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Hope’s Debt Update – September, 2024

Another step closer. And you will see new dates on the table for the remaining debt. They are still kind of soft dates, but totally achievable based on my forecasting. But will certainly firm up by the end of the year.

Debt Description	October, 2023 Total	Interest Rate	Minimum Payment	Current Total	Payoff Date (Est)
CC - Frontier	$3,857	29.99%	$130	$3,575	October, 2024
Dad - New Furnace	$2,600	0%	$0	$2,600	January, 2025
CC - USAA	$5,000	19.15%	$135	$2,599	November, 2024
Student Loans	$22,121	2.875%		$22,749	September, 2025?
CC - Apple**	$500		Paid off every month	$0
CC - AMEX	$894	29.24%	$0	$0	Mar, 2024 - Closed
CC - Sams	$1,106	29.99%	$0	$0	April, 2024
Personal Loan #1	$2,500	0%	$0	$0	July, 2024
Personal Loan #2	$2,500	0%	$0	$0	August, 2024
CC - Wander	$1,630	29.24%	$0	$0	August, 2024 - Closed
CC - Amazon	$1,497	29.99%	$0	$0	September, 2024
Total	$44,206		$265	$31,523

Next Target – Frontier Card

Did you see my plan for the Frontier card? It was presented somewhere previously. Thoughts? Smart or dumb move?

To summarize, I had planned to pay off the Frontier card in October and then use it for Princess’ wisdom teeth extraction. Then pay it off in November and close it then. This will essentially save me approximately 1/2 month in interest charges.

However, I thought through it some more. And have decided instead, to just pay off the Frontier card this next month (October) then instead, use my remaining card USAA instead for the surgery, then pay it off in it’s entirety.

Followed by Final Personal Loan

This month’s update delays my payment plan on the final personal loan, the one from my dad. He loaned me the money to replace my furnace back in February. I plan to make my first payment in November and pay in full at the beginning of February right now. My plan continues to evolve as I make more money. So none of this is in stone…but know that my goal is to get all debt paid in full ASAP with a current focus on my consumer debt.

The Final Credit Card

According to my forecast, the first month I have $5,000 outside my regularly budgeted items is March, 2025. That is why I have set the date for the USAA CC to be paid off in full for that date. I currently pay the USAA CC about 1/2 way almost every month to cover bills – phone and car insurance. That takes care of the minimum payment and saves me some interest every month.

~~I do plan to keep this card open. It’s my oldest account. But come March, I should be able to stop carrying any balance at all. Maybe earlier, but that’s why I’m seeing right now.~~

This was my plan when I first drafted this post. But have shifted my idea based on the update under Frontier.

School Loans

Come the new year…the focus will turn to my student loans. 21 years after completing my masters program, I will finally get it paid off. I’ve added a tentative date to that debt payoff too. But it is soft for now. I needed a target on it!

Have I missed anything?

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.

Important Family Update

by Ashley

I’ve been keeping a secret from you all. But I want to share an important family update. We have added a member to our family! We got a new dog!

Smiling woman in sunglasses taking a selfie in a car with two dogs in the back seat

Backstory

It all started during the second semester of last school year (anyone else think in academic years rather than calendar years? Just me? Cool, cool.) My daughter was inducted into the National Junior Honor Society and one of the requirements was to get volunteer hours in the community. We both went through the process of becoming volunteers for the local animal shelter. It’s actually quite a long training process – requiring watching multiple training videos, completing quizzes, and introductory information sessions before you can even start volunteering! So far, we’ve only volunteered by reading to dogs (which is done from outside the dog’s enclosure). If we progress to actually handle the animals, the training is even more rigorous!

