by Ashley
I’m well overdue for a debt update post!
These mid-month updates are a little wonky because many of the September bills have already been paid, but some aren’t due until the end of the month. I wanted to give current balances (not projecting into the future, or going back into the past), so I’ve made a column on the table to show you when the last payment was made (either this month or last month if this month’s due date hasn’t come yet).
One other change from my last debt update is that I’ve recombined my Sallie Mae Department of Education loans (I used to have them separated based on interest rate). Not only is it easier this way, but I figured that until I start focusing specifically on the student loans (which won’t happen until after the car is paid in full) that they all get paid as a lump sum anyway, so it doesn’t make sense to separate them. Once they become a focus I’ll separate them again because I’ll be attacking the higher interest loans first. Right now they’re all getting the standard IBR payment.
So here we go:
| Place | August 1st Balance | Current Balance | APR | Last Payment Made | Last Payment Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Capital One CC | $0 | - | 17.9% | - | Paid off in March |
| Mattress Firm | $0 | - | 0% | - | Paid off in May |
| Wells Fargo CC | $0 | - | 13.65% | - | Paid off in May |
| BoA CC | $0 | - | 7.24% | - | Paid off in June |
| License Fees | $4015 | $3447 | 2.7% | 236 | September |
| PenFed Car Loan | $22377 | $19968 | 2.49% | 1000 | September |
| Sallie Mae - Federal Student Loans | $4459 | $4382 | 8.25% | 66 | September |
| Sallie Mae - Dept of Ed | $71780 | $71845 | 8.25-6.55% | 240 | September |
| ACS Student Loans | $21164 | $21039 | 7.24% | 247 | August |
| Medical Bills | $6931 | $6603 | 0% | 150 | September |
| Totals | $130726 | $127,284 | |||
A couple things I’d like to highlight:
When I started blogging (March 2014), my total debt balance = $145,473
Today (September 2014), my total debt balance = $127,284
This means I’ve paid a total of $18,189 (plus lots of interest) in the past 6 months (= roughly $3,000/month in debt payments).
Keeping at a similar pace ($3,000/month), our debt would be paid in full in 42 months.
That’s pretty exciting stuff, in my opinion!
I’ve mentioned a couple of times how depressing these student loans have been. I think it helps me to look at how far I’ve come instead of focusing on the mountain that still lies ahead. And I’m proud of these figures! It’s a lot of fun to think what a debt-free future might hold! It’s still a few years away, but its definitely going to happen! I’m glad you’re along for the journey! 🙂
How are your debt payments coming along? How much longer do you have until your projected debt-free date?
Hi, I’m Ashley! Arizonan on paper, Texan at heart. Lover of running, blogging, and all things cheeeeese. Freshly 40, married mother of two, working in academia. Trying to finally (finally!) pay off that ridiculous 6-digit student loan debt!
Ashley, you have done so well! If you can keep this up for a couple more years, you will see the light at the end of the tunnel. I know that you have said you want to focus on a home purchase at some time, but obliterating a good deal of debt first is a great idea too. It may seem a little dark in the middle of all that student debt, but look how far you have come! You are a woman with a mission, that’s for sure.
That is amazing progress!
That’s amazing progress. 42 months will whip by and then set you up for life. Hang in there
Did you pay extra to the license fees this month? For some reason I thought you were focusing on the car, but it looks like a larger than usual payment on the license fees. Once that balance drops below $3k, it’d be hard not to just wipe them out and drop another payment from your life forever.
I totally agree! Yes, it is a larger payment than normal. Ugh, why’d you notice? lol. I didn’t even want to address it bc I feel like such a waffler (not my normal personality), as I keep going back-and-forth on the order of repayments! But it is such a small amount (in the scheme of all my debts) and really feels super within-reach!
No harm in waffling – this is YOUR journey. Also, facts have changed from this summer for you. Money was coming in gangbusters for awhile and it was easy to tackle big debts. Now that income has dropped back to “normal” it makes sense to knock off some of the smaller cash flow burdens. You have an AMAZING rate on your vehicle, so there’s no harm in pushing it to the back burner for a few months.
The important part is that you’re analyzing the numbers and acutely aware of the pulse of your household spending. There is no wrong decision here as long as you’re paying down something.
You are doing awesome!
That’s great! And that $18k does not include the interest you are paying on the debt that remains. You really are doing a great job! I applaud the hard work.
I’m glad you calculated 42 months. When we started, the timeline was 7 years. it’s going to end up being 5 or 5.5. We are now under 18 months and I’m getting more excited.
My point is, 42 months seems like a long time, but it is definitely doable, and should give you hope that you’ll make it! there is a faint light at the end of a very long tunnel
Yes, yes, yes!!! I still want to hear a full update on you guys’ debt situation!!
