Technically, this is a recap of two months because I skipped September (oops!). Overall, things are good! We had more unexpected large purchases – good and bad – but thankfully, focused hard on paying cash for them. We did a No Spend September, to wonderful results, and met with our financial advisor to change our overall game plan.
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:
- No Spend September was a huge success. We limited all spending to our budgeted items only and complete cut out extra spending (including things like dining out, clothes, books, etc.) We have those items already budgeted into our monthly finances but we have a nasty habit of “finding money” to cover overspending in those areas. The motivation for doing a No Spend September was to build up a bigger cash buffer in our budget. Because we worked so hard at it, all of our budget line items are fully funded through November. Meaning, any money we make this month is going toward December bills. How great is that?
- I did a crazy amount of business in October (both a good and bad thing – haha) which allowed us to pay cash for a number of large expenses that popped up, including our fridge compressor going out, new furniture being shipped earlier than we anticipated, and business related expenses. While I would have loved to throw all that money at our debt, we didn’t take on ANY new debt, which feels a bit like a miracle.
- Meeting with our financial advisor was a great gut-check on where we’re at with our financial health. It can be easy to get frustrated not making as much progress toward paying off our debt as I would like, but we also are investing funds (non-negotiable for us) and so to see how much our total portfolio contains is a relief. He gave a us a few ideas of how to change up our debt pay-off methods and gave us a lot of encouragement about where we’re at.
Some things that didn’t go well this month:
- Our biggest challenge this month were the unexpected expenses, which, as mentioned above, wasn’t all bad.
So here’s where we stand:
| Debt | Balance: August 31 | Balance: August 31 |
| Student Loan 1 | $0.00 – YAY! | $0.00 – YAY! |
| Student Loan 2 | $0.00 – YAY! | $0.00 – YAY! |
| Credit Card 1 | $0.00 – YAY! | $0.00 – YAY! |
| Student Loan 3 | $4,700.66 | $4,471.55 |
| Personal Loan | $9,088.71 | $8,875.35 |
| Renovation Loan | $10,421.46 | $10,00.93 |
| Credit Card 2 | $21,929.64 | $22,431.06 |
| Credit Card 3 | $15,920.39 | $15,083.98 |
| Total: | $62,060.86 | $60,962.87 |
Things that are keeping us motivated:
- Getting reassurance from our financial advisor about our methods and our overall portfolio has reinvigorated us to stay focused on the bigger picture.
- We knew this debt journey wouldn’t be without ups and downs and we’re really leaning into the small bit of progress we’re finding month-to-month. Being able to look at a total debt balance decreasing, rather than being discouraged by the credit card going up is just the right amount of perspective to keep us moving forward.
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
You are making great progress…you’re inspiring. I splurged this month and used my card to keep my cash on hand. I could have paid but it’s close to Christmas so…I was bad. All said and done I probably stayed even this month.