Choosing to Spend for Value

I am thrilled with the progress my family has made as we focus on making mindful decisions about where our money is going.

I don't mean to leave this blog by the wayside, but I am a bit busier these days.

Here's a status update...

I have taken on a full-time job, which is a wonderful source of additional income.

I have made some choices that have slowed down our debt payoff snowball, and I am 100% comfortable with those decisions. Here they are...

1. The main reason I took the full-time job was to afford to pay private school tuition for my children. So, although I make a salary now, we are not "rolling in dough," and that is fine. I don't wince one bit at the check I write each month. And, I am FRUGAL. So, that tells you the importance of this educational choice for our family.

2. Last summer, we did some wheeling and dealing and bought my husband a new vehicle. We pay way more than the monthly payment, and he'll drive that for 10 or 11 years. So, I felt solid about that choice. :-)

3. I've been focusing on stockpiling for savings lately. So, although we're paying extra on the new vehicle, we are not aggressively paying off bills at the moment.

Current Debts:
Car Loan: 15K
Student Loan: 16K
House: 91K

I'm setting some new goals for this coming year, now that we have a good stockpile in savings.

I'd like to pay off the car loan within 12 months, which we can definitely do. So, I'll post updates on that as I make additional payments. That'll re-energize the blog and getting me moving again towards ZERO debts of any kind.

The Freedom to Choose

As I see and read the news of how the economy and the government budget cuts are affecting jobs across the country, I am grateful for the position I'm in...not my professional position, but my financial one.

If I were to be laid off, I would be ok. I wouldn't HAVE to run out and get another job. I wouldn't HAVE to do anything but choose what will work for my family.

Why? Because I spent the past few years making focused decisions to reduce my family's cost of living. Rather than upgrade to bigger, "supposedly better," pricier cars and house, we remained frugal.

And, I am ever grateful for the position we are in at this time.

A Cash Christmas!!!

Every year my husband and I cannot seem to stick to a designated spending amount for our children. We just get swept up in the spirit of the holiday and the joy of giving. What separates this year from all previous ones is the fact that we actually can afford to splurge on our children this year, paying cash for gifts!!

What a blessing!!

Living a VISA-Free Life...Final $11,305 PAID OFF!

Today is a day of CELEBRATION!!! Along with having just commemorated our country's independence, I can now celebrate my family's independence....no longer relying on credit cards for ANYTHING!!!

I've been busy attacking VISA, and here are the final results...

April: Dropped $2,105
May: Dropped $2,100
June: Dropped $3,000
July: Dropped the FINAL $5,100

So, VISA is kicked to the curb, and my family is left with only a house payment and a student loan. It's UNBELIEVABLE the feeling I have right now, and I know it hasn't even sunk in yet just how FREE we are. Next month, when money comes in with no credit card to put it towards, maybe I'll truly absorb just what a monumental achievement this is.

Staying Strong & Moving Mountains

It's been a while since my last post, but that does not mean I've lost focus on the goal to drop debt. I have continued to make payments and drop the balance on the final credit card, and it WILL be gone soon!

I will update the total soon.

What a difference a year makes!

Thanks to another wonderful website, www.pinktruth.com, I was discussing with some efriends today just what each of us has accomplished this first quarter of 2010. That got me to thinking about just where I was a year ago in terms of the debt snowball...

In looking back at older posts, I can see that just a year ago I still had a car payment AND I still had a home improvement loan, credit card, and student loan. TODAY I am close to paying off our final credit card. Then, I will just have the student loan. A year from NOW, we just may be DEBT-FREE!!

Taking Necessary Precautions

Well, I tried to avoid it for as long as I could. I didn't want to require anyone to register with the blog in order to post a comment. However, I have had so many spam posts of a "Nigerian Scam" persuasion, that I'm forced to require it.

If you ever wish to post a comment, just know that registration is only there to hopefully deter the phishers out there. I look forward to your words of support, suggestion, or otherwise.

Sincerely,

SnoBaby

$4,200 paid to CC Since Jan. 1!!!

Again, I've let this blog fall by the wayside. However, I have NOT stopped making forward progress in dropping the debt. Since that last post, I've paid an additional $4,200 towards our final credit card. If I were to take a quick peak, I could tell you the exact total we have left, but I'm rather lazy. So, I'll ballpark it...we have just about $8,000 left on that card.

Each time the number in the thousands place goes down, I feel the momentum and excitement building!!

New Year's Resolutions!! :-)

2010 is off to an INCREDIBLE start!! With only two debts left to pay off, and a second income with which to pay it, we will be in great shape! Yay!!


Update:
Credit Card Balance: $12,000
Student Loan: $18,000


This is the year to BECOME DEBT FREE!!!

