With another month in the books, it is time to take a look at our finances to see how we have been progressing with our debt payoff goals. For those of you who haven’t been with us from the start, our goal has been to eliminate nearly $22,000 worth of consumer debt by March 2013.
Debt Totals:
- September 1st, 2012: $10,400
- October 1st, 2012: $9,588
The $10,000 mark may be just a number, but it is also another goal that we have been able to eclipse. More importantly, it is another big step on our path down to zero. Even if it is purely mathematical, it feels like we have accomplished something by seeing that number drop from five digits down to four. It seems like just yesterday when we crossed the $20,000 barrier!
Perhaps even more encouraging is the fact that all of our consumer debt is now wrapped up in a single zero-percent-interest Discover Credit Card. Which means that if we stay on course– we are completely done paying interest. Looking at the graph above, it is very motivational to see that we are right on target to meet our goals and to be totally free of this debt by March.
With all of our debt wrapped up in a single account, it means that our “snowball” has reached critical mass. Without mandatory payments for any other accounts, we can take that extra money and make a larger payment each month towards the remaining debt. Staying on target involves somehow coming up with $900 extra each month for debt repayment. Even with the additional payments eliminated, this is an ambitious goal, and reaching this amount often requires determination and sacrifice.
When you truly dedicate yourself to getting out of debt once and for all, you have no choice but to take it month by month. Some months this comes much easier than others, and overall, September was a fairly tough month. In August, we sold a ton of things on eBay and Craigslist, and were able to eclipse our goals and then some. Conversely in September, it seemed like one sickness or another was bouncing around our family at all times, which made it difficult to muster up the energy for side hustles. We were able to stay on track by carefully controlling costs, but it certainly wasn’t easy. Tightly controlling a budget is a useful tool, but it can wear you down to continue month after month, controlling costs enough to maintain razor thin margins.
In spite of this, we remain resolute and motivated. The important thing is that the end is in sight. April 1st, 2013 is only 6 months away, which is close enough for us to be able to taste how good it will feel to be debt free, and how much we will enjoy having full control of where our paychecks go each month. We have dealt our debt a major blow already by paying off $12,000 in such a short period of time, and we can see that our debt monster is now staggering dizzily against the ropes. This process has changed us, forever, and we will not go back. When we look at purchases in the future, relying on credit to make the purchase will NOT be an option. If we see debt, you best believe it buddy, we WILL run the other direction, as fast possible.