We have been paying down our debt since October, 2011.
The current balance and the change in balance since the last report on June 3, 2013 are:
Personal credit card: $12,350 -125
My student loan: $1,901.65 -474.16
Husband’s student loan #1: $13,232.08 -88.68
Husband’s student loan #2: $16,737.33 -67.74
Total: $44,221.06 – 755.58
A few notes:
The Negative:
There wasn’t much negative this month, though I would have liked to have dipped below $44k total owed.
The Positive:
I’m excited that we’ve finally reached the milestone of getting my husband’s student loans below $30K and mine below $2K. It’s been a long time coming!
In the 20.5 months since October 20, 2011 when we began to focus heavily on our debt repayment, we have paid down $13,744.95. That equals $670 per month.
Emergency Fund
Our emergency fund is now at $3,000, but it’s going to take a hit soon. We’re facing a lot of upfront homeschooling costs that we hadn’t budgeted for since we didn’t plan to homeschool until late April. Also, we finally had to bite the bullet and get our spark plugs replaced, which, combined with the oil change, was almost an $800 bill.
When we became Gazelle Intense on October 20, 2011, our balance was $57.966.01. Since then, we have paid down 23.71% of our debt, or $13,744.95.
Congrats on your progress. One of the exciting things about paying off debt is that there is less interest to pay down with each payment. The progress begins to snowball, and it looks like it is for you. Well Done!!
Yes, it’s been slow going, but each month, we seem to make a little more progress.
Awesome progress! I love seeing big debt repayments. Your student loan will be gone before you know it!
I just wanted to tell you that I’m always encouraged by your progress posts. I’ve been a subscriber to your blog for a few months now (not sure where I found you). My husband and I have been married for 12 years, and for the last 9 years we have lived with his parents because of our debt. We’re at the point now where we just have three debts left, but they are the three largest. We’re finally able to budget enough money for gas…before we just had to trust that God would provide (which He always has!). We still have to live by faith though. We don’t have any extra to put on debt right now so we’re just paying minimums. We still have about 25,000 to go!
Tara H
Thanks. Paying off debt can take so long! It sounds like you’re making good progress. I’d love to hear more of your story!
Great job! I just want you to know that homeschooling doesn’t have to “break the bank”. When I first started, I thought I had to purchase the newest, most raved about curriculum. One of my children absolutely hated it. There was so much reading assigned daily for every subject that my daughter would cry. Now I buy most of curriculum used off of Amazon. Lesson learned!
Thanks, Stephanie. There’s so much out there to spend money on! I’m trying to buy everything used, though.
Great progress! It’s so hard sticking to paying off debt – large bills always seem to pop up (believe me, I know.) Keep up the great work!
That’s nice progress. I remember the feeling of having to work hard to get the student loan balance to go down each month. Those moments of progress are reassuring!
Progress like this definitely encouraging and inspirational. $670 toward debt every month is very impressive. Congratulations.
Thanks. It’s slow going, but the snowball is starting to work now.
Great job on the repayment! I’m new to your blog, but it seems like you’re really making a dent. I’m looking forward to reading more.
I wanted to mention that I was homeschooled myself; if you want to ask me any questions about the process (which is different for everyone!), please let me know. I personally think it’s the best decision my parents made for me, and I applaud you for choosing that method. Good luck!
It’s been slow going, but it’s encouraging to see the numbers keep going down.