Hey Ashley! Just want today thanks for the update and it looks like you’re really killing this getting out of debt thing. Awesome job!!
Im also getting the same feelings that you are during your debt payoff. I’m so focused on the end goal that i hadnt even stopped to look how far I’ve come until this past weekend (this being since I originally did my post on here back in March). Seeing the headway made in only 6 months definitely makes the road ahead seem a lot less daunting. I keep telling myself “6 months down, only 24 to go!!” Keep it up!!!
Yesss!!! So exciting!! I’d love to hear a full debt update from you!! Have you emailed Jeffrey? I think others would love to hear an update, too!
I took your advic an emailed him last night. I’d love to do an update but if I don’t hear back Ill just provide an update in a reply here. Even though we have very different lifestyles (I’m single w/ a live-in gf, with no kids) our timelines are very very similar. I appreciate all you’ve shared on here and how far you’ve come in 6 months and I’d love to share how and where I’ve come, as well.
I know I’d love to hear an update! : )
Well…. I hadn’t heard back from Jeffrey so I figured I’d give you an update…so here goes…
From my introductory post, my debts were student loans @ $86,797.91, a car loan @ $10,188.50 and a mortgage @ $71,444.55. My current debt stands at $65,191.89 of student loans, no car loan (paid off last month) and $70,661.61 of the mortgage remaining. A quick calculation shows I’ve paid off $32,577.46 worth of debt in 6 months. I currently make $60,000 a year or $847.50 a week after all my with holdings are taken out.
My original timeline, when I wrote my introductory piece, was to be debt free in 42 months. My current timeline is to be debt free in 23 months.
Here’s what I did to pay off so much so quickly in only 6 months:
– I got rid of Directv, firstly. This saved me 89.37 per month. Unfortunately, I was locked into one of those 2 year contracts but you can get out if you pay them $20 per month remaining on the contract. I paid $260 to get out, but I recouped that money in only 3 months. I was only watching ESPN at the time and we have Netflix, which made cutting the cord easy.
-I had almost $5,000 in an emergency fund which I decreased to $1,000 and used the $4,000 to pay down my car.
-I had $1,000 in an investment fund which I cleared out to pay down my car
-We have a really good system in our house where I pay the mortgage and all the house bills (gas, electric, water, sewer, garbage and internet) and my GF buys all the food. This said, I have a weekly, $0 based budget, where I determine my weekly expenses and “pay myself” $70 cash from an ATM on payday for any misc. food and gas for my car. I then put the rest of the money towards debt. I get paid on Wednesday and by Thursday I normally have $0 in my checking account. The $70 I pay myself was a trial and error of which amount of money allows me to go the whole week with some cash, without having any left over on the next payday.
-I do a lot of driving for work (which is usually where my $70 cash goes), which they reimburse at $.56/mile. I get paid for this and reimbursement for my cell phone at the beginning of each month. I use this extra to pay down debt, which can be anywhere from an extra $300-$600 per month.
-I’ve sold a lot of things during the summer to make some extra money to put on debt
-By far the biggest thing I did to pay down the debt was withdraw from an old retirement fund I had with the government. When I fully withdrew the account it had roughly $24,000 of pre-tax dollars. After taxes and the penalty I was left with $15,000 or so. HIGHLY controversial (especially if you read over at Man vs. Debt) but I had help making the decision. I sought out a Dave Ramsey ELP (which is a fantastic program) who figured that for my age (27), my discipline and dedication, the amount of money was relatively low, I could pay it back quickly and it was ALL going towards paying down debt then the financial 10% penalty was worth the emotional benefit of having less debt. I don’t regret this decision for one bit.
As you can see, things are a lot different when you’re unmarried and without kids. I can sacrifice in many ways that you could never (and for good reason) do with your husband and two daughters. Although great for paying off debt, my lifestyle is certainly not without its cons either- I’ve lost touch with most of my college friends and even though my family is only 1.5 hr drive from me, I haven’t visited much in the past year. But in my opinion, it’s all temporary, and once the burden is gone, I can budget for night’s out and travel and vacations and all the other fun stuff I’ve forgotten about.
Thanks for listening and sorry for the length, just a lot to go over, lol. There’s light at the end of the tunnel!!
Ashley, you are doing so amazing, it is so much fun to follow along with you!!! I know you’ve talked about your reasons before, but I just wanted to say – from my experience with my own debt repayment: I think knocking out your smaller student loan (the one at 8%) along with the license fees before the end of the year would make you feel amazing & newly motivated for debt repayment in 2015 🙂
Good luck with the job search as well!!! You are an inspiration 🙂