I was stoked! We've decided to become as debt free as possible going into the New Year. This will be made possible due to a number of factors. First, here's the lowdown on our debt. I've not posted this before, because it's rather humiliating, but here it is:
700 (on BFs amex)
1400 (on interest free card)
1200 (on Shell card - note that a lot of this is normal Dec. budgeted items, but there were definitely some unbudgeted expenses too)
0.00 on Chase card (yay!)
So. BF got a freelance job over xmas, which paid 700 (or will pay within the next two weeks). And that totally wipes out the AMEX.
The Shell card will be down to about 200 after I use our regular Dec. $ to pay it off, plus some extra which I "borrowed" from my "extra" paycheck. I was originally putting it towards my car insurance. But… I'd rather get the credit cards wiped out. Honestly. I mean, the interest rate for the car insurance is like negligible. And it's not due for another 6-8 weeks anyway. I can pay it off entirely in January.
I'm using 1,000 from my bonus towards the interest free card. Which leaves 400. I can have that paid off by March. The interest doesn't pick up until June/July so that will be gone before that.
I'm uber relieved.
I was thinking of just paying off the entire card with my bonus, but then I decided that we should really enjoy some of it. Particularly, because we haven't had any "fun" money in years. So, with the remaining 500, we hit up the outlets back east! We got two pairs of designer jeans (one for me, one for bf) for 80 bucks TOTAL. I got two cashmere sweaters from JCrew for 100 bucks TOTAL. This is exciting because we got both for less than the cost of one at full price (sweaters and jeans). I got two polar fleece jackets for 17 bucks each. A spaghetti portion measurer for just 4 bucks, and a pastry mat for 14. Good deals! The rest of the money is being saved in our joint account. We have a silent/live auction we're attending in late January, so now we'll have money to bid on a few items. The rest will be saved and we can use it for Valentines day. I think that was a pretty good use of the money. I still need new clothes, but these, plus my Christmas loot will get me pretty far. I'm pleased.
And BF's freelance prospects are looking good. He has a job in a few weeks that we know of, plus this new company he's freelancing for will likely give him lots of things (hopefully!). I'm trying to think positively now that we have a lot of monkey's off our backs. We're nowhere near where I'd like to be, but we're definitely making progress.
way to go. i think getting out of debt is a major step in the right direction. it will be such a relief when all of that is gone, gone, gone.
ReplyDeleteCongrats on the bonus also!!
Sounds like you've got some good plans in place to take care of the debt you have. I hope it all goes smoothly for you and this is your year for a debt free life.
ReplyDelete