I decided that I could start sharing my debt repayments through tables because it’s probably easier to understand visually.
So here’s how I did…
June |
July |
Change | Percent Change | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Loans
|
||||
| ECSI | 8471.31 | 8413.61 | 57.70 | -.6% |
| Upstart | 4813.25 | 4661.67 | 151.58 | -3.14% |
Credit Cards
|
||||
| Southwest (Chase) | 3054.27 | 2967.83 | 86.44 | -2.83% |
| Discover | 1374.53 | 965.99 | 408.54 | -29.72% |
| Combined Debt | 17713.36 | 17009.10 | 704.26 | -3.97% |
What you need to know is I paid off $704.26! After moving, new home expenses, and rebuilding my emergency fund for May and June, it was nice to have an actual month of paying off debt.
Looking at numbers like this reminds me how important it is to pay off this debt. Here’s why: I paid way more than this much this month, but so much went towards interest. Like the $130 Southwest payment was almost equally divided between Interest and Principal. My $93 payment on my ECSI loan when 40% towards interest! The sooner I can get these debts gone, the lest money I’ll be wasting by paying interest.
July’s success can be attributed to a lot of planning. Considering I was traveling 12 of the 31 days in July and I adopted a dog, staying on or about budget enough to still make big payments was great! I still went over a little because of some major vet bills, but I’ve figured those out already. Hopefully, August will finally lead to some extra side money: my reimbursement from College 7s, my pay and reimbursement from RCTs, some sponsored posts, including this one. My hope is that these can all offset the finagling I had to do to afford Bo’s mostly one-time expenses.
Going into August, I know that Casey is going to be gone for most of the month. As a result, we should stay really under budget in our joint account (and hopefully build a cushion for future months). That will help protect from future Bo-related expenses. I’m bummed that he’s going to be gone a lot over the next three months (most of the next three months, anyway), but I know that when he is gone, I’m less likely to spend on things except food. I know that I’m much more likely to splurge on food because I don’t want to cook for one.
On the horizon, I can see that Discover card being paid off really soon. It won’t happen in August (unless I can find an extra $688 which is highly unlikely), but it will happen in September! This one is SO CLOSE that I can taste it!
Let’s talk: How did you do with your debt repayment this month?
Emilie is an Army Wife, Data Engineer, and CrossFitter with a love for working through her thoughts in this space on the internet. She lives with her husband Casey and their pup Bo in Savannah, GA.
Bailey says
Good job Emilie! My husband and I had a lot of unexpected expenses pop up, but we managed to stay pretty close to our budget. We’re hoping to build up our cushion once we get retro-paid for BAH and BAS.
Emilie from BurkeDoes.com says
That’s nice. When do you think you’ll start debt snowballing again?
Bailey says
Hopefully soon! We’re waiting on back-pay from BAS and BAH to kick in so we can rebuild our $1,000 emergency fund, which should be on the next paycheck, and then from there I’d like to put at least something each month towards debt snowballing. Even if it’s just a small amount like $20 or something, it will still help! I’m used to having big debt snowflakes because of working 2 jobs and living at home, but until I find a job here the name of the game will be “slow and steady”.
Jen says
It really is nice being able to pay off debt! It’s always such a relief. Great job! 🙂
Emilie from BurkeDoes.com says
Thanks Jen! I would love to be down to only two debts by the end of the year. Fingers crossed!
Alejandra says
Way to go! You are doing amazingly well! It kills me every time I look at mortgage paperwork and I see how much is going to interest, and how little it going toward the principal. It’s INSANE!
Emilie from BurkeDoes.com says
Right?! It really killed me that I would make a $100 payment on my Southwest card and get slammed with $50 in interest! I just was able to do a balance transfer, though, that will give me 0% for a couple of months. That should help get me to my next goals!
brokeGIRLrich says
Way to go! And you’re right about interest being a major bummer – but at least you’re getting there. Slow and steady!
Emilie from BurkeDoes.com says
Absolutely!!
Pia @ Mama Hustle says
Debt repayment is going super well this month for me as well! That interest is a killer though. I recently calculated how much we’re paying in interest per month, and it really bummed me out. It added to my motivation to pay this debt off as fast as possible!
Emilie from BurkeDoes.com says
Right?! That’s exactly what I’m suing it as, a motivation!!
Theresa says
It’s definitely good to think about this! I’ve got a lot to think over regarding debt repayment too.
Emilie from BurkeDoes.com says
Do you have a plan to tackle your debt? I’m happy to chat!
Wendie Schneider says
This is so encouraging. I have been building and growing a business so alot of time and money has gone that route this year. I was able to pay a credit card off last month and and have a little bit more. Your blog post encouraged me to keep it up! Thank you 🙂
Emilie from BurkeDoes.com says
Go Wendie! Go! How can I help keep you motivated to pay off debt?
Katie Arnold says
Great work, girl!! I’m really still dealing with my debt and watching it as it’s about to grow significantly, BUT as strange as this sounds, it’s a MUST for me to let it grow quickly now so I can start paying it off vs paying towards something that is just depreciating in value and not being able to touch the debt yet. I’d rather start paying towards the debt, even though it will be large and overwhelming. (As strange as that may sound…it’s a long story)
Emilie from BurkeDoes.com says
Do you want to talk more? I don’t want to pry, but I would love to hear more details.
Jenny says
You did well in July – good job! I have loved following your debt repayment jounrey.
xoxo, Jenny
Emilie from BurkeDoes.com says
Thanks Jenny! I can’t wait to see you launch confetti social!