💸 The Debt Diaries (4): Reconfiguring!
On stepping back, widening the lens, and rebuilding the series.
I had my October progress report completely calculated, listed out, and ready to publish.
Then I deleted it.
Not because we had stopped working on our debt, and not because I wanted to abandon this series. I deleted it because I realized the version I had created was no longer showing the full picture of our finances.
The original Debt Diaries tracked only a portion of what we owed. That made the monthly totals easier to digest, but it also meant the numbers were incomplete. Some of our largest debts and payments were happening entirely outside the series.
Instead of continuing to publish updates that only told part of the story, I decided to pause, recalculate everything, and rebuild the format.
🔄 What Is Changing
There will not be another traditional progress report for a couple of months while I reorganize the numbers and explore consolidating some of our higher-interest debt. I am predicting that the series will return in December, and when it does, it should be more complete, more useful, and hopefully better than before.
Here are the biggest changes I am planning:
When I first started The Debt Diaries, I explained that the series excluded several major debts: our mortgage, my student loans, Jerry’s Amazon card, and both of our auto loans.
Leaving those debts out made the total look much smaller than it really was. It also made our monthly payments look smaller, because a significant portion of the money we were sending toward debt never appeared in these updates.
Going forward, I plan to include both auto loans and Jerry’s Amazon card. Our total tracked balance will increase substantially, but the new number will be a more honest reflection of what we actually owe. Readers will also be able to see more of what we are truly paying each month instead of only the debts I originally selected.
Jerry and I are also planning to explore consolidating his Amazon card and my PayPal Credit balance. Both carry high interest rates, and continuing to make separate payments while watching so much money disappear into interest does not feel like the strongest long-term plan.
Ideally, we would qualify for a lower-interest personal loan and use it to pay off both accounts. That would combine two high-interest balances into one loan with one monthly payment and, hopefully, allow more of each payment to reduce the principal.
We are holding off on applying until December because my PayPal balance is still within a promotional no-interest period. There is no reason to rush into an interest-bearing loan while part of the balance is temporarily costing us nothing.
Debt payoff is only one part of what we are trying to accomplish financially. We are also working to rebuild our regular savings account and contribute more consistently to our sinking funds.
Sinking funds are smaller savings accounts or categories set aside for specific expenses and goals. Instead of waiting for a car repair, vet bill, holiday, or other predictable expense to become an emergency, the idea is to save toward it gradually.
I am considering tracking those balances in The Debt Diaries as well. Sharing the progress would help hold me accountable, and I like being able to compare the numbers from one month to the next. Paying off debt matters, but building savings is also part of creating a more stable financial life.
🚫 What Will Still Be Excluded
Even with the expanded format, there are still two major debts I do not plan to include in the monthly payoff totals: our mortgage and my student loans.
Our mortgage: We are not currently trying to pay it off aggressively. We still have a long way to go, and we would also like to move within the next few years. Mortgages are often described as “good debt,” although I am not entirely convinced that any debt feels particularly good.
My student loans: I am enrolled in the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program. Because I work as a public librarian, my remaining federal balance should be forgiven after ten years of qualifying payments under an income-based repayment plan. At this point, I have just under nine years remaining. We are therefore making the required monthly payments, which are still close to $400, rather than trying to pay the balance off aggressively.
Both debts are very real, and both require substantial monthly payments. However, they serve different roles in our financial plan than the consumer debts and auto loans we are actively trying to eliminate early.
📋 The New Scope
Included: Our existing tracked debts, Jerry’s Amazon card, and both auto loans.
Also Tracked: Progress in our regular savings account and sinking funds.
Excluded: Our mortgage and my student loans.
💭 Behind the Scenes
That is the plan for now. The Debt Diaries will be on a short, temporary hiatus while I recalculate the balances, reorganize the categories, and prepare the new format.
In the meantime, we will continue paying off debt behind the scenes. The lack of a public monthly report does not mean the work has stopped.
I will also admit that my spending has been a little worse lately than I would like. That is another reason this pause feels useful. Reworking the series gives me an opportunity to look honestly at where our money is going, rein in some unnecessary spending, and return with a clearer plan.
In a nutshell, the relaunched series will include nearly all of our debt, excluding only the mortgage and my student loans. The number will be bigger, but it will also be more accurate.
Sometimes progress means making another payment. Sometimes it means admitting the system needs work and rebuilding it before moving forward.
The Debt Diaries will be back.
Explore the full series on the Debt Diaries landing page.
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