Do you ever feel like you’re not making progress with your debt? This month, I’ve felt like I was treading water with our finances. But after digging deeper into the numbers, I can see that we are still improving. It’s small, but it’s in the right direction.
We increased our debt payoff from 1.47% to 1.58% in a month when we took a one week family vacation (paid cash!). See the details in the chart below.
So, what did we do this month to attack our debt?
One.
I opened a new Citibank Mastercard.
Sounds counterintutive, but hear me out. They’ve been hounding me for months to open a card and the offers kept getting better. I bit when they offered ZERO percent interest for 21 months. That’s nearly two years of zero interest. The balance transfer fee was reduced to 3% as well.
The acquisition of this card has increased my credit availability and reduced my debt-to-credit ratio, which will help my credit score more than the hit for the credit inquiry.
I transferred two balances and am considering a third (Redstone Visa). The 3% balance transfer fee will be recouped in month four. I admit, I’m taking a gamble that our townhome will sell within 21 months and we will be able to pay the credit card off before the APR increases to $13.24%.
Two.
We had the daycare switch me in as the account holder so I can watch the balance on our account.
Their program only allows for one person to have this information. I figure, if I’m writing the checks, I need to know the balances. This is already helpful, as I see that we have a $299 credit (from overpayment) and I can reduce my September payment by that much, saving us cash.
Three.
We have put off (again) buying stuff that would make life more convenient.
My husband is using his old phone that has fewer capabilities and a smaller screen than our beloved Samsungs.
I have not repaired or replaced my beloved tablet (so I have to lug my laptop into bed or squint at my phone at night when I’m winding down).
We have not purchased any supplies to work on the greenhouse. Although Rocky picked up two free trampoline frames, one of which is hopefully going to be used for the frame of the greenhouse. FREE! (The other is going to be a chicken tractor and we can’t wait!)
Four.
We paid cash for our family vacation.
While I am aware that spending money when we are this deep in debt is not what Dave Ramsey would likely recommend, I also recognize that my children are only this small once and making memories with them is important to my husband and me. We skipped a vacation entirely last year because we had just bought the farmhouse. We paid cash (only went over budget $100 for a seven days’ stay). This, I can live with.
| Assets | Value | Owed | Totals |
| Farmhouse | $200,000.00 | $167,468.39 | $32,531.61 |
| Town house | $105,000.00 | $85,463.80 | $19,536.20 |
| Savings Accounts | $8,937.34 | $0.00 | $8,937.34 |
| Checking Account | $1,007.74 | $0.00 | $1,007.74 |
| Family Loan | $0.00 | $12,534.49 | -$12,534.49 |
| Discover | $0.00 | $2,085.58 | -$2,085.58 |
| Wells Fargo Visa | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 |
| REDFCU Visa | $0.00 | $72.30 | -$72.30 |
| Citibank MC | $0.00 | $4,081.13 | -$4,081.13 |
| American Express | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 |
| Barclay MC | $0.00 | $151.37 | -$151.37 |
| Chrysler Car | $10,000.00 | $0.00 | $10,000.00 |
| Ford Truck | $1,500.00 | $0.00 | $1,500.00 |
| $326,445.08 | $271,857.06 | $54,588.02 | |
| Assets | Liabilities | Net Worth | |
| Debt Payoff Percentage: | 1.58% | ||
| August 2016 |
What did you do to beat up your debt bully this month?
Comment below or email me. I read every message.
~ Erica