Two Christmases ago, I remember thinking to myself, “this sucks. I have less than $500 in savings, over $7000 in credit card debt and can’t even charge anything even if I want to because it will put me over the limit, and I have less than $30 in my checking account. HOW did I get here? I’m 39!”
Yes, I look at this moment as my financial rock bottom.
Today, my savings account is much healthier, and I can afford to rent a car this week to go home for Thanksgiving. (I found out Budget will let you rent without a credit card if you fit certain qualifications.) I have zero credit card debt (and zero personal cards–the only credit card I have is a corporate one.) I have $1169 due on a personal loan and I will have that paid off by Dec. 31st, “come hell or high water” as my mom used to say. The only debt remaining will be my student loans.
Today, I also have a plan (which my financial advisor thinks is totally reachable, yay!) of multiplying my savings tenfold while also paying off my private student loan of roughly $20,500. I know, it sounds ambitious but I think I have the right mindset now to stay the course. I know the reasons behind my goals.
I am going to start posting my debt balances on a regular basis. Accountability is huge when trying to pay off debt and make changes in your life. And it will remind me that while my situation may not change day to day, it IS changing over the long term.
In September, my total debt was $124,162.34.
My balances in October 2013:
- Simmons loan: $23,620.04 (paying interest only right now)
- Big Daddy loan: $75,390.94
- LAL loan: $20,816.20
- Personal loan: $2.308.78
GRAND TOTAL: $122,135.96 (difference of $2,026.38)
My balances in November 2013:
- Simmons loan: $23,620.04 (paying interest only right now)
- Big Daddy loan: $75,390.94 (paying interest only right now)
- LAL loan: $20,564.98
- Personal loan: $1,162.64
GRAND TOTAL: $120,738.60 (difference of $1,397.36)
Total difference so far: $3,423.74 (!!!!!!!!)
So, I hope that the takeaway you get from this post is this – if you are going to get yourself out of debt, you have to understand why you want to get out of debt. You have to know your motivations for those times when the light at the end of the tunnel just seems hopelessly far away.
Do you have any financial goals you wish to achieve? If so, please drop me a line below, or, hey, please do so if you liked this post!
Chasing Simple Dreams 
You really are truly amazing!
Aw, why thank you, Darris! That means a lot but really, I don’t think I’m amazing as much as sick of the debt!! 🙂
Terri, this is awesome! I’m really encouraged to do the same. Two goals…build my emergency fund and pay off my car.
Oh, I’m glad I could inspire you! Yes, my emergency fund and tiny home fund only come up to about a bit less than one month’s expenses right now, but I have hope that they can grow. I know out where you are, you need a car. I was lucky in that I was able to sell mine and use mass transit where I live. That’s what the personal loan covers – the remaining balance of the car. I bought it brand new, and sold it after only one year, so I couldn’t sell it for what was left on the loan, unfortunately. But when I sold it, I told myself I would have the personal loan paid off in 5 months and that’s what I’m doing.
I should mention to both you and Darris, the month of November is a three paycheck month for me, since I get paid every two weeks. So that really helped me to make a lot of progress on my personal loan.