It’s official. We are OVER HALFWAY to our Debt Free Goal! *Cue crying* *Yes, actual legit tears* That means we’ve paid off $37,902.55. *Cue more legit tears*.
Guys, we didn’t think this day would come, it felt like forever. It felt like we would always owe more than what we’ve paid. Last month we were so close to that halfway goal and had so many hiccups, we weren’t sure if we would make it. And we didn’t. This month we were both scared of something like that happening again…but quite the opposite happened.
We DOUBLED our debt payment this month. (Say whaaaat??!) Oh yeah.
It really felt like there was a debt free fairy looking over our shoulder this month and she gave us some hidden treasures. More on that in a bit. First let us tell you about what this month had in store for us.
This month was Taylor’s 30th Birthday. So we celebrated and stayed pretty close to our budget. Someone (AKA JAKE!) likes to spoil her. So that was a hard thing, but we did pretty good leveraging gift cards, extended health benefits for massages, and finagling the budget.
We also had Taylor’s mom come and visit us this month for two weeks! It was so awesome. We took some time off after our Evening Workshop to spend time with her and recover. It was also an added bonus that she filled our freezer with mom-home-cooked-goodness to help save our budget in upcoming months. It’s gotta be a “mom thing” to make pasta sauce and chilli from scratch and fill our freezer with tupperwear. Right? Well, either way–we were so grateful for it! If you’ve tuned into our webinars, you know we’re big fans of meal prep and share tips like that to cut down budgets and spending. Thanks, mama!
We also had some hiccups this month. More tax issues (ugh) – $3K spent there and our washing machine broke $350 there. But like we mentioned last month, these hiccups don’t even phase us anymore because we know our finances so intimately. We know where to snag that money and don’t have to worry about “What do we doooo??”. Cause we know, like exactly, what to do. It’s priceless. It made these hiccups just inconvenient instead of panic attack worthy.
So…The debt free fairy.
This month we DOUBLED our debt payment. We threw $8,800.53 at our debt this month. Now if you’re wondering, “Where the heck did THAT come from!?” Let us fill you in.
Our goal every month is to hit a $4K debt payment. Last month we baaaarely made it. And that scared the bejeebus outta us. We didn’t work this hard for this long to have any slip-ups. So it motivated us to work extra hard at the end of March. This showed up on our April paychecks nicely. (About $1K worth of extra work)
We also got serious and sold some electronics like an old TV monitor, gaming systems, headphones, older cellphones, etc. (About another $1K in extra income)
Then…we remembered that Jake still had stocks.
In October of 2018 we got real serious about this debt free plan. We sold all our stocks (or so we thought) and it helped boost us into gear. When Jake looked into his paycheck again to see where to cut, he realized he was still registered for automatic stock investments that are matched 6% by his company. So that meant from October until April (about 6 months) he had still been purchasing small shares that were being matched totalling 12%. When we checked into the balance we had just over $2.3K in there!!
BOOM. That extra income total of $4.3K added to our regular $4.5K debt payment made for our HUGE monster payment of $8,800.53. Debt free fairy–we thank you.
This had led us somewhere fan-freaking-tastic:
We paid off our personal loan this month. So…We only have TWO DEBTS REMAINING!!!!!!
Out of the 7 debts we started with, we only have two left. Holy crap-o-la. We’re in the homestretch! So without further ado, here’s the nitty gritty numbers:
Our Debt Starting Balance: $65,865.64
Our Debt Starting Balance From March: $36,682.67
Our Debt Payment For April: $8,800.53
Drumroll…
Our Debt Ending Balance From April: $27,963.09
That means, to date, we’ve paid off… $37,902.55
WOOP!
That means we’ve paid off both our credit cards, ALL of Taylor’s student loans, and our personal loan. Done. Sayonara. See ya never. Good riddance. Now, we only have Jake’s monster student loans and our home loan for our down payment left.
That’s it.
And to be fair, Jake’s monster student loans are dwindling so quickly. We have projected now to be debt free by September. Because the Debt Free Fairy also rained some more juiciness this month.
We discovered an old life insurance policy from when Taylor was a kid that has a cash value of around $9K. OOOOh nelly. So, we are keeping it while we still have debt, cause, ya never know. But we plan on cashing that policy in for a newer up to date policy that suits our needs now in addition to our own life insurance that we have. So, that means we will get a bonus of $9K whenever we cash that in. Here’s our math:
We plan on reaching over to grab that cash when we are within batting distance of a zero balance. So when we have $9K of debt left, we’ll go cash it and be debt free overnight. According to our math, we’ll hit that distance by September. OF THIS YEAR.
GUYS.
When we first started this journey and did the math, we projected being debt free by September 2020. Then we thought December of this year. Now we are projecting a solid September OF THIS YEAR. So this would cut that original time in HALF. This would mean we will be debt free in a 12 month journey. A YEAR.
AND THAT’S ONLY 5 MONTHS FROM NOW! We’re 7 months in already so we’re definitely on the home stretch.
*Cue more crying*
We can’t wait.
To be honest, we’re both getting really, really, sick and tired of being in debt. We’re SO done. We want this over with NOW. We want so badly to move into the next chapter of our lives with ease and no payments. NOT A SINGLE PAYMENT A MONTH. What kind of sorcery is that. We don’t know, but we want it. And we’re working SO hard to get there. We are feeling winded and tired. We are pulling up the last dregs of effort and energy to get this done and sprint to the finish line with sweat and tears. We know we can do it. But man, it’s taking a lot out of us. Y’know?
If you are on this journey right along with us, KEEP GOING. We know the sacrifices you’re making. We know how hard you are working, how thankless each and every penny feels, how invisible the work can seem. AND WE SEE YOU. We see your efforts, your penny pinching, your hard work. And–you are doing AMAZING. The light at the end of your tunnel is coming and you know it’s not a train–it’s freedom. And it’s coming for you because you’ve earned it. We are rooting SO hard for you.
Okay, friend, that’s our 7 month update! Stay tuned for next month.
If you want to see how we started and how we’re doing this, head here. We have our Debt Free Webinar Replay available here for short while, if you’d like us to walk you through the details of our plan, and our Budget Webinar Replay here if you wanna dive even further.
And as always, if you have any questions, just give us a holler! We’re more than happy to share what we’re doing so you can achieve this goal, too.
Can we ask a favour? Cheer us on? Just a little? Every comment, share, email, message, like–we notice. And it affects us. Like we mentioned, it really give us the extra push to keep going and stay accountable.
We can’t thank you enough! (We’re so glad you’re here!) See you next month!
So happy and proud of the sacrifices and hard work you two are putting into this journey! Your efforts may seem draining but the rewards will come back tenfold!
Thank you! The efforts are draining but so so worth it. Your support means the world to us! <3 Thanks, Coral!