pay off my debt

this was going really well til the economy took a nosedive. i decided to commit most of my extra savings to my emergency fund instead of debt. i’m still paying it down regularly, just not in big chunks. once i accumulate enough in savings to not worry about what will happen if i lose my jobs, i’ll be back on it again.

i discovered recently that the value of my car (a 2006 mini s) had gone way up because of demand. i realized if i sold it, i could make a decent profit. so i did, and that gave me $6,000 extra to use to pay off debt. i have enough for a down payment on a new car, and i’ll get one that will lower my car payment as well.

i’ve been working really hard on this, using the debt snowball concept. i’m paying a ton of attention to my spending, and sending anything extra i get (like my economic stimulus package) to pay off debt.

i’ve been following this for only 4 months now, and my debt’s down a TON. i’m excited!

ok, now that i feel like i’ve got all my investments in line, i’m going to start working on this hardcore. i’ve done all the math and realize how much more money i’d have every month if i wasn’t paying credit card bills. it’s not cripping at all, it’d just be a ton more that i’d have free to save and for travel!

i’ve done a much better job of this lately; every time i get a chunk of money, i send it to my credit card. i’m trying to balance paying off debt and investing, though.

my tax refund will go towards debt too!

i’m way too casual about it because it’s not a problem, i just know i should get it paid off. BUT, i got $1000 for a work bonus, and $1000 from my parents for xmas, and sent all of it to my credit card. also, i’m putting away $250 or more from every paycheck; anytime that account reaches $1000, i’ll send that too.

we switche pay periods: now instead of being paid once at the beginning of the month, we’ll get paid twice.

therefore, whatever i have left over in savings after my april 15th paycheck is dedicated to paying off debt. should be a couple thousand bucks.

closed a paid-off credit account, and an old account i had with dell (paid off for a long time, but it’ll help make my credit rating even better to not have it).

i also changed insurance companies for auto and renter’s, and that’ll save me $833/year!

as far as credit cards, i’m down to three. i want to keep two (my low-interest card from my bank, and the one that gives me frequent flier miles, which i pay off automatically each month). one more to go!

i’ve decided to pay more attention to all the little expenses i usually think nothing of. like the $1-$2 i pay for going to an atm not in my bank’s network. parking fees i can avoid. coffee all the time. buying only things i really need. using all the food in my fridge. that stuff really adds up.

i know i’ve spent way less money just making coffee at home in the morning.

i just sent another big chunk to pay stuff down from my taxes. i just realized i could easily have all my debt erased completely this year, even the car loan. i love knowing that.