Abbybob's Personal Debt Cutters Thread

[Abbybob]

Debt Cutters

How much debt do you need to reduce?

About $18,000

How did you get in debt?

Student loan, Car loan

You've accrued debt. What are the main factors that keep you from reducing it now?

We're living pretty frugally right now. We try not to charge anything on our Am. Ex. It is for emergencies only.

Have you created a budget?

Yes, and we are sticking to it.

List your top 5 budget busters?

Gas, work expenses for DH (he gets reimbursed, but it can take a while), vehicles repairs, cost of new medications for me

What is your plan to get out of debt?

Use the stockpiles- Eat at home, take lunch from home, make our own entertainment, coupon, use our rewards (mypoints, etc.) pay down as much as we can and save, save, save every penny.

List your debt with balance, monthly payment, and interest rates.

Student Loan $3,700 $300 (min. payment is $250, we pay $300) 9.49%, Car Loan about $15,00 $350/mo (min payment is $300, we pay $350), .9% (SCORE!!)

How much will you try to reduce your debt by this year?

We will have the student loan paid off by the end of the year- I may pull some money out of savings or have a garage sale when the balance is below $1000. I will just keep chipping off the car payment as best as I can!.

What kind of support do you need from fellow Debt Cutters to help keep you on track?

Seeing how everyone else tackles their debt is my motivation!

[Abbybob]

I just wanted to add that we have already filed our taxes and used part of the refund to pay down my student loan, which is why it's at $3,700 (instead of $6,800), so I am completely dedicated to 2010 being the year of that we get out of debt and hole every penny we can.

2010 is the year of "the Free". I am saving money and enjoying as much of "the Free" as I can.

[puakinikini]

Way to go - that is great that you have made such a huge dent in your student loan! Just stick with it. I agree that trying to go after the student loan is smart, given the interest rates. Plus, I know that cars are debt, but I kinda see it differently in that you are paying for transportation. I know, no one will agree with this - but I have had a car payment most of my adult life and just see it as a necessary expense, like rent.

[Abbybob]

Jen- The way we see it, our interest rate on the car loan is only .9% and the student loan is 9.49%, so the faster we pay that off, the better.

My husband had to take a 25% pay cut not long ago, so we have really had to tighten our belts.

I really want to get out from underneath our debt and built up our savings. I'm working as hard as I can right now to make extra money.

[Abbybob]

I got a bonus at work! All of it will go towards my student loan debt. That means this months payment will be $1300, bringing the balance down to $1690.00!

WOO HOO!

We've been sticking to the budget and paying down bills like no ones business! We had a garage sale recently, and put al of the money into savings.

And when I was cleaning the closet I found an old piggy bank with $150 in change! CHA CHING!

And, a mega money saver- I moved all of my prescriptions to Costco and we're saving about $30/mo. I was also taken off two meds, and that saves us $100/mo too!

[puakinikini]

Wow! You are doing fantastic- way too go. Congratulations on your raise! That is great news.

[Spanelli8706]

Awesome. Keep it up!!

[Abbybob]

We're chugging away at the student loan, I was able to throw a couple extra hundred bucks that way this month.

We're doing the All You Grocery Challenge this month, so I am using the extra money for bills.

DH had to get a new suit for work (he wears a suit 6 days a week), but I had some money saved for it. I knew it was coming, and there was a coupon and a sale at Mens Warehouse, so he got 2 suits for the price of 1 and 20% off!

Thanks so much for all the support, when i get discouraged, I come here and I know I am in good company!

[Abbybob]

We're chugging away at the student loan, I was able to throw a couple extra hundred bucks that way this month.

We're doing the All You Grocery Challenge this month, so I am using the extra money for bills.

DH had to get a new suit for work (he wears a suit 6 days a week), but I had some money saved for it. I knew it was coming, and there was a coupon and a sale at Mens Warehouse, so he got 2 suits for the price of 1 and 20% off!

Thanks so much for all the support, when i get discouraged, I come here and I know I am in good company!

[jenrose]

Gret job reducing your debt.

I had a small suggestion for you. If you are paying an extra $50 on your car payment each month, why don't you funnell that $50 towards your student loan which has a much higher interest rate. That way the student loan gets paid off faster then you can snowball that freed up money towards your car after the higher interest rate is gone.