Half the battle of paying down debt is not spending your extra money, therefore saving it. It's easy to set goals to save, but its a whole other thing to follow through on not spending it.
In order to be successful in my "no spending" challenge, I have removed all my bookmarks to websites that I would frequent to find a good deal. I am content in my life right now and don't see anything that I "need". There are plenty of wants, but I don't need them. So, to keep myself busy I have been reading websites that promote paying down debt, saving your extra money, and anything money related.
I am avoiding Walmart, it's down the block from where I live so it is easy to need 1 thing and come out with $100 gone, especially with teenage kids in the house.
"The best investment you can make, is an investment in yourself" Warren Buffett. He goes on to say that the more you learn about money and finances, the more you will earn. I think that what he means by this is the more you learn, the better choices you will make. Also what I have noticed, is the more you immerse yourself in a particular subject, the more of an "expert" you tend to become on it.
That is it for now, I hope to give an update on my progress at the end of each month.
Tuesday, April 9, 2013
Wednesday, April 3, 2013
Debt Begone
This is my blog about getting rid of my debt. I always tell myself I am going to do it, I even plan for it by making up new budgets for the entire year and a spreadsheet to track it all. Then the first month comes and BLAM! Over-spending just blows my budget away, which in turn just removes all my motivation for paying down my debt. I then continue to overspend the next month and figure I will go back on track the month after. This cycle just repeats over and over again. Well not anymore!
So my stats are:
2 House's 263,500.00
Student Loan 40,551.00
Personal Loan 5,000.00
Consumer 10,400.00
Total 319,451.00
I graduated from college in February of 2008, and had incurred 42,000 of student loan debt, and my husband head about 4,000.00. So over the past 5 years we have paid $5,449 off our student loans, at a $1,000 a year that will take us a long time. Something needs to change.
We own both our vehicles, without debt, but they will both need to be replaced soon. Since we have not saved for new vehicles (We just purchased a new home in March) we will have to purchase 1 on credit. My current car has 310,000 miles and yes, you read that correct. I commute 105 miles everyday to work, so a dependable car that doesn't cost a fortune is important.
I have expendable income each month of 1,200.00, in order to be successful in the endeavor I am going to assign 600 at the start of this, to pay down my debt. As things settle down with the new house, and expenses become more predictable I can increase that amount, but for now I feel this is very doable.
Baby steps.
So my stats are:
2 House's 263,500.00
Student Loan 40,551.00
Personal Loan 5,000.00
Consumer 10,400.00
Total 319,451.00
I graduated from college in February of 2008, and had incurred 42,000 of student loan debt, and my husband head about 4,000.00. So over the past 5 years we have paid $5,449 off our student loans, at a $1,000 a year that will take us a long time. Something needs to change.
We own both our vehicles, without debt, but they will both need to be replaced soon. Since we have not saved for new vehicles (We just purchased a new home in March) we will have to purchase 1 on credit. My current car has 310,000 miles and yes, you read that correct. I commute 105 miles everyday to work, so a dependable car that doesn't cost a fortune is important.
I have expendable income each month of 1,200.00, in order to be successful in the endeavor I am going to assign 600 at the start of this, to pay down my debt. As things settle down with the new house, and expenses become more predictable I can increase that amount, but for now I feel this is very doable.
Baby steps.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)