This is SO LATE! I literally got alllllll of these details and numbers all ready and APPARENTLY I forgot to actually post this. I’m eye rolling SO HARD right now.

This month we did a pretty good job of paying off debt. Nothing super great, but I see that we’re nearly at 23% of our debt paid off this year and our goal is to have paid off 33% this year so we are doing really well. I wish I could say we were working extra hard and scaling back, but we’re really just coasting right now.

I think once we’re on to Justen’s car, it’s game. on. because #1. that number doesn’t fluctuate, and #2. freeing up his car payment will give us so. much. more. money in our monthly budget (the payment isn’t insane, but it’s our 3rd largest set payment behind rent and my car).

But first the Southwest card has just become a beast, because it just keeps going up and down. I 100% understand why Dave Ramsey says to CUT UP your credit cards because it’s so hard to get on top of right now. It’s connected to my essential oils account and my Southwest travel account and a bunch of small recurring payments (like hosting, Netflix, etc) and I’ve never gone in to change those. We’ve had a few unexpected expenses come up that we’ve put on the card and then I use my Poshmark money to pay it down each month, but it’s hard when those unexpected expenses are huge. So anyway. Even though that’s sometimes really frustrating, I’m just remembering that we’re so on track for hitting our goal and I don’t need to be disappointed that I’m not on track to be an overachiever, lol 😉

May 2018 Debt Repayment Recap

Southwest CC: 394.57 278.25 {-29.48}
Stephanie’s Phone:  706.43 0.00 {-100%}
Justen’s Car:  5248.73 5060.18 {-3.59%}
Stephanie’s Car:  13,136.83 12,899.31 {-1.80%}

Total:  19,186.56 $18,237.74 {-4.94%}

2018 Total Payoff: $23,661.40 $18,237.74 {-22.92%}

Last month I decided to try and start bi-weekly Poshmark Paydays. That didn’t work, like at all. I stupidly turned my credit card into what I was using to purchase my Poshmark inventory and so that created a balance on my credit card. Instead of bi-weekly I decided to start weekly Poshmark paydays.

Also, for whatever reason, I’m just really struggling to save up to pay off my phone. Maybe because it’s the mental thing of having to save the whole remaining balance in order to pay it off, but it’s just a bit of a struggle right now. Anybody have any ideas for that?

My car seems to have dropped a lot but it’s because this recap is coming a little late, so two car payments have posted whereas usually there’s just one when this recap posts.

ONE LAST THING. Working for yourself and having an irregular income is hard for me with this debt repayment stuff. I did really well when I’d get a consistent paycheck from an employer, but it’s hard for me to get my feet underneath me. I’m figuring out what payment schedule works best for me, and we’re now taking all of our monthly bills out of Justen’s paycheck so I’m hoping that helps me see my paycheck as the fuel for our debt destroying fire.

Southwest CC: 0 394.57 
Stephanie’s Phone: 744.02 706.43 {-5.05}
Justen’s Car:  5399.22 5248.73 {-2.78%}
Stephanie’s Car:  13,647.05 13,136.83 {-3.73%}

Total:  19790.29  19,186.56 {-3.05%}

2018 Total Payoff: $23,661.40 $19,186.56 {-18.911%}

This month was all about maintaining. We’ve still been treading water waiting for more hospital bills to roll in. But the good news is that even when we’re paying minimum payments, the number goes down.

Two things have happened behind the scenes this month:

1. I decided to create Poshmark Paydays for myself. As fun as it is transferring $15 or $20 or $38 dollars a few times a day, it’s made me a little out of touch with how much money I’ve been making. Now I transfer my balance every other Thursday (so it’ll hit on Friday). It helps me feel more like I have a job and less like I’m just casually making side money.
2. I started squirreling away (small amounts of) money to eventually pay off my phone, which doesn’t allow additional payments. Because it has to be paid in full, I started the process to saving up the $700 to pay it off.

Here’s something really exciting. We’re under $20,000!!!! This month has felt so mundane with our debt repayment that this little victory is exactly what we need to stay the course.

Stephanie’s Phone: 779.02 744.02 {-4.49}
Justen’s Car:  5,619.12  5399.22 {-3.91%}
Stephanie’s Car: $14,144.65 13,647.05{-3.51%}

Total: $20,542.79 19790.29 {-3.66%}

2018 Total Payoff: $23,661.40 $19,790.29 {-16.36%}

It’s been a month, y’all.

We finally got some of our medical bills. Which is great because I just want them gone, and we can’t get rid of them if we don’t have the amount. We decided to pay them off via credit card, and here’s why:

1. Consolidate payments
   Instead of having to pay two extra accounts, the two accounts we’ve been throwing money at will just get a surge in balance.
2. Easier payments
   Because both of the cards are with my primary bank account and my income is almost completely dedicated to debt repayment, I can log into one account and make all of our payments from there.
3. More vision on the numbers
   I check the credit card totals daily, because I often transfer my Poshmark earnings out daily. That means I see our goals every single day, and I try to make payments as often as possible.

It’s mostly a mind game, I guess. What is the most accessible way to pay our debts off faster? is the question I asked, and this was it. We swapped out owing new debt on new accounts for owing MORE debt on familiar ones. At the end of the day, do whatever you need to do to stay motivated and pay things off at an aggressive speed.

We received $1,851.12 in medical bills this month. UGGGHHHH. We put them on our Disney card to get the reward points (we’re going to Disneyland in May) and then paid them off. Just know that in addition to the debt repayment, we’ve been cash flowing our medical bills. I’m just glad to pay them off and not carry that balance!

We also decided that while we are going to pay my phone off as part of our debt repayment, we’re keeping it out of the snowball for now because we can’t throw extra payments at it – we have to pay it off in full. Once we’re done with the credit cards we’ll start saving for paying that off, but we need to keep up the momentum of $20 payments here and there that result in the number dropping. SO ANYWAY!

Here it is, y’all. Phew. I actually literally cannot wait to no longer be posting these because we’re debt free. One day!

Stephanie’s Phone: 814.99 779.02 {-4.41%}
Southwest Credit Card:  $314.81 0.00 {-100%}
Justen’s Car: $5,987.04 5,619.12 {-6.14%}
Stephanie’s Car: $14,394.65 $14,144.65 {-1.73%}

Total: $21,064.91 $20,542.79 {-2.47%}

2018 Total Payoff: $23,661.40 $20,542.79 {-13.18%} 
We’re 39.93% of the way to our 2018 goal of paying off 33% of our debt!

To catch up on the whole Debt Repayment journey, click here.

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