Okay it’s not quite the end of the month but it’s time to be honest and refocus. Even though I don’t spend a lot of money… a lot of money is spent, if that makes sense.
Last month my total debt was  $23,983, divided 3 different ways:
Car: $20,775
Dental Credit: $1,809
Credit Card: $1,399
UNFORTUNATELY, I didn’t factor in the fact that I’d JUST paid for maintenance on my car with my credit card. So as you’ll see in the following numbers, my credit card balance actually increased.
As of May 25, 2015, this is what those numbers look like
Car: $20,426 (-1.68%)
Dental Credit:Â $1,627 (-10.06%)
Credit Card: $1,668 (+19.23%)
My overall debt ($23,721) is -1.09% from last month.
It’s been a HUGE mental struggle, and here’s why.. the problems I encountered in my first month of debt repayment.
- I often buy things for my programs at church and then later get reimbursed. It makes it hard to feel like I’m not out spending money all the time. I currently have a pile of receipts on my desk and I plan to use the reimbursement check to put towards my debt.
- IÂ buy other people’s coffee. I’d made a goal for May to limit my coffee budget to $80, which is all fine and good until I realize how often I pick up other people’s coffee. I never knew if that counted towards my coffee or not. So then I kind of stopped caring.
- Sometimes I forget to take cash out. I do the very best when I am only spending cash – that way I can basically only spend what I see. Which is a great idea if I remember to actually take cash out. All it takes is one swipe of my card to make me feel discouraged.
Check out my May Goals here and read about this new journey to pay off my debt that I’ve embarked on.
I’m going to try and build a solid foundation for this month so I’m making things even more simple:
June Goals.
- $150 towards Dental Credit
- CASH ONLY (unless it includes reimbursement purchases, gas or coffee for other people)
- Drop my overall debt by 1.5%
I’m the opposite with cash! My marketing teacher said that people don’t spend cash as frivolously because it really feels like they’re spending. But for me, I think of the money in my debit account as my money. If the cash is already out of the account, it’s disposable income! Like, I’m way more likely to just pick up a coffee or something like that if I have cash in my wallet that I wouldn’t have otherwise purchased if I had to use my card. I think I’m weird.
haha yeah that is kind of weird… though i do get what you mean about thinking the cash is disposable income… i do best when i allocate the cash for things, like “this $40 is for coffee and when it’s gone, it’s gone.’ you know? i think as long as you have something that works for you… that’s all that matters.
i try to get cash out for groceries & a few other things so we can stick to the budget… but we have been forgetting to get cash out lately also. the bank isn’t really convenient to get to….but it really does help when we have cash & can see how much we have left for the month. you’re doing good on your repayment!!
oh man. i feel like i’m soooo whiny in my heart about not having a drive-through ATM on my way to work, but it is SO WORTH IT for me when i actually take money out because i truly spend less that way. are you guys budgeting to pay off things/save or just for the financial health of it?
we have a huge chunk of change to pay off with my student loans so we are trying to aggressively tackle those & pay them off in 3 yrs instead of the 10 they give us. if we manage to pay them off in 3 years… it’ll save us 13,000 in interest! CRAZY!!!
oh dang!!! that’s a LOT you’ll save… and so much quicker, too. you guys staying on track and everything??
We are a little behind the schedule I made but have paid off 65% in 2 years so if we hit it hard this year we will make it!
WHAAATTTTTT. you are amazing!! why aren’t you blogging about this?
mainly because i’m lazy & don’t blog about anything anymore! 🙂
Dangit. I’m gonna have to start a financial goal section of my blog too. This is too cool. Thanks for inspiring my dedication, Stephanie! <3
YAY! welcome to the club! you should make a post about your goals so i can bug you about being accountable ;D
It is so admirable of you to embark on such an endeavor, Stephanie! What a wonderful journey, and sharing it here creates an accountability factor that will be so helpful to you, I’m sure. God bless you in your endeavors!
cheryl! thank you so much for the encouragement!!! it was actually really scary to put these numbers out there – i didn’t want to be judged or anything, but the accountability has REALLY helped me. knowing that i have a month to get that number down has helped me really control my spending and stuff. way mores than if i’d just written it down in a journal and kept it to myself, you know!? thanks again for the encouragement <3
We got back from our trip on Saturday, so we’re going to get our budget figured out and I’ll message/email you what we come up with for accountability.
You’re being mindful of your money and that’s the first step. Don’t be discouraged!
Also, really great graphics for this!
YAY! i’m looking forward to it! i’m glad we’ll be able to lean on each other to keep each other accountable. next we’ll take over the world. and start a band called stephanie and the baristas. that was supposed to say batistas but my computer autocorrected it and i kinda like it.