💸 The Debt Diaries (11): July 2026
This month in money, mess, and progress... the numbers are moving again.
The Debt Diaries is officially back, and this is my first regular monthly update since 2018.
Last month, I shared A New Chapter, where I caught everyone up on nearly nine years of financial changes and explained how I went from tracking a mortgage, student loans, personal loans, credit cards, and two auto loans to having just two loans remaining today.
July was my first full month of tracking everything again, and it turned out to be a slightly strange one. My retirement loan finally started moving in the right direction, while my auto loan balance somehow didn't move at all between my two monthly checkpoints. I also had an unexpected expense that pulled money back out of savings, while my credit score quietly moved a few points higher.
It wasn't a dramatic month, but it was a realistic one: some progress, a setback, and a few numbers that required more investigating than I expected.
💳 Debt Overview
Each monthly Debt Diaries update will summarize the previous month's financial progress using balances from the first day of the following month. For July, that means comparing my balances from July 1, 2026 with the balances I recorded on August 1, 2026.
This gives me one consistent checkpoint every month, even when statement dates, payment dates, and account reporting don't line up neatly with the calendar.
The progress bars below represent the percentage of each loan that has been repaid based on the original amount borrowed.
Previous Month's Balance: $13,389.80
Payments: −$290.00
Accrued Interest: +$55.66
Current Balance: $13,155.46
Previous Month's Balance: $16,037.36
Current Balance: $16,037.36
📊 Grand Total Snapshot
Current Total: $29,192.82
💸 Where the Money Went
All of the measurable debt reduction this month came from the retirement loan.
I paid a total of $290 toward it during July. At the same time, another $55.66 in interest accrued, leaving me with an actual balance reduction of $234.34.
Accrued Interest: $55.66
That means about 80.8% of what I paid was enough to overcome the interest that accrued during July and lower the balance. After revisiting some of my old Debt Diaries posts, where interest sometimes swallowed a much larger portion of what we paid, I'll happily take that.
The auto loan is less satisfying to report this month. I made my regular monthly payment, but the balance I recorded on August 1 was still showing $16,037.36, exactly where it stood on July 1.
I'm assuming that's simply a quirk of when my payment posted compared with when the account balance updated. Rather than estimate how much should have gone toward principal and interest, I'm leaving the balance exactly as it appeared at my monthly checkpoint. Hopefully next month's numbers will sort themselves out.
💰 Savings
I'm also tracking my savings again, but I've decided not to publish the actual balance. Instead, I'll share how much went in, how much came back out, and the net change each month.
Withdrawals: −$705.00
I did continue adding to savings during July and deposited another $400. Unfortunately, I also withdrew $705, so I ended the month down $305 overall.
The biggest withdrawal was $450 for a new iPhone.
I don't love watching savings move backward, especially while I'm actively trying to save for a house. At the same time, this is exactly why I've worked so hard to rebuild the account. I was able to replace something I needed without putting the expense on a credit card and creating another balance to pay off.
So yes, savings went backward in July.
But I still saved $400 during the month, handled a larger expense, and stayed out of revolving debt. The next step is putting the money back.
📈 Credit Score
Current Score: 760
Change: +3 points
My credit score increased from 757 to 760 this month.
Three points isn't exactly an earth-shattering jump, but at this stage, I'm not looking for dramatic increases. After watching my score fall into the 500s during my divorce, reaching this point has been the result of a lot of smaller financial decisions stacked on top of each other.
My goal now is mostly maintenance: keep every payment on time, keep the credit cards paid off, avoid unnecessary new debt, and protect the progress I've already made as I prepare to buy a home.
✅ Wins This Month
- My retirement loan balance finally moved meaningfully in the right direction.
- Automatic retirement-loan payroll deductions finally started.
- I reduced my total debt by $234.34.
- I added $400 to savings during the month.
- My credit score increased from 757 to 760.
- I replaced my phone without creating new credit card debt.
- I remained completely free of revolving credit card debt.
⚠️ What I Struggled With
- My savings ended the month $305 lower than where it started.
- My auto-loan balance didn't show any movement between my July 1 and August 1 checkpoints.
- More than $55 in new interest accrued on the retirement loan.
- I'm still balancing two major priorities: building savings for a house and getting rid of my remaining debt.
💭 Real Talk
July feels like one of those months where the numbers don't tell the whole story.
On paper, my debt dropped by $234.34. That's nowhere near some of the larger monthly reductions I used to dream about when I wrote this series years ago.
But my finances also look completely different now.
I don't have six different debts competing for my attention anymore. I have two. I don't have credit card balances accumulating interest in the background. My credit score is 760. I've rebuilt a real savings cushion. And I'm simultaneously trying to prepare to buy a home again.
The retirement loan finally moving in the right direction is probably my favorite part of this month's update. For nearly two years, I wasn't paying on it at all, and I watched the interest slowly erase progress I'd already made. By the time I finally started paying again, the balance had climbed almost all the way back to the original amount I borrowed.
Now it's moving down again.
I'm less thrilled about savings.
I deposited $400 during July, but $705 came back out, leaving me down $305 overall. The biggest expense was replacing my phone. I could have put the purchase on a credit card and preserved the savings number, but that would have defeated the entire point of what I'm trying to build.
The goal isn't to have a savings account that never gets touched.
The goal is to have enough money sitting there that when life happens, I don't have to create new debt to deal with it.
Still, I want that $305 back.
That's probably one of the biggest differences between the old Debt Diaries and this version. I used to judge financial progress mostly by how quickly the debt number fell. Now I care about several numbers at once: debt, savings, credit, and whether I'm actually building a financial life that can absorb normal expenses without unraveling.
July moved me forward in some places and backward in another.
That's okay. August already has its assignment.
My main financial goal for August is simple: add at least $305 back into savings and recover what I lost this month. My regular debt payments will continue automatically in the background, but rebuilding that money is where I want my extra cash to go first.
Explore the full series on the Debt Diaries landing page.
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