by Claire
April will kick off the first month that we will feel the positive impact of the elimination/reduction of a few monthly debts and expenses. With these adjustments we will see an extra $400 this month–NOT including my raise that hits on Friday, April 6. My husband is doing an excellent job of stopping me from counting those chickens before they are hatched..but MAN does my brain go there each and every time we discuss $. I wish you could see how excited we are about putting that toward debt! After I finish up this post we have set aside time this evening to review the various approaches to paying things down–including those you have posted in your comments–so we can finalize the approach. We’ve been talking about it since I started blogging, but it is time to make a decision since we have the money to pay! Here’s to financial communication! We are looking at shaving off another $100-$200 in monthly expenses so in addition to the little stuff we are doing what we can on that side of the ledger too.
Speaking of the little stuff…I tiptoed into the world of couponing today. I was very deliberate in my approach and managed to save a total of $32. I only went to Walgreens and CVS and purchased regularly used allergy medicine (that alone usually sets me back $20), my usual coffee, toothpaste, toothbrushes, Easter treats for the kids, jello pudding mix and 4 boxes of regular Rice Krispies. I used my usual spending amount and didn’t dip into what sits in the account which is the only way I will do this. All of these are items that we would have bought anyway–but at FULL price. So I say… yippee!
Born and raised in Texas. I’ve at least driven through every state in the US courtesy of a roadtrip loving Dad.
I’m single with two children and a good parenting relationship with their father.
I am a “life is just half full of funny” kinda gal. Humor is my saving grace and I am thankful for it every single day. I have a strong Catholic faith and am thankful for that foundation.
I read a lot for a living but still enjoy a good book. I love biographies but in recent years have found the need for fun fictional books–sadly, for a long time I just didn’t enjoy fiction!
I love live theatre of any kind–from local productions to Broadway.
I love to scrapbook and pride myself in my kids’ albums.
I love being a mom but also love my career. I’m blessed to have found a balance allowing me to be at everything my kids need and want me to be at–while also having a career.
Favorite Quotes: Well behaved women rarely make history.
Behold the turtle. He makes progress only when he sticks his neck out. -James Bryant Conant
Congrats on the raise and your couponing success! We are in negotiations for a raise in our house and I know how hard it is not to start thinking about it before it happens when working on the budget etc. I can’t wait till it’s settled and we can start putting extra towards all the stuff we’re working towards!
With that extra money per month, I would work on getting your emergency fund fully funded first and continue making minimum monthly payments on your cards; however you make want to pay off Line of Credit 1 just so you can have the satisfaction of having paid off a bill. Next month you could pay off Line of Credit 2, but keep building that emergency fund!!
Diane–this is what we ended up going with so thanks for your idea!
great job, here’s a challenge. take that $32 saved and stick it right in the emergency fund.
i guess there are lots of approaches to paying down debt, but i’m really hoping you’ll do some kind of snowball (where you pay off one debt completely while paying just the minimums on all the others, and then move on to the next). there are different ways of doing this too…you can go with the smallest ballance, or the smallest interest rate, or who knows what. but the satisfaction of seeing those debts drop off the list, and subsequently increeasing your payment on the next one, is amazing.
In case you didn’t see my reply Adam–I’m sending the $32 to that stupid 25% card. Thanks for the nudge on that!
Congrats on making such progress in just one month!! Good luck with the convo tonight, I’m looking forward to hearing what plan of attack y’all come up with!
It’s good to see the enthusiasm in your posts. This will help to keep you motivated. You are taking strides towards eliminating your debt and should be proud of yourselves! Keep on keeping on!
Big congratulations! Don’t lose steam.
You are doing great! I also concur to focus on getting your emergency fund up to $1,000 minimum this month first, then hit the debt.
Like you, I also look ahead at what we can pay off when. It keeps me going – keeps my eyes on the prize. You’re doing well and yahoo for spousal budget meetings!!! 🙂
Wow!! $32 in coupon savings? NICE! 😀
Oh, the chatter about the emergency fund got me wondering… Do you have a strategy for handling emergency expenses that cannot be paid by check w/o lots of inconvenience? Or where the vendor simply won’t accept a check? Do you have a “clean” credit card without a balance that you can put emergency expenses, and ONLY emergency expenses on that you could then pay off out of the emergency fund?
I think in planning out your plan of attack it might be a good idea to figure out how to handle situations that might set you back a little.
Thanks Jen-yes, I have credit avaiable if needed–about $10,000 here and there. Hopefully we won’t need it but good to know it is there for a very rainy day!