Right now, we’re just cruising along paying the minimums. Since I started homeschooling, my time has been at a premium. Some of my regular jobs have ended, and I should be looking for new ones to replace the income, but right now, I don’t feel I have the time to take on too many new jobs.
Meanwhile, the fall is always a busy travel season for us with my husband’s conferences (one in October and one in December), so we’ll just focus on growing the savings account and paying for the travel upfront. (We get reimbursed in 4 to 8 weeks after the conference.)
After December, we’ll reassess our income and my time and determine how to proceed with debt repayment.
My student loan: $1,183.43 -185.94
Husband’s student loan #1: $12,843.85 -78.33
Husband’s student loan #2: $16,422.94 -60.72
Total: $30,450.22 -324.99
A few notes:
The Negative:
No negative this month!
The Positive:
My husband is in graduate school again on a part-time basis, so his student loans are in deferment at least through December of this year. Our normal minimum payment is $313. However, we aren’t required to pay anything while he’s in deferment. I think I’ll pay the accrued interest each month, which will be about $125 a month. That leaves me with an extra $188 a month that we usually put on his student loans.
If I roll that money into my normal $192 payment on my student loan, I’ll be paying $380 a month. We could then erase my student loan debt within 3 months. In other words, my student loan could be gone by December, 2013! I’m loving the power of the snowball.
Emergency Fund
Our emergency fund is now at $3,700.
We’ve also begun to set aside money for a vehicle replacement since our van is 9 years old and has 120,000 miles on it. This fund now has $200.
When we became Gazelle Intense on October 20, 2011, our balance was $57.966.01. Since then, we have paid down 47.4% of our debt, or $27,515.79.
What a great post! I know you wish you could be paying more—but look at all the progress you’ve made since 2011!! I sense such a calmness and contentedness in your post that I haven’t in the past. May God continue to bless your stewardship of his resources.
You’re right Kara, since we paid off the credit cards, I feel much better about our financial situation. Thanks for your thoughtful comment.