 |
| Personal Loan #2 | $2,500 | 0% | $500 (beg April) | $2,000 | June, 2024 |
| CC - Frontier | $3,857 | 29.99% | $131 | $3,566 | |
| Dad - New Furnace | $2,600 | 0% | $500 (beg June or July) | $2,600 | |
| CC - USAA | $5,000 | 19.15% | $135 | $4,996 | |
| Car Loan | $19,581 | 12.69% | Gymnast Pays | $16,623 | |
| Student Loans | $22,121 | 2.875% | In Deferrment | $22,505 | |
| CC - Apple** | $500 | Paid off every month | $0 | ||
| CC - AMEX | $894 | 29.24% | $0 | $0 | |
| Total | $61,186 | $1,622 | $56,857 |
Updates
The Sam’s Club card is paid in full. Woot, woot! But I am not going to close it. The kids and I use that membership very regularly for food and gas. The girls and I even got our eyes examined there this past month – only $67 for an eye exam. (If we buy our glasses there, we get 20% off. Princess has already taken advantage of this. I’m holding off at least one more month before spending that money.)
I have rearranged the table (again) to show the order I am focusing on the debt. With my current forecast, here are the next anticipated payoff dates:
- Amazon CC – May, 2024
- Personal Loan #1 – June, 2024
- Personal Loan #2 – June, 2024
- Wander CC – June, 2024
I’ve not yet purchased a lawn mower. Still dreading that completely. Thankfully, Beauty’s boyfriend graciously volunteered to cut our grass last week, buying me a few more weeks. I will have to address the need in May for sure. I did purchase a edger/trimmer thing. It ran me $131 and is electric. The downside is that it will only run 25 minutes per battery charge. The upside is it’s the same brand as all my other tools so I will have 3 interchangeable batteries so can get the yard done with quick battery changes. At least in theory! So I can start doing some of the yard with that.
Moving along the right direction steadily. I am working 3-4 12 hour days weekly between my two jobs. And loving every minute of it.

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.
