by Hope
Car loan…I’m coming for you!
It took me a bit longer than I anticipated, but I have now officially maxed out my ROTH IRA contribution for 2020. Score!!!
And now the bulls eye is on my car loan!
Balance owed as of today is: $12,905.01
I paid $1,500 this month. Going forward I’ve scheduled a monthly minimum payment of $2,000 to go out automatically. If I just stick with this, it will be paid off in September. But if my forecasting is correct, I should be able to pay off the balance in June.
Why am I not committing to that outright?
When I see that the numbers balance out to cover the debt in June, I am thrilled.
But I also know that we are going into an unknown season. Princess is graduating. Beauty is graduating. I feel it necessary to be prepared to help launch them into what ever is next. So I don’t want to commit to depleting everything before I know what is coming.
I KNOW that I can pay off no later than September. But I HOPE that it will happen much sooner.
Children still Come First
Any words of wisdom from other’s who have graduated children?
Right now, Princess will head to a four year university in August. Nothing firm, but that’s her plan. She is applying for schools now and is wavering in her decision on where she wants to go. But has recently decided to major in Economics, a switch from her initial choices of Engineering or Broadcasting.
Beauty will stay local and complete her cosmetology training. The technical school she will attend does have dorms. I am encouraging her to move to the dorms while she completes training, but I don’t know if she will make that move for the summer or wait until the fall.
Either…I want to be able to help, at least with the basics should the time come. So will make the decision on how much extra I can pay toward my car debt as each month comes and goes.
Hope is a creative, solutions-focused business manager helping clients grow their business and work more efficiently by leveraging expertise in project management, digital marketing, & tech solutions. She’s recently become an empty nester as her 5 foster/adoptive kids have spread their wings. She lives with her 3 dogs in a small town in NE Georgia and prefers the mountains to the beaches any day. She struggles with the travel bug and is doing her best to help each of her kids as their finish schooling and become independent (but it’s hard!) She has run her own consulting company for almost twenty years! Hope began sharing her journey with the BAD community in the Spring of 2015 and feels like she has finally in a place to really focus on making wise financial decisions.
Nice job, Hope. I love seeing one clear goal at a time and you seem to be sharpening your focus.
Congratulations on the 2020 Roth!
Why is your car loan balance higher today than it was in your January debt update?
I am so excited for you. I know it has been hard, comments on here have been nice, blunt, mean cruel etc – but I hope the future remains bright for you and your family. And I am GLAD you’ll wipe out the car loan this year whether it is June or September.