Busy, Busy, Busy

I've been so busy since the last post that I've failed to keep up with tracking payments. I will update the total shortly, and I look forward to a very Merry Christmas this year paying CASH for all gifts. :-)

$300 More Down! Chop, Chop, Chop!!

Made another little payment to the card. I LOVE watching that balance dwindle.

$1,400 Down!!

At this rate, we will be at a $0 balance in the Spring!!! I cannot remember the last time I owed no money to a credit card. I guess that would be at age 19 before I received my first credit card. How I look forward to saying good-bye to an almost-twenty year relationship with VISA. It's a divorce that should have happened years ago. :-)

$2,670 on the Credit Card

I am excited to report that, although I haven't been posting regularly, I've been knocking out that debt. Now that the home improvement loan is paid off, I am now focused on that final Credit Card!!!

In the past month, I've managed to pay $2,670.

This is broken down as such.

$350 from our regular family budget.
$1,320 from a large check of backlogged pay for my testing job (some of the money was from early July. They clearly are not on top of their invoicing)
$1,000 is from my current job. I have left the part-time testing job and taken on a job that I work from home, bringing in $2,000 a month!!!

I look forward to being debt-free, and paying off our house within 5 years once the VISA and Student Loan are paid off (within 1 year).

Can you imagine living a life of financial freedom? I can, and I'm almost there. It's an awesome feeling, especially in this time of uncertainty.

I hope my efforts and posts, although sporadic, have inspired you to do something that perhaps you never thought you could.

Blessings!!!

Where Are You Getting the Money?

A good question posted by "anonymous."

I work part-time as a test proctor, and the large chunk that I paid recently was the result of stockpiling my checks in savings and then making one big payment. The final payment was made thanks to a sweet and unexpected gift sent to me from my grandparents.

Also, the more debts that I pay off, the more money that is available in the monthly budget to put towards the next debt.

For example, the Home Improvement Loan was almost $200 a month.
The car payment I dropped this year was $225.
And, we dropped a child's tuition that was $350/mo.

Right there is an additional $775/mo. to throw at debt in addition to what I am earning in my part-time work.

It truly is a "Debt Snowball" as Dave Ramsey refers to it. The more you pay off, the more money you have to pay off more.

Try it. You'll see.


Blessings!

PAID OFF HI Loan (Final $809.19 pmnt)

I'm doing a dance!! The home improvement loan is G-O-N-E! Buh--bye!

What's left:

Credit Card
Student Loan

May seem like a lot, but it's far less than we had before this process started.

$1,320 down...Less than $1,000 to go!!!

I put one more chunk on the home improvement loan. And, it's almost down to 0. Then, we're kicking VISA out of the house next!!

Another $510 down

Made another payment to the home improvement loan. Now, we've got about $2,000 left. I cannot wait to report on this account being paid off and closed.

$4,750 to the Home Improvement Loan!!

Exciting news! I hit a whopping blow to the home improvement loan this week. He's down, but not out...yet. There's still about $2,500 left, but I feel the momentum, and I'll keep pounding that bad boy until he's down for the count.

What's Your Story?

I wanted to respond to someone's comment asking how I am able to do what I'm doing.

Well, here are a few tips on how I'm making this financial lifestyle change happen...

1. I started making a written budget every month, and then the key thing was that I followed it. I know that sounds crazy, but many times in the past I wrote out a budget, but if we wanted something that wasn't in the budget, I went ahead and said yes to buying it.

2. I started looking at the budget to see what I could cut...
Cable, cell phones, restaurants...etc.
I set goals, and once a goal was reached (i.e. a big bill was paid off), I allowed us to bring back something little like cable.

3. Although we are a one-career household, we are not a one-income household. Here's the difference. My husband has a career-something he works regularly every week, has retirement, a steady income-and it's what we live off of. All of our necessary expenses are covered by his income.
However, I do work part-time. It is not a career. It's flexible, and if I needed to quit tomorrow to take care of family needs, I could. I do work that fits into my life, and the money goes to our debt snowball.

Recommendations for finding ways to bring in money...
Think about what your skills and talents are.
Decide what kind of schedule works for you. (i.e. after the kids are in bed or while the kids are in school, or only weekends)
Search, search, search...careerbuilder, monster, google, craigslist, about.com. Don't settle for something that requires you to sacrifice what you've made a priority. If you're persistent, you'll find something that works for you.

Good luck to you in your endeavors.

The Car is Paid Off!! $806.06 final payment!

Today is a day for celebration! The car is paid off. Next one to tackle? The home improvement loan. I estimate the end of the summer to get that one off our backs. I can't wait. 2009 is going to end with great financial successes!!