💸 The Debt Diaries: May 2018
Welcome back to The Debt Diaries! Check out how we did in May. Spoiler alert: I think we did REALLY well. What do you think?
💳 Debt Overview
Personal Loan
Starting Balance: $14,853.07
Payments: –$250.00
Interest: +$161.15
Ending Balance: $14,764.22
Debt Reduced: –$88.85
Visa Card
Starting Balance: $1,017.66
Payments: –$340.00
Interest: +$9.85
Expenditures: +$118.93 ($81.60: Y membership + $20: ultrasound copay + $17.33: lunch)
Ending Balance: $806.44
Debt Reduced: –$211.22
My Jeep
Starting Balance: $5,386.36
Payments: –$233.79
Interest: +$17.69
Ending Balance: $5,170.26
Debt Reduced: –$216.10
Jerry's Jeep
Starting Balance: $5,969.02
Payments: –$171.26
Interest: +$44.57
Ending Balance: $5,842.33
Debt Reduced: –$126.69
Mortgage
Starting Balance: $74,123.33
Payments: –$796.56
Interest/Escrow: +$677.54
Ending Balance: $74,004.31
Debt Reduced: –$119.02
Student Loans
Starting Balance: $51,128.87
Payments: –$400.92
Interest: +$284.29
Ending Balance: $51,012.24
Debt Reduced: –$116.63
📊 Grand Total Snapshot
Current Total: $151,599.80
💸 Where the Payments Went
Total Paid: $2,192.53
Went to Interest: $1,314.02
Went to Principal (Actual Debt Reduction): $878.51
That means 40.06% went towards our principal balance, which is up quite a bit from last month’s 34.6%. I’m happy with that jump! I can’t wait until this reaches 50% and more though. Interest is such a money sucker, and so pointless!
✅ Wins This Month
- Extra Visa payment thanks to a rare five-paycheck month.
- Added money to both regular savings and Caleb’s preschool account.
⚠️ What I Struggled With
- Used the credit card for an ultrasound and lunch afterward.
- Need to plan better for Wednesday expenses before Thursday payday.
💠Real Talk
This was an awesome month for us! I’m thinking that in a typical month, we will be able to reduce debt by between $650 – 750, but it was higher this month because it was a five-paycheck month (which happens usually once or twice a year), and I budget based on our typical four checks a month. That means that our last check of the month was almost all “available” money since most of our May bills were already paid for. YESSS.
We were able to put a good extra chunk onto the Visa, and also squirrel some money away into our regular savings account for maternity leave and Caleb’s savings account for his preschool tuition. The check was also a little higher than normal too, since it was one of Jerry’s check, he carries our health insurance, and that only comes out of the first two checks of the month (and this was his third). YIPPEE!
I’m not gonna lie… I looked forward to this paycheck ALL MONTH because I knew we were going to crush some goals with it. I woke up that morning and immediately got to work on paying the Visa card and transferring money to savings. It made me all kinds of giddy.
The only bad thing I have to say is that we used the credit card for an ultrasound and then lunch right after our appointment. Wednesdays are tough days for us money-wise since we get paid on Thursdays. I need to be better about making sure we still have money we might need for Wednesday things.
Shooting for a debt reduction of around $700 next month, since I know this was a rare kind of month for debt repayment. Wish us luck!
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