by Hope
Before I post this table, here’s what’s happened with the USAA credit card. You will see it’s much higher than normal. For the past several months, I have paid the amount for our phones and car insurance on this credit card, posted my debt update and then those bills come off this card. I would pay it at the beginning of the month, then wait for the next statement date, then pay bills with it. (Actually they are auto-paid, no extra fees for using credit card. Yes, I earn points. Which we all know I use when I travel.)
I would post my debt update in the in-between time. And not only did I do this to show the debt coming down, even though it went right back up, but moreso, I did this to help my credit score. Because waiting until after the next statement date, when they report to the credit bureaus helped my credit score.
But now…now I don’t give a flying flip about my credit score. I just want this debt to be gone. So I paid the CC by the due date and then immediately paid my insurance and phone bills versus waiting. That’s why that CC is higher. I’m still doing the same thing, just not delaying in paying the bills any longer.
| Debt Description | October, 2023 Total | Interest Rate | Minimum Payment | Current Total | Payoff Date (Est) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CC - Amazon | $1,497 | 29.99% | $48 | $1,391 | ? September, 2024? |
| CC - Frontier | $3,857 | 29.99% | $130 | $3,426 | ? November, 2024? |
| Dad - New Furnace | $2,600 | 0% | $0 | $2,600 | January, 2025 |
| CC - USAA | $5,000 | 19.15% | $135 | $4,761 | |
| Student Loans | $22,121 | 2.875% | $22,700 | In Deferrment until May, 2025 | |
| CC - Apple** | $500 | Paid off every month | $0 | ||
| CC - AMEX | $894 | 29.24% | $0 | $0 | Mar, 2024 |
| 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 |
| Total | $44,206 | $313 | $34,878 |
I already shared about my unplanned CC payoff here and that my second personal loan was also paid off this month.
I’ve called and closed those first two credit cards that were at a $0 balance. I’m sure that’s going to ding my credit score. But on the flip side, those were my newest cards, I think. So may help eventually since my oldest credit average should increase. Again, I think. But really, not tracking my credit score at all these days. No foreseeable need.
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.
