Tell All Tuesday ~ The Four Figure Edition
Not the entire debt total - that would be incredible and I would be throwing a (frugal) party - but this week the spouse’s student loan total crossed the four figure mark. It’s amazing - I never considered before I started this blog that we’d ever get to the point of paying off the student loans early. But with my new part-time position as well as the other things I have been doing to earn snowflakes, we are making huge progress on my spouse’s student loan and I hope to have it completely paid off this year. Even with the new position that is a bit of a stretch right now based on our current pace, but it is definitely much more possible than I ever thought it was.
So on to this week’s numbers:
Debt at start of blog (6/19/07) : $36,451.71
Current total as of 04/05/08: $23,555.86
Principal paid to date: $12,895.85
Broken down into:
- Credit Card: PAID OFF 2/7/08
- Student loan: $11,467.76 (made $144.50 minimum payment)
- Spouse student loan: $9388.39 (made $1281.54 payment)
- Car loan: $2699.71
% of debt paid off (from NCN Network Chart) : 35.38% (last week 31.84%).
I’ve had a kind of weird side effect to starting on the student loans - I am having pangs of jealousy about the fact that my spouse’s student loans are disappearing and mine are basically standing still. It is a totally irrational feeling - we chose this order together based on interest rates, but still I have the feeling. I told my spouse about it and he said we can switch to my student loan but then he doesn’t want to hear me complaining that we’re wasting money on interest. We are going to stay the course and pay them off in interest-rate order, but now I know what it feels like to attack a debt that isn’t really your most hated one left.
Our percentage paid off is now a bit over 35%, and I loved the new graph so much I printed it out and put it on my desk. There is just so much yellow (paid off)! The graphic is really starting to feel motivating.
One side effect of putting the snowflaking money into a separate account to collect it and then using it all at once a single time a month, is that I start to forget where the money came from in the first place by the time I use it to pay down debt. I could look it up on our budget sheet under income and figure it out, but I am semi-lazy. I know this $1281.54 payment is a combination of my new position, blogging, MySurvey payouts, and maybe some other miscellaneous survey sites, as well as our $437.59 budgeted minimum. Oh, and the $0.11 in interest the money that was waiting in the savings account earned last month. If we can continue to make ~$1300 payments each month, we should be able to knock the spouse student loan debt out by December. Onward and upward!
If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!
Related entries for your reading pleasure:
April 8th, 2008 at 4:10 pm
Huzzah! You’re really making progress. Woo hoo! Keep up the good work
April 8th, 2008 at 4:29 pm
Well done! It’s vanishing before our very eyes, lol!
Just curious: how is it that you’re not incurring childcare fees with the new PT job, or are you?
April 8th, 2008 at 4:44 pm
That’s spectacular! I’m going to lookinto the NCN Network…it looks like a great way to stay on track and motivated!
April 8th, 2008 at 5:46 pm
Did you chose to hold off on paying off the car due to interest rates? Looks like you could knock that out a lot faster and clear up that much more monthly cash flow.
April 8th, 2008 at 6:03 pm
About feeling slightly jealous: I know how you feel. When we were paying off my credit card, I was all gung-ho for it. I loved checking it and watching it drop. Now that it is my husband’s CC we are after, I find myself making excuses for the money other than paying the credit card. Of course our income has increased quite a bit since we started, so we are expanding in areas that have been neglected or a source of debt in the past (car repairs and maintenance for example). Just keep at it!
April 8th, 2008 at 6:22 pm
Congratulations to you for staying the course.
Just wondering if the increasing cost of food and gas is affecting your budget? It certainly is causing havoc with mine.
April 8th, 2008 at 7:25 pm
@ debtheaven - my spouse altered his hours at work from 8-5 to 7-4 and meets me at the studio at 430 to pick up the kids. So we’re adding a little gas expense but no childcare.
@jinger - my food budget is adjusting, it is okay but it may get worse. the gas budget was okay last month, but with the added driving for my job (my spouse driving there to get the kids) I think it will not be good this month.
April 8th, 2008 at 7:41 pm
Starting at seven, that is true love in my book, lol.
Thanks for the answer! BTW, I loved his answer about racing his debt instead of yours.
April 8th, 2008 at 7:59 pm
Congrats! Your progress really inspires me. I love how your search for extra streams of income has opend up new avenues in your life!
April 8th, 2008 at 9:21 pm
It’s amazing watching the progress (funny, how awed I am by a total stranger reducing debt, but welcome to the internet). Just seeing what you’ve done in less than a year is inspiring me to get into gear with saving!
April 9th, 2008 at 12:51 am
Also, I’m curious: Why not attack your car loan briefly and pay it off in about two months? Won’t that free up a few hundred each month to snowflake at your student loans?
Or is it a better interest rate than your loans, perhaps?
April 9th, 2008 at 3:09 am
That is so awesome! I love watching your debt go down. And you know, just think of how cool it will be once his debt is paid off - you’ll have a HUGE snowball going toward your student loan, and that will feel pretty amazing
April 9th, 2008 at 7:59 am
@ Kacie - the car loan is at a much better rate than the student loans. Heck, it is at a better rate than my house! It is 4%, the student loans are 9% and 7%.
April 9th, 2008 at 10:41 am
Just a thought, but how about alternating the extra amount between the two loans, or “rewarding” yourself with an extra payment to the other loan every three months? Yes, it would mean you pay some more interest, but wouldn’t it be worth it to reduce resentment?
(And on the practical side, life is never predictable and it probably isn’t a good idea to pay one spouse’s debts more fully than the other’s.)
April 9th, 2008 at 1:12 pm
It is so exciting to hear how excited you are about this. And your enthusiasm is contagious! Snowflaking is spreading. I have told three girl friends about it and they are already embracing the concept. I also found your blog through a friend. Ah, you gotta love viral/buzz marketing! Anyway, keep up the great tips. You are helping ALOT of people. That’s awesome!