Hey. Let’s have a talk.
You know my friend Ernie? The self-employed musician? The dude can hustle. As I’ve grown closer and closer to the Halters, he’s started sharing his financial advice with me. And I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about how smart he is with money and how inspiring that is….
and I decided that I want to be debt free.
Ernie and I were texting the other day. And I told him how I used to think the whole point of getting money was to spend it, and now I see that the point of money is to utilize it. I had this moment where I was looking at a big dentist bill and I thought “I wish I made enough money to take care of this,” and I realized… I DO make enough money to take care of it, the problem is that my money is tied up or spent elsewhere. In my life money tends to be spent instead of utilized.
I’ve spent the past few months reading about debt repayment and passive income. and I’ve decided that I want to embark on the debt free journey and I want to drag all of you along with me. That means I’m going to have to be honest and accountable, right?
I am currently $23,983 in debt, divided 3 different ways:
$20,775 is my car.
$1,809 is my dental credit line.
$1,399 is my credit card.
One big debt and two smaller debts. I know that according to the whole Dave Ramsey thing, I should be paying off the credit card first (hi Travis!!) but the dental credit line has an interest rate of 20%! Yikes! I want to get rid of that ASAP because that is kiiillllliiiinnnnggggg me.
Each month, I’ll post an income report – what I made, where I spent it, and my finance goals for the next month. Since this is my first one, here are my very gracious May budget goals because you have to start somewhere.Â
May Goals
Debt Repayment:
Put $150 of my income towards my dental credit ($75/paycheck).
Budget Limits:
Spend no more than $20 at Target, with the exception of gifts.
Spend no more than $40 on birthday/graduation gifts.
Spend no more than $80 on coffee (summer = iced coffee = buying coffee.. shh)
Side hustle goals:
Try to make $40 on the side to put towards my dental credit.
Part of me is so sad it’s taken me so long to get serious about paying off debt and being wise with my money.. but at the same time, I’m just glad something finally clicked and I have people who are wise with their money to look to.
Are any of you on a debt repayment journey? How has it been going? Any tips/pointers/etc you want to pass on?
We need to keep each other accountable! Megan and I know what we should be doing, but have kinda slacked off a bit because we’re saving money for Europe instead of paying off our debts. But we did already have this trip planned and tickets bought before we started, so we’ll have one last hurrah (with out incurring any more debt) and then start paying those suckers down.
Also, the interested definitely justifies paying off the dental credit line first. 🙂
yeah!!! let’s be an accountability team or something!!!! when are you guys going to europe? i have a trip to san francisco && nashville so i’m trying to remember that i’m doing what i can with what i have while not denying myself the chance to live, you know?
We will be gone May 18-30! We’re so excited!
That’s what so tricky about this – learning how to change habits but still feel like you can live. That’s why I’m driving for Lyft on the weekends.
you’re driving for lyft!! how is that going?? it’ll probably be easier for you guys once you’re back and not saving up for something big, you know?!?
This is so great! It’s a hard journey but once you start, as long as you stay focused, you can really take over the world! Also, I’d suggest downloading the Mint App. It’s a great reminder for me!
i’ve loved watching your journey!! how are you doing on it? i have that app! i check it ALLLL the time, even when i haven’t done ANYTHING. i feel like checking it at least keeps it at the front of my mind, you know?
I LOVE Mint!
me too!!
This is great! Can I ask what your “side hustles” are?
thanks! you should do it, too!! right now, i’ve been working on finding people to babysit for and selling stuff on ebay (which isn’t as profitable as i’d hoped) and then also things like swagbucks and survey sites. just anything that brings in a couple dollars here or there that will add up.
If you get any good pointers, pass them along. I’m currently trying to pay off a large debt as well and some days it feels like it’s going nowhere.
oh man. just remember that every little bit helps, you know? right now i still obsessively check the mint app every day, but i keep reminding myself i’m not going to see a massive number drop, it’s just going to slowly chip away until i am like “i paid off HOW MUCH!?” haha. stay strong! i’ll definitely pass along anything i learn!
Oh boy, yes. I’ve got student loans from undergrad still loomin but luckily I’ve always been a budgetor so even though they feel insurmountable, it all adds up in the end. Good luck girlie!
keep at it!!! do you have a target goal of when you’ll pay them off??
Great goals! I’m actually paying off my student loans right now, so I know how tough it can be. Keep the end in sight & good luck!
thank you so much, allie!!! best of luck with yours, too. i’m glad i don’t have student loans but my car loan is a beeeaaaassstttt!!!
Good luck! It’s tough getting out of debt but once you get there it feels fantastic! Not that I would know – I’m in the process of buying a house.
So happy to be dragged along with you and so proud of you that you are tacking your debt problem before it becomes a bigger debt problem. Wishing all the best! Thanks for encouraging us.