At any rate, we began reading to dogs several months ago and I should’ve known it was all over from Day 1. We took a tour of the animal shelter and there were so many adorable dogs and puppies just begging to be taken home! At first, we talked about the possibility of being a foster family. But talking about it more, it didn’t make sense. If we’re going to open our home and our hearts to a new animal, housebreaking them, training them what they can and cannot chew on, dealing with the possible destruction of property, etc. Why would we do that over and over again with different dogs? Why not just adopt a dog, train it up, and have it be ours? At least, that was my argument in discussions with hubs. <3

Finding the Perfect Dog

It took a few months, but hubs finally got on board with becoming a TWO dog family! We were patient in our search. We had a very specific type of dog we were looking for. I have always wanted a lab, so that was high on my wish list. And ideally we wanted a dog that was already housebroken, but was still relatively young. I wanted a male dog. And a sweet, friendly personality and temperament was of the utmost importance. We actually met a couple of dogs that we decided were not a good fit based on personality. But when we met our Shadow, we knew he was the one!

Two dogs indoors, a yellow dog with tongue out in front and a brown and white dog behind

Meet Shadow

Shadow is 11 months old and we’ve had him now for about 6 weeks. Still very much a puppy in terms of energy and excitement! But old enough that he did come housebroken (thank goodness!). Aside from that though, he was basically a blank slate. He’d never even walked on a leash before! There was about a week “warming up” period between him and our other dog, Biscuit. Biscuit was quite jealous at first and became ultra needy of love and reassurance when we first brought Shadow home. Luckily, Shadow is the most laid back lab pup there could be! He quickly and easily found his place, happy to let Biscuit be the “boss.” Biscuit also has some back and hip issues and Shadow very quickly learned to be gentle and careful with her.

Although he definitely still has some puppy tendencies (ahem, he can be a bit destructive if not closely observed), he’s very eager to please. He wants to be a good boy so badly, he just doesn’t know all the rules yet. Above all, he’s the sweetest and most loving dog I’ve ever had. He got his name “Shadow” because he follows me around the house like my Shadow. Even when lying beneath my desk while I’m working, he lays his head on my foot. He constantly wants to be touching.

Costs

Of course, a new dog means more costs There were the normal costs of establishing vet care and going through twice as much dog food. But since we “rescued” him from a shelter, he was actually incredibly cheap. We just paid the cost of registration! The most expensive thing so far was paying for dog boarding when I went on my recent trip to Wisconsin. With our older dog, Biscuit, she was able to just stay home while Shadow had to be boarded. I mentioned the boarding costs when I wrote my post about that trip, but I didn’t explain the cost in detail. While my husband was at home at the time, he works very long hours outside the home. We have a doggy door so Biscuit is fine to stay home since she can get in and out to use the restroom, and husband can feed and fill her water in the evenings when he gets home.

That wasn’t going to work for the new puppy, however. He still hasn’t learned what he’s able to eat (and not), and neither of us felt comfortable leaving him home alone for long periods of time. As it is, if I leave for a couple hours he has to go in his dog crate, because otherwise he will find something to chew on that he’s not supposed to. It would be too long for him to be in his crate for the entire day while my husband was at work, and even with hiring someone to come play with him once or twice during the day, we can’t trust that he won’t eat our furniture or something super destructive while home alone. So even though it seemed weird to board a dog while husband was technically at home (only in the evenings), that was the best option for the couple of days that I was away.

At this point, Shadow has already become an integral member of the family! It’s crazy how quickly he found his place in our home and in our hearts. I’ve had 3 dogs in my adult life (admittedly not a ton), but he’s the first who I have loved so fiercely this quickly! I just know as he grows and continues to learn the rules and right from wrong, he’s going to be the BEST dog. Even Biscuit has grown to be quite fond of him. When he was gone at boarding, she would whine and sleep in his crate, like she missed his scent and wanted to be close to him. When we brought him back home, she was so happy, with her tail wagging like crazy as she ran up to greet him. They’ve got such a sweet and special bond!

Are you a pet-person? How many animals do you have? What is the max number of animals you would consider? I think two dogs is good for us right now.

Ashley

Hi, I’m Ashley! Arizonan on paper, Texan at heart. Lover of running, blogging, and all things cheeeeese. Early 40s, married mother of twins, and working in academia. Currently working toward financial independence with the goal of (hopefully!) retiring early at 50.