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 Adam Dawson

This month was a MUCH better month in the debt payoff department.  Thanks to the windfall, we had the biggest paydown of any month since we started, with over $10k disappearing from our balance!  This is also a huge milestone as we’ve now crossed below the $100k balance!  Here are the numbers.

Loan Balances
Stafford Loan #1:  $0!! (-$8631) BAM!
Stafford Loan #3: $18411 (-$1722)
Discover Student Loan: $40240 ($-98) I HATE the interest on this loan. Hate.
Citi Graduate Loan: $37578  (-$177)
Total: $ 96,229 (-$10,628)

Account Balances
Emergency Fund: $5000
Race to $15k: $0 (+$0)
Debt Sinking Fund: $1200 (+$1200)
Total: $6200 (+$1200)

Grand Total Improvement: $11,828

What an exciting month for debt paydown.  A very good start to our 2 year plan that sets us on the right path.  I think of people who’ve told us, “You are over $100,000 in debt, you have no business spending money on _____!”  You’re going to have to change your tune now, ‘cuz it’s only $96,000!

We are 2 years away from being debt-free! Can we pay off almost $50k in debt in 2014? It will be a huge challenge but I think we’re ready.

by Emmily Schulze

I can’t tell you how exciting it is to have our first christmas in a real house together! It almost erases all the crazy freak accidents that happened to us this year in the house and the weird sewage smell in the front yard (what IS that??)

Since we bought the house, I’ve been thinking a lot about buying things that are more sustainable for us. Up until this year, we’ve been slowly growing up, moving away from our single days, our rental ways, and into what I want to think of as more permanent residence and buying things we want keep for longer than a year. I guess buying a house has accelerated this process. All of the sudden I wanted to have a house full of furniture that I loved and would want to keep for 6-10 years at least, where in the past we’d bought things for under $100, kept them for right around a year, sold them when we moved (majority of the time for a profit) and started over in each new place.

I bring this up because it’s time to decorate for Christmas and I want to buy things I’ll be able to keep forever. I’m not completely empty handed, because the first year we were married my mom gave me a neatly organized box of ornaments for christmas. She’s one of those very thoughtful kind of people, and I’ll never never forget opening it. I have those beautiful ornaments for our tree but I want to buy more decorations that we can use for a long time. How do you do this on a budget? Maybe the first hear will just be a little sparse?

One thing I love about christmas is the joyful feeling I get when I walk into someone’s home and the whole home has the smell, the look, the feel, the lights, and the warmth of christmas. Those memories are the ones that stay with me the longest. I am on a mission to make our home christmasy on a $50 budget. Ideas welcome and I’ll keep you updated on the progress!