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by Hope

Wow, there is no way I could have predicted what this year would bring, but I do have to say that I am super excited about what I hope 2015 will bring. I thought I would close out the day with a kind of summary of where I started and where I am today…

Back in March, 2014 I introduced you to my debt load…you can see that post here. Two things were quickly pointed out…I spent a great deal of money on my kids (activities, music and allowance, etc.) And the most obvious way to speed up my debt repayment was to add to my income.

While I took a couple of months to come around, I finally acquiesced and came around on both points… we cut music lessons, I switched up how the kids earned money and I got a part time job outside the home. Then summer began…and we traveled, and the kids attended camp, and we continued school, and then…chaos began!

I introduced you to our housing situation in early April, and frankly one of my primary goals in paying off debt was to be able to purchase my home from my dad. But after lots of review, I decided that staying in our home was not the best financial decision for both financial and space reasons. That began the biggest of our transitions…a move to an apartment. You can read the beginning of that saga here.

As I struggled with this unexpected move, we worked diligently to downsize our belongings, get ready for a move and get the house ready to go on the market. And then we moved, all 9 of us (1 adults, 4 kids, 3 dogs and 1 cat) from a 1800 sq foot home with a large yard to a 900 square foot apartment with a dog park. And we learned to give up convenience for space. Meanwhile, my painting contractor quit, running off with more than 1/2 of the monies I had to pay towards getting the house ready to sell.

Boy that had to be the hardest three months of my life…but we have gotten settled, resumed our regular crazy schedule and best of all, despite the setbacks, the house sold 4 days after we put it on the market. That was a huge stressor off my shoulders. And here we are moving forward…

So I began Thanksgiving week with a list of long term, unprioritized priority list that would be the base of my life plan or long term planning. After reviewing your input and giving it more thought, I did break things down a bit more and put them in a priority order. My new plan is ready! I can’t wait to start sharing it with you as we get into the new year.

I’ve ended the year with a bang…

• Selling the house paid off my debt to my dad including the twin’s car.  I now have a lien free title to the Honda Accord.
• I was able to refinance my highest interest debt to a 4% interest rate for 6 months.
• And most importantly, I have a buyer for my van….my second highest debt, second only to my student loan debt.  We are still figuring out of the details since it’s a interstate sale, but I have received the personal loan needed to pay off the difference in the loan amount and sale amount that brought me a tremendous amount of stress when I got the offer.

Overall, when the dust settles, in the past year (counting the sale of the van) I have paid off/sold off almost 50% of my original debt!  Just typing that feels great…and as I mentioned at the beginning of this post, I cannot wait to see what 2015 brings!

I hope you are enjoying a wonderful, safe New Year’s Eve surrounded by your loved ones.  The kids and I are about to find a live stream of the ball dropping via the internet before I head to bed.

Happy New Year and Welcome 2015!