fbpx

Our Debt Free Family

Commit. Plan. Take action.

February 2023 Update: Improved Credit Scores and More Progress

| Leave a Comment

February was a great month for us. We are getting situated with my husband’s new job as well as focusing on improving our health – physically, mentally, and financially. We made progress in all of those areas last month, which feels SO great. Here’s our February recap…

Our Credit Scores Went Up!

One of the best things about the debt freedom journey is watching how paying off debt will help you improve other areas of your life too. Our credit scores have gone up, especially within the past two months. At the beginning of the year, both of us stood in the “poor” area of the credit gauge and we’ve now graduated to “fair.”

There is still a lot of progress to be had, but overall, we are super proud of this progress. Not to mention, being able to improve our credit scores can help us land a consolidation loan (which is something we’ve been discussing, especially for my pesky IRS debt).

February Debt Update

As always, at the end of the month, I liked to give you all an update on the numbers. In January, our debt counts looked something like this…

  • My Car Amount Owed: $20,217
  • Credit Card Total For Both: $487
  • Student Loans: $24,362
  • Matco/Snap-On: $6,673
  • Amount in Collections: $679

Overall, we put about $1,600 towards debt payments in February. At the end of the month, here are our updated numbers (with interest accounted for)…

  • My Car Amount Owed: $19,729 (Under $20K!!)
  • Credit Card Total For Both: $455
  • Student Loans: $24,352
  • Matco/Snap-On: $6,243
  • Amount in Collections: $679

Accounts Being Paid Off!

One of the biggest things we are looking forward to in March (outside of our first wedding anniversary) is paying off yet another account. This account, once it is paid, will free up an extra $106 per month. While that isn’t a ton of money, it will allow us to pay off our credit card fairly quickly. Having our line of credit open will help us further improve our credit scores as well.

Then we will switch our focus to what we have in collections and get that paid off. Because those items have the highest impact on our credit, we’d like to focus on those. In about two years, our goal is to be in a place financially where we may be able to start looking at homes to buy.

Once collections are paid off, we will refocus on paying his tools off, student loans, and then our car loan. By July, we hope to double our monthly payments towards debts ($3,200 per month). Doing that will help us pay it off even more quickly.

Readers, where are you in your debt journey? Let’s chat!

Read More

August Debt Update: Stalled

| 1 Comment

debt update

We take a look at our finances pretty regularly, but I have to be honest, we’ve slacked off big time this summer. I am not sure if it is the move, the inconsistency with work, or slipping back into bad spending habits, but we’re definitely not where we’d thought we’d be after a year of paying off debt. Here’s the latest debt update with detailed numbers…

One Year Debt Update

Right now, we are feeling pretty stalled. A lot has happened in the last five months that has hindered our progress a bit.

As you know, last September, I detailed my debt and broke it down. When tallied, it came to $67,999 in total debt for our family. I’m happy to report that almost a year later, we have made some progress. Last year, the numbers looked like this…

  • My Car Amount Owed: $23,051
  • Drew’s Car Amount Owed: $1,092
  • Credit Card Total For Both: $1,748
  • Student Loans (Mine): $23,852
  • Matco/Snap On: $9,534
  • Amount in Collections: $8,722

Here are the updated dollar amounts for August 2019…

  • My Car Amount Owed: $21,333
  • Drew’s Car Amount Owed: $0
  • Credit Card Total For Both: $483
  • Student Loans (Mine): $24,002
  • Matco/Snap On: $7,543
  • Amount in Collections: $679

That brings the total amount we owe down to $54,040. That is nearly $14,000 paid off in a year (not too bad). Compared to this time last year, that is definitely an improvement. Some of our biggest “wins” have been paying off Drew’s car, paying down credit card debt, and taking care of items in collections.

You’ll notice my student loan amount owed has actually gone up a bit. I asked for forbearance on the loans for a few months this year as we transitioned from North Carolina to Georgia. I will be back on track to repaying those in a short amount of time.

The move impacted our ability to attack our debt the way we’ve been wanting to, there’s no doubt about that. With deposits, the costs of moving trucks, and getting used to a new city, we fell behind on our goals a bit.

Getting Back on Track

Both of us are working on budgeting and finding a way to get back on track with our debt freedom goals. First, we’ve had to tap into our emergency fund, which needs to be padded once again. This will be taken care of this month.

