Kim1013's Personal Debt Cutters Thread

[Kim1013]

Debt Cutters

How much debt do you need to reduce?

pay off credit card and car loan (new goal as of May 2011 is to pay off my student loan a year from now)

How did you get in debt?

using our credit card too much

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

not much money left over after bills are paid

Have you created a budget?

It's a work in progress since DH doesn't have a steady income. We budget as the money comes in.

List your top 5 budget busters?

gas, daycare, Christmas, trying to finish unfinished basement and landscaping

What is your plan to get out of debt?

follow Dave Ramsey's Total Money Makeover

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

Credit card - $3,159.03 - 11.99% - PAID OFF
Car loan - $4,791.19 - 3.5% - PAID OFF
Student loan - $12,590.33 - 3.75% - PAID OFF

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

$5,000.00 sounds like an attainable goal (blew our goal out of the water and we're only into month 2 of debt reduction. Have paid off $9,728.34 in debt so far!!!!!!)

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

encouragement, pointers and accountability

[Kim1013]

I ordered Dave Ramsey's book earlier this week so I'm hoping to get it before the weekend and read, read, read and then have DH and I plan our budget.

[Spanelli8706]

Good luck Kim!

[amylynne01]

You can do it!

I hated paying daycare so much that we dropped it last fall. I teach at a community college, so I have no need for daycare over the summer. However to keep the girls' spots, I had to send them and pay. DH and I worked our schedules so that one of us is always home with them. We've saved $560 a month by doing that!

Do any of your grocery stores offer gas rewards for purchasing certain items? Some stations in my area also offer a discount for buying on a certain day, like one gives an 8 cent discount on Tuesdays. It's not a lot of savings, but it is something!

[Kim1013]

Thanks ladies. I got Dave Ramsey's book in the mail and have started reading it. Some things are starting to click.

Yep, daycare is a killer. $150 per week goes towards daycare (2 kiddos, 4 days/week) and that is really cheap daycare in my area. Most people charge that per child per week so I'm very lucky to have found such a great daycare provider. The downside is it's 30 miles out of my way. I wish I could stay home with my kiddos but my job is too good with excellent health insurance and retirement contributions (I contribute 5.5% of my salary and they provide 8.5% of my salary), plus I love working for my boss.

We have a Dillon's and I have their plus card so I try to fill up at their gas station. My parents don't use their gas points so I get to use their discount too. I would love to eventually get a smaller car that gets better gas mileage but with two kids in big, bulky carseats, it's not going to happen. That's why I had to get a bigger car in the first place. DH couldn't ride in my car b/c the passenger seat had to be all the way forward when DD was in the car and trying to stuff a 6'3" man into a small car with the seat all the way forward was quite comical... and painful for him.

Going to make a large payment towards the CC tomorrow. Just waiting for DH to deposit the check into the bank.

[Kim1013]

Got a royalty check in the mail from work so I paid off the credit card. YAHOO!!!!!!!!!! Still have some money left over but it'll most likely get used towards bills since DH bought a bunch of lumber for the basement and a dental bill. But if there is any money left over after that then it's going towards paying off the car. We should be getting our tax return soon so hopefully we'll be getting money back from that and putting most if not all of it towards the car. I'm so excited to be getting out of debt.

[puakinikini]

You are doing great - keep up the great work. I think it is wonderful that you were able to pay off your cc with the royalty check. I find that if I put "extra" money that is not budgeted straight to my debt - it really makes it go down faster.

[Kim1013]

We met with our life insurance agent and have reduced our monthly contributions by ~$100.00. We didn't totally get rid of our whole life insurance but we did get rid of a couple of policies on DH (we had three and I have no idea why). We kept our term and stopped contributing to the kiddos' college fund so that freed up another $100. I haven't used my credit card since starting Dave Ramsey's plan and it's not that big of a deal or inconvenience. I'm still waiting on DH to get a debit card from our bank. I'm looking forward to next week when I make a big payment towards the car. I'm loving this debt reduction thing. For once I am completely aware where my money is going.

[Kim1013]

Made the basic student loan payment of $155.00.

[Kim1013]

Got our income tax return today and combined with the extra money in our savings account I paid off my car today!!!!! I have blown my goal out of the water but I'm not going to slow down. Have about $1,200 left over so it's going directly towards the student loan.