May was a time of slowing down in our house. With Hank working more, we had to make shifts to our routines, including how much I was working. I didn’t take on any new contracts in my business, which usually brings in extra funds for debt payments. The good news is we’re starting to get a feel for the revolving funds we can allocate toward our debts in the months to come. We have a few more changes coming as Hank’s benefits kick in, so that will change our budget, but we still don’t know exactly what that looks like. Overall, we were able to do some damage this month and even knocked out a debt!
If you missed out on our full plan for ditching our debt, you can catch up here.
Some things that went particularly well this month:
- We paid off another debt! Our first credit card was paid off and it feels so good! We’re still using the card but all purchases are being paid off right away with cash so we aren’t accumulating any new debt.
- Hank worked a ton of overtime this month and that helped throw a bit more at debt but also buffer us further into the future.
Some things that didn’t go well this month:
- We got a bit off target with our food budget this month. Honestly, I’m not entirely sure what happened – could have been the combo of Mother’s Day and my birthday, but we ate out a lot and still racked up quite a grocery bill. We’re keeping a much closer eye on it this month to stay on track and not have to cover going over budget.
- Credit Card 3’s promotional period expired so we’re now earning interest on the balance (just the existing – not the initial balance) and our normal monthly payment isn’t going as far as it was before. But it’s still the lowest interest rate of all our cards, so we’re sticking with the plan, even if we take a little hit every month from interest and fees.
So here’s where we stand:
| Debt | Balance: April 30 | Balance: May 31 |
| Student Loan 1 | $0.00 – YAY! | $0.00 – YAY! |
| Student Loan 2 | $1,310.51 | $1,176.17 |
| Credit Card 1 | $654.05 | $0.00 – YAY! |
| Student Loan 3 | $5,194.01 | $5,095.56 |
| Personal Loan | $9,424.92 | $9,340.27 |
| Renovation Loan | $10,952.62 | $10,819.77 |
| Credit Card 2 | $22,757.80 | $22,789.49 |
| Credit Card 3 | $17,500.00 | $17,186.13 |
| Total: | $67,793.91 | $66,407.39 |
Things that are keeping us motivated:
- We have more shifts to our budget coming in the next month once we stop paying for health benefits out of pocket. We don’t know exactly what that will look like from a budget-balancing standpoint (less pay in Hank’s checks vs no longer paying out-of-pocket) but it will be exciting when it all shakes out.
- Paying off another debt is so satisfying and seeing the snowball grow as a result is very motivating. Having bigger and bigger pieces to throw at our target debt makes the payments all the more fun to make.
You Need a Budget continues to be an amazing tool for us to plan ahead and ensure we can continue on this path. When you use this link to sign up, we’ll both get a month free!
Until next month!
xo,
Jen
