Our last debt repayment report was September 2, so here is the (lack of) progress we have made since then:
The current balance and the change in balance since the last report are:
Personal credit card: $11,345.10 +1,537.09
My student loan: $4,720.12 -162.41
Husband’s student loan #1: $5,227.61 -7.91
Husband’s student loan #2: $8,418.33 -64.73
Husband’s student loan #3: $17,106.32 -74.77
Total: $46,817.48 +$1,227.27
A few notes:
The Negative:
It is painful to write this report. In 12 months of gazelle intensity, we have never increased our balances, only decreased. However, this month we were hit by several expenses, and our emergency fund just wasn’t big enough. Here is some of what knocked our budget out of balance:
- My computer died and we paid $550 for a new one from Costco
- I had a private consultation to talk with a freelance writing expert for ways to increase my freelance writing income, in addition to getting a few other services. This was $400.
- We had medical bills which topped $1,500. Quite a few of them are related to my current medical issues, but I was also shocked to see that my daughter’s emergency room visit to get stitches was barely covered. The original bill was $707; the insurance got a $200+ discount, and then all the insurance paid was $40. We were left with a $434 bill.
The Positive:
- My husband is slated to get a substantial raise, hopefully as soon as November.
- We have also pulled my daughter out of Japanese school, and I have found a low-cost preschool that I can bring both girls to for about 2 hours three days a week. I work on site. This should increase my work time dramatically.
- We are still interviewing babysitters and mother’s helpers, which should also allow both my husband and me more time to work in the evenings.
- We still have a lot of junk to sell on Craigslist, which should bring us in a few hundred dollars. Now that I will have a little more time, I should be able to list those items and get rid of them.
- But best of all, my husband has finally taken an interest in the finances and has agreed to sit down with me every month to make budget/money decisions. Yeah!
I am going to start further breaking down our debt. Our first priority is paying off the credit cards. On October 20, 2011, our overall credit card balance was $20,316.63. The credit card balances now are $11,345.10, so we have paid off 44.2% of our credit card debt, or $8,971.53.
{ 8 comments… read them below or add one }
Don’t beat yourself up too much, life frequently gets in the way of our best laid plans. When we started on our get out of debt journey we have a $1000 EF. Within a year I realized that wasn’t really enough for 6 people, so I upped it to $2000 while we continued to get out of debt. That seemed to be enough for us. I had a separate car repair account that I tried to keep around $1000, so I guess you could say we had a $3000 EF. I was definitely more comfortable with that than just $1000. I hope you can get your EF re-established and make some good progress throughout the rest of the year.
I agree, a $1000 emergency fund just isn’t enough. As much as the increased balance on the credit card bothers me, our first order of business will be to increase the emergency fund so we don’t end up here again when Murphy visits again.
Don’t let a bump in the plan discourage you. Think of what a better position you are in, even with the increase, than you were a year ago. Any move forward is progress – hang in there. We’re rooting for you!
That’s true. It is important to look at overall progress; we have made good strides in a year. Still, I hate to go back up.
I don’t know if you answered this question before because I am new to this blog, but how do you keep track of all these? Do you have a specific program or do you use Excell? Thank you. You are doing great, by the way.
I am totally low tech. Pen and paper.
My husband set up Excel because it is easier for him to keep track that way.
You’re still doing a great job. And at least you’re honest with yourself and brave enough to continue updating. I literally stopped updating my progress because it’s so pitiful – I haven’t made any progress towards my saving goal and instead have racked up a little credit card debt! I just want to go sulk in the corner. But, I know I’ll get back on track and eventually post my retrogress (I think that’s the opposite of progress, no?)
I know, it is painful to admit when we are not doing as well as we would like, but that makes it feel even better when we are on track.