Well, I have been aggressively paying down my debt since November1, 2011. I started with $86433 and as of today, I owe $61951. Recently, I renegotiated my house, truck, and ATV insurance which reduced my insurance costs by $800/year. I have a rental property that I am renewing the mortgage on at a lower interest rate; the new mortgage will reduce the amortization and save me about $1600 over the next 5 years. I have paid off all of my high interest credit cards...i added up the interest I paid on these cards in the past year and I realized I paid about $3600 over the past 12 months to the bank. I could have taken my girlfriend to Caribbean but, nope, I paid the bank.

With the realized savings from the changes to my insurance, interest payments, and mortgage, I hope to increase my monthly debt payments to $2500/month. I plan to pay off an additional $30000 in debt by November 1, 2013.

Congratulations on the phenomenal progress -- both in paying down your debt and addressing insurance costs and interest rates! As you pointed out, I think a lot of people would be shocked at the amount of interest paid and what they could have used that money for instead of servicing debt. Best of luck on your next year's goal! You can make it happen!

Thanks for the reply, Leraindrop.

I was shocked when I added up my interest payments for the credit cards. I am on a roll...4 months of not carrying a balance on a credit card and I have zero intentions of doing so again.

Tonight, I completed a budget for the year. I don't think I missed anything, but with all of my income and expenses accounted for, minus misc purchases which I have started tracking, I have an annual surplus of $24000; obviously, this amount will be less once I account for the misc expenses. Still, I should have a surplus in the mid teens. If so, I will be increasing my debt payments to get to freedom quicker.

I also have about $8500 in an investment account that I might liquidate in order to pay down more of my debt. I am emotionally attached to the investments more than anything but I think it makes sense to use the money to pay down debt. Realistically, once my debt is paid, I could invest $8500 in a few months in lieu of the debt payment and have my investments back.

Annual Budget

Income (for the year)
Salary 69600
House #1 Rental Income 13560
House #2 Rental Income 6840

Total Income 90000 (net)

Expenses (for the year)
Mortgage #1 17147
Mortgage #2 5226
Truck Insurance 978
House Insurance #1 1283
House Insurance #2 347
Electricity 2000
Gas 1800
Water, Sewer, Garbage 500
Quad Insurance 205
Cell Phone 240
Home Phone 1116
Sirius Satellite 204
Shaw Direct 924
Debt Payments 24000
Groceries 4200
Gas (Truck) 4000
Vehicle Registration 140

Total Expenses 64310

Surplus/Deficit 25690

I live on the main floor of my house. The basement is rented. I am in the process of figuring out my day to day spending by recording my expenses. Once I have a month or two of records, I will look at what I am spending money on. Right now, I am frugal but, I think gas will be an area I can try to trim. I also think I can eat for less than $350/month, but I don't buy lunches and seldom eat out.

I agree, I pay a little over $12 a day. That money could be paying for a very nice lunch instead of to the bank!

unplugged71, after cutting my interest costs, I see an additional $300/month remaining in my bank account. Initially, I was paying $2000/month and due to saving on interest, I have pushed my debt payments to $2500. Occasionally, I put in a bit extra if it means I break a barrier, say getting below $60000.

Since my last post, I have paid off an additional chunk of debt. I now owe $53933. In 16 months, I have paid of $32500.

I seem to be hitting a mental block right now too. The reality of the mountain of debt I accumulated has me pretty angry these days. Hindsight is the best, isn't it?

I'm with you on the anger piece. My husband has $57k in student loans and my initial $20k now stands at $7k (four years later, which really isn't very good progress). I'm only just waking up and realizing what it means to essentially owe an entire year's worth of our pre-tax combined income. Scary stuff.

You should be incredibly proud of the progress you've made in 16 months. It's pretty clear that you're on your way to getting out from under your debt and are not eager to let it happen again. Keep up the good work--it's inspirational.

Lanthirel, I never took the time to add up all of my debts to see what I owed. Once I did, the number hit me hard. The wakeup call was definitely effective. Each month, I pay off $2500 in debt. If I were debt free, I could save for 4 months and go on a trip to Africa and that reality stings. At the pace I am going, I will be debt free in 21 months and I can't wait.

Well, I won't say that has been easy and I continue to have some struggles but I am nearly half way to being debt free. I now owe $47733. I am down to 4 loans that I am making payments on. Within the next few months, I should be down to a single loan.

I would sure like to do a financial audit to see what I have spent all of this money on since I sure don't have nearly enough to show for it.