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Monday, June 9, 2014

May Update: Slow Going

Even though we're stilling steadily coming down, I'm starting to feel like we've been in a holding pattern, and that we've been holding back a dam that is going to burst (if not burst, at least leak, trickling all over our best laid plans for the next couple of months) Some big expenses coming up over the next several weeks, and we're trying to figure out how best to take care of them without completely derailing all our progress.

The little victories are encouraging, but dang is it hard not to get frustrated and discouraged sometimes.

Still, another month down. Another dent made. On to June we go.

Total debt for May:
Down by $1706.33


Wednesday, May 7, 2014

April Update, and Catching Up

Once again, life took over and I got behind on my updates. We've kept plugging though, and haven't forgotten what we're doing here. And really, when you're in debt, is it ever far from your mind? Unless you're purposely burying your head, with your fingers in your ears, I submit that it is not. It's the cloud that never leaves.

We have made some HUGE strides over the past couple of months: We paid off (OFF. ZERO.) a Chase credit card that for many years had a five figure balance.


Which means that we're down to only two cards, one of which we've managed to knock down to under $5000.  Which means that in a couple of months, that one will be zero too.   Which means, that after all this time, I can see a light at the end of the tunnel.

We're buckling down right now.  While our friends are asking about summer plans, and going to exciting places like Hawaii and Europe... we're staying home this summer.  We're taking little (re:cheap) camping trips.  We're saving our money, we're putting off big purchases, we're being mindful of what we're spending. Our answer is the same, again and again:

"We're focused on paying off our debt right now."

God-willing, it will pay off, and we'll be debt-free with the exception of the mortgage by the end of 2014. Until then, it's still plug plug plug.

Total debt for April:
Down by $1226.96

Tuesday, February 18, 2014

January Update

Month one of a new year. We made the decision to shuffle some things around so that we can get our target card paid of sooner rather than later (yay!), which means that in just a few months, we should be down to just two cards with balances. Even though we'll still be paying the same amount to debt each month - just rearranged in a different way - the prospect of having an entire card paid off soon is HUGELY motivating.

February is an expensive month for us. Every year. Every single year. So I'm not anticipating a huge reduction for the next month. But January was fine (good even, since we celebrated my birthday, had two sets of out-town-visitors, and generally had a good time and still saw a decent reduction). One more month down, and that much closer to becoming debt-free.

Total debt for January:

Down by $821.73