Next, we are planning to find a way to cut costs and make more money. As mentioned in previous posts, I’ve been finding ways to make money on the side by selling things and grabbing a freelance gig here and there. Drew has also been looking for additional side work as he feels his way through establishing his own business.

Finally, we HAVE to sit down and work out a budget. We’ve gotten way off track with our current spending and need to refocus. Stay tuned for an update on our new budget later this month!

Readers, where do you stand with your debt freedom progress? I’d love to hear about it in the comments below!

Read More

Our January 2022 Debt Update

| Leave a Comment

debt update

The end of January is nearly here already and I can’t believe how quickly the month went by! I am happy to say that, during the first month of the year, we had some significant wins in our debt-free journey. Here’s the latest debt update…

Emergency Fund Wins

The biggest win of January was getting our emergency fund fully re-established again. For now, we’ve only got $1,000 socked away. However, as we pay more things off, we will be adding to this. Because my husband and I work jobs that can vary in pay, it is extremely important to have a few months’ worth of expenses saved just in case.

Debt Update

Now, for the numbers…

Altogether, we made $1.,503 in payments towards our debts. This leaves us with the following account balances…

  • My Car Amount Owed: $20,217
  • Credit Card Total For Both: $487
  • Student Loans: $24,362 (my payment hasn’t yet hit my credit report from January)
  • Matco/Snap-On: $6,673
  • Amount in Collections: $679

 

Next Month

Next month we will at least make the same amount in payments and hopefully more. We also will continue to add money to our emergency fund when we have it. There are a few additional expenses occurring next month that will soak up a bit of our savings and debt payoff cash though.

We are preparing to register our car in Georgia (finally). Our North Carolina registration is up at the end of the month. To pass inspection here, register the car, and get our licenses, it will like cost around $1,000 (oof).

Outside of that, I can’t wait to update you on where we are in another month’s time. Remember, if you are on your own debt freedom journey that every tiny step forward counts, even if it seems insignificant now!

Readers, tell me about your recent debt wins! 

Read More

Debt Update: May 2021

| Leave a Comment

debt update

If you are a regular follower of Our Debt Free Family you may have noticed there hasn’t been a hard numbers debt update from us in a while. Honestly, with COVID-19 last year, moving, and then finding out we are expecting a child, our debt progress hasn’t been front-and-center like it used to be. However, that doesn’t mean we haven’t still been making progress.

Debt Update: Where We Stand

As of May 2021, we are holding about $42,000 in total debt. Here is the breakdown…

  • $525 credit card debt
  • $621 in collections
  • $24,185 student loans
  • $16,842 car loan

Considering where we started just a couple of years ago, we have paid off more than $20,000 in debt. That is great progress, but we thought we’d be so much farther along by now. Last year, my husband lost his job and then switched careers. I have been taking advantage of the break from student loan payments, for now, trying to save for our new baby (and praying for student loan forgiveness to pass). We’ve been paying minimums on everything else just trying to get caught up from last year and the move.

All in all, that’s okay for us. We’ve stayed afloat and that’s more than a lot of Americans can say after the cards that were dealt to many people in 2020. For that, I am thankful.

Goals

So, what’s next for us?

We certainly want to shift our focus back towards paying off more debt. Of course, having the debt paid off means more cash flow month-to-month. More specifically, we’d like to pay off the car loan and free up the $488 per month we make in payments there. With the new arrival coming, our main goals have been focused on saving money and preparing though.

Some of our main goals right now include having a substantial emergency fund stashed away before the baby arrives, paying off all the credit card debt, nixing the new phone upgrades in September to save money on our bills, stocking up on items for the baby and food so we have lower month-to-month expenses when she arrives, and creating a nice space here in our home. We haven’t gotten much of a chance to settle in yet over the past few months. We are still in need of a dresser for our room, for instance. My husband needs a desk (so we don’t have to share one) and we need a frame for our bed.

Once all of those things are properly tackled, we are going to focus on doubling up on our car payment every month to hack away at that quicker. If we are successful, it should help us have it paid off within a year (a full two years early). Then we will shift our focus to getting the rest of our finances in order to hopefully buy our own home and save a good chunk of the $1,520 in rent we pay each month.

While we haven’t made the progress we were hoping for by now, the debt freedom journey is always humbling. You have to go with the flow and shift your focus as needed.

Read More