Navigating life and finances
Having paid off another debt, I am super excited to post this mid-month update. So far for March, we have paid off a whopping $3,315.46. For those of you who might be new readers, Hubs and I set a goal to pay off 18(K) in (20)18. Having now already paid off $8,379.33 for the year, we are well on our way to achieving this goal. While our numbers will most likely slow down, we will continue pushing hard. We want this debt gone! Below are our total numbers. [Read more…]
Our federal refund was deposited into our account today. Woohoo! I have scheduled several payments, including paying off the hospital bill…IN FULL! Yippee! Who knew paying down debt could be so exciting? Lol With this, we have reached a goal of getting our debt below 40K before the arrival of Spring. I’ll be posting a detailed update tomorrow regarding where our debts now stand. Meanwhile, let me leave you with this.
You know what truly inspires me as Hubs and I travel the road to debt freedom? It is reading about the successes of others also paying off debt! While I’m always thrilled to see their progress, I want to keep up. Forget the Joneses. These days I’m doing my best to keep up with the Debt Crushers! [Read more…]
This morning I’ve been playing around with a lot of “what ifs.” For those of you also digging your way out of debt, I’m sure you know the game. It starts with “what if our paycheck is X” and moves on to “what if we pay X amount to this or that bill” and goes on from there. I’ve always been a bit of a numbers gal, so I tend to play with the different scenarios a lot. [Read more…]
$13.99 for my free month? I don’t think so! Remember me telling you about my free month of Netflix? It turns out that I wasn’t supposed to have been the recipient of the email toting this offer. Supposedly it is a glitch in their system, and (I guess) they figured they could get away with charging me for signing back up. Not so fast, Netflix! I only discovered the charge when reviewing my statement yesterday. First of all, I’ve never subscribed to anything above their $7.99 plan and secondly, I canceled immediately to avoid any future charges. After chatting with a representative and hearing numerous excuses why they couldn’t refund my money, I asked for a supervisor. Long story short, I am being credited that $13.99. I made sure to save a screenshot of the conversation and will watch for that refund! Will I miss Netflix? Not really. I still have Amazon Prime, and that gives me more than enough options. [Read more…]
Time to update the numbers! January was indeed quite the month! The highlight, of course, was the refi on our house. Looking at the amortization schedule of our previous 30-year mortgage and now our 15-year, even with rolling in the closing costs, by the end of 2018 we will have paid off more with our new shorter term. Yes, we are paying more each month, but wow! What a difference! I can’t wait to see those numbers drop even faster once we are snowballing the mortgage! [Read more…]
Because when you’re in debt, the best place to go is to work. Today I did a “meet and greet” with a family in need of a part-time caregiver for their child. I heard about the case via a fellow nurse at church. She gave my name and number to the family, and the mother called me yesterday. It is about 4-5 miles from my office job. The child was a preemie and is fed via a j-tube (feeding tube in the midsection of the small intestine for all you non-medical folks!) and is also on oxygen. The child no longer qualifies for nursing care (other than a quick visit from a visiting nurse), but the family feels more comfortable having someone with some medical background taking care of their kiddo than just a regular sitter. Essentially, it is a glorified babysitting job. [Read more…]
Telling our money where to go.Hubs and I are still pinching ourselves that the refi on our house went through. With all of the delays we experienced, we were beginning to have a lot of doubts. My seasonal job created a bit of a headache with verifying employment and why I wasn’t currently working there. Um, it’s a seasonal position! Why was this so hard for them to understand? Another delay was the appraisal. Being that we are so remote, there aren’t a lot of appraisers in our area. Our personal biggest concern was our debt-to-income ratio. I feel like we still have a lot of debt (well, we do!) and wondered how we could ever get approved to go down to a much shorter term. Additionally, our credit scores weren’t as high as they were when we took out the original loan. Anyhow, the refi did go through so I guess this is now just water under the bridge. Now my biggest concern is making sure we are in a good position to keep making those payments! [Read more…]
Are you curious as to what it is? No, we didn’t win the lotto (don’t play), nor have we booked an exotic vacation (no money), nor are we debt free (yet) but what we did do today is HUGE! [Read more…]
Because “Oh crap” moments are not an option.Now that Hubs and I have a goal to pay off a minimum of $1,500 each month, I realize that I will need more accountability to make sure this happens. I say “I” only because I’m the one who makes sure our creditors receive their money. With Hubs traveling for a living, there is no way he could handle paying the bills. He has enough on his plate with being our primary breadwinner. As long as he sees that we are meeting our goals, he is happy. With that in mind, I realize I can no longer wait to do a monthly update as that could lead to an “oh crap” moment. [Read more…]