Blogging Away Debt

How Did I Decrease My Debt So Much in April & May?

A reader asked a great question in a comment: “If you are only putting 1300.00 a month on debt reduction, how did you decrease your debt by 3000.00 in April and May?”

That question is one of the reasons why I really need to show income on a monthly basis and I will start doing with this month’s reports (which I am almost done with and should be posted late tonight :)).

There are four main factors that led to the higher than normal debt reduction for April & May:

1.) Tax return. I have a habit of over-withholding and last year we were thinking we were going to make much more than we did. But when I quit my outside of the home job to find a work at home job – I had no idea I’d be out of work for four months. So, we ended up making less last year. It led to a nice tax return and that helped kickstart our progress.

2.) Overtime. The end of March brought a very nice paycheck at the end of the month for our highest paying job. That overtime helped the debt reduction in April.

3.) Extra hours. My one part-time job kicked up a little bit and gave me more than the normal number of hours which lead to temporary extra money.

4.) Three-paycheck month for two jobs in April (normally two paychecks/month). Because the last payday was near the end of the month, that led to more money for the month that could be shifted towards debt in May.

5.) Not as much paid in March and June. In March, things were still pretty new to us and we paid $566 of our debt down. In June, we paid $707 towards the credit cards. When one month was lacking – we tried to make up for it the next month.

Overall, I am shooting to pay $1050/month to our credit cards to meet our goal date of May 2009. However, I want this debt gone ASAP. If I have the money available to send more, I am sending it out. If I can’t pay that much one month, I will try to make it up another month.

Thank you, Kim, for your question. Questions like that help me figure out better ways to present info for everyone. As always, any other questions are welcome.

Whew – Made it Through My First Day of School

by Tricia

This morning started off on the wrong side of the bed. My husband and I were snoozing away when my son comes into our room, “Time to wake up!” I instantly sit up in bed and start freaking out because it’s very light out. I look at the clock – we have 10 minutes before the bus gets to our house!

We rushed and rushed, but we made it outside just in time. I was just about to take the traditional “first day of school” picture and the bus turned the corner. Unfortunately, the camera batteries were dead and without time to run in for more – the moment was lost.

My son just laughed. He doesn’t like getting his picture taken.

Out of habit from his preschool days, I got on the bus with my son and gave him a kiss goodbye. I felt pretty silly afterwards, but I claim the “first time mommy putting her son on the bus” excuse 🙂

Keeping to my word, I rode my bike to the school and anxiously waited for his bus…and waited…and waited. Then, I saw it drive right by the school doors because the kids were already let off. All of them filed into the school, but my son was no where to be found! My heart dropped into my stomach right there. I almost went into panic mode, but I kept my cool. I checked the cafeteria and I didn’t see him there. I went back to the hallway and he wasn’t there.

Why, oh why, did I let him pick out a blue shirt to wear today? I swear every little boy was wearing blue!

Still trying to remain calm, I checked the cafeteria again. Still no sign of him. By this time, all of the kids are heading to their class so that’s where I headed next. I felt so helpless. I could only hope he was already in his class, but he wasn’t there either. I went out into the hallway and finally…there he was. He was putting his backpack in his locker. I tapped him on the shoulder and started telling him how sorry I was because I didn’t see him come in and didn’t meet him like I promised.

He just told me, “Go away mom” in the embarassed tone frequently used by teenagers. So I stepped away.

After he closed his locker, he came up to me and gave me a hug and a kiss. Then he said, “Have a good day back at home.”

Yes, the first day was tougher on mom than it was him. I am pretty darn proud of my little, er big guy 🙂