Your right... I was sitting there looking at things I wanted and the amount I could save by buying them now. Then my brain started computing that savings into less I would have to pay overall for the equipment.

But in the end... I did the right thing... even though it doesn't feel like it right now.

Well done, though! You managed to wait, think it over, and decide not to make the purchase...that's a big step.

Do you have other debts that you need to pay? (It's been a while since your last numbers update.) I found it helpful to remind myself that, yes, I could spend $X on this thing that looks shiny and new and exciting right now, or I could put $X towards my credit card/loan payment and save myself paying more later. By calculating the opportunity cost of spending that money rather than putting it towards debt ($X * (1 + interest rate)), it helped make those "deals" seem like much less of a bargain.

Yeah... I have alot of other debt I need to get paid off. That is one of the things that helped keep me from putting anything on that card. If I looked at it from... it's just $500 then I would have been in trouble, but I also looked at the fact what that $500 would do to my overall numbers... and I just couldnt do it. Im still trying to get below 30k. Im currently sitting at 30654.21

If my calculations are correct and I can stick to my financial plan.... Sept 2014 is the magic date to be CC debt free.

First scheduled payoff is CC1 by Aug 2011 ($150 a month) -- Current balance 1235.83

Now I have a question for ya'll. Every month it seems like my monthly mins go down a bit due to a lower balance. Would you continue to pay the lower mins and put the difference per month on CC1 (probably only a couple bucks a month) ... OR just make it easier and just set the current min as that cards monthly payment which will put a little more towards that cards principal?

I would do whatever's easiest for you. If the numbers are only a few dollars, it's really not going to make a difference. Personally, I found I got really invested in paying off debt, so I'd "snowflake" even $0.50 just to see the numbers go down, so for me, I wouldn't mind taking the time to re-adjust the payment amounts to send the extra $3 (or whatever) to CC1. A lot of people would consider that a waste of time, though (really, I did, too, but I did it anyway because I'm a numbers geek).

You should post a current debt rundown/payoff plan. It can be simple, like:

CC1:
Balance: $1,235.83
Interest rate: 10.99%

CC2:
Balance: $X
Interest rate: Y%

etc.

You should also figure out how much you can "snowball" to your debt. If it's just the $3 you get by your minimums going down, so be it, but if you can scrounge up more money, do it. Focusing on your snowball (and growing it) should give you a "default" option for if/when you find yourself with extra money (rather than browsing Crutchfield!). You can use a calculator like this one to plug in your numbers and figure out when you should be debt-free.

I dont have the interest rates in front of me... but I can get close

CC1 - 1235.83 - 22% -- 48.00 min
CC2 - 2630.20 - 22% -- 78.00 min
CC3 - 6844.09 - 13% -- 140.00 min
CC4 - 4129.03 - 16% -- 82.00 min
Loan - 15815.09 - 12% -- 448.00 min

Total 30654.21

My game plan is to put $150 towards the principal on CC1 until it is paid off... then move to CC2

Plugging those numbers into the calculator I linked (which I now realise lists amounts in £, rather than $, but it still works), it shows:

(Assuming you meant the $150 as a snowball, not counting the $48 min from CC1 in the $150)

CC1: Paid off in September 2011
CC2: Paid off in July 2012
CC4: Paid off in June 2012 (following either low balance or high interest method, this should be debt #3 you ditch)
CC3: Paid off in July 2014
Loan: Paid off in July 2014

I plugged it in using both fixed minimums (so opting not to snowball the tiny extra from lowered minimums) and % of balance (which would include snowballing), and the payoff date is the same. Option 1 you pay $7,651 in interest, option 2 you pay $7,605. (I assumed the loan payments didn't decrease as you paid down the principal.)

No the Loan does not change.. it is 448 a month fixed for the life of the loan.

Now lets put my pen and paper numbers against your electronic ones and see how I did.

(your numbers)
CC1: Paid off in September 2011
CC2: Paid off in July 2012
CC4: Paid off in June 2012 (following either low balance or high interest method, this should be debt #3 you ditch)
CC3: Paid off in July 2014
Loan: Paid off in July 2014

VS

(my numbers)
CC1: Paid off Aug 2011 with $150 a month
CC2: Paid off in July 2012 with $200 a month (after cc1 is paid for)
CC4: Paid off in July 2013 with $280 a month (after cc1 & cc2 is paid for)
CC3: Paid off in July 2014 with $360 a month (after the others are paid for)

I cant even fathom how your numbers came out with paying off CC4 before CC2 but in the end... looks like my pen and paper comes out to your electronic with an end date of July 2014 Now I just have to get this ball rolling Jan 01

Sorry, that was a typo. CC4 would be done in June 2013.



I'm guessing your pen and paper is doing a rough division of the balance by the payment amount...which is good for a guesstimate but doesn't take into account interest. (Which is why I recommended the calculator I linked to.)

Still, July 2014 sounds pretty good, given that you were originally estimating September! Now you have to get to it. (Can you send the $150 this month? Why wait until January? )

Actually it is still September... because your numbers didn't list the loan.... only the CC's.


Now I have some good news, some bad news, and some worse news.

Good news.... I have stuck to my plan of a cash only Christmas. Everything is done and nothing got put on CC.

Bad news.... my savings is gone. I believe the primary culprit is walmart and me not sticking close enough to my budget. I knew I would be dipping into it for Christmas.... but I sure wasn't expecting to wipe it out.... so I can only conclude that walmart + my debit card = bad news. I am currently alloting myself $110 every two weeks for food and misc items so from here on out.... every paycheck I am withdrawing that amount and putting it in my wallet. Once its gone .... