Day 128: Tiptoeing Forward

We’ve had a small step forward this month; or maybe a big step, depending on how you want to define it. Our debt actually went down across all categories, even credit cards. Only one credit card balances actually went up, but everything else was down. All told, we cut over $888 from our debt balance. It is a very exciting month for me, and the fact that my husband finally seems to be getting on board with some of my plans makes me very excited for us as a family and our financial picture.

We also got some good news from the county last week. They will be reimbursing us the out of pocket expenses that we incurred in January as a result of the county’s sanitary sewer flooding our basement. We will be receiving $1377 back from the county. My husband and I have discussed it and decided that $377 of that will be going towards credit card balances, and the other $1000 will go into a savings account for an emergency fund. We debated putting the entire amount towards a credit card, but decided that we are less stressed when we have an emergency cushion, even if it is only $1000.

We will be paying our Target credit card off in the spring, when we receive our tax return. Knowing that we give the government a “loan” every year doesn’t feel so bad when I know we’re getting a chunk back to apply towards our credit cards. I’ve already sat down and planned out where the money is going to go based on the expected refund. Last year we received a refund of over $4000. This year I anticipate it will be closer to $3000 because I’ve recently adjusted my withholding to put more money towards debt now, instead of waiting until tax time. I have abandoned my plan of paying off both Best Buy credit cards with the tax return because we’re not paying interest on them and I felt It was more important to pay the cards that we are paying interest on off.

I can’t wait to watch balances turn to $0. In March, the Target will be at $0, then in June, Best Buy #1 will be at $0, and then December will be Best Buy #2. With my anticipated bonus in April, we may even be able to pay down half the balance on CU 1 in the spring. The thought of eliminating that much debt makes me so giddy. More than that, the thought of being able to save money, instead of putting it all towards debt, makes me giddy.

We have been doing better than I anticipated at paying off debt and staying within our means. I may be able to resume contributions to my 401(k) after the first of the year. I just feel good.

Here is a picture of where the debt is as of the time that all October payments are made. The total for CU 2 is in gray because it has not yet been paid, but this is an estimate based on the minimum payment and total amount that will be applied towards interest.