Total debt for December:
Down by $265.09
And for 2013... It was a strange year for us financially. We didn't reach our goal for our credit cards. Not even close. Like with anything else, there are many factors for sure, but I think the biggest issue we're facing is continually trying to walk the line between trying to focus on paying off our debt without tightening the belt so much that we feel restricted and overcompensate by then spending too much. It is a constant balance, and one we're always trying to figure out.
"But we deserve a vacation!"
"But we're trying to pay off our debt!"
"But we can afford to go out to eat more often than we are!"
"But.... debt!"
And on and on and around and around.
Still, we're plugging away, and our credit cards did come down, if just a fraction of what we'd planned.
Total Credit Card Debt for 2013:
Down by $4,266.06
The really interesting thing about 2013 though was that we re-financed our house, and took advantage of a program for people like us... people who'd been hit particularly hard by the market crash and were subsequently extremely upside-down in their mortgages. It basically excused $60,000 of what we owed, as long as we agreed to stay in the house for 5 more years.
So our total debt for the year is down by $80,044.88.
Our total debt at the time of this writing is $212,950.61. And because the market finally did start to show some returns, our house is finally valued over $200K once again. Which means, for the first time in years, we're actually in the black, or very very close to it. So yay for that!!
At some point, I'll sit down and put together a detailed list of financial goals for 2014, but for now I'll start with this: To pay off one more credit card. Just one, out of three. It has a balance of $5900, which works out to $500 a month. We can do that. We can. We can.
Here's to a happy, blessed, and prosperous 2014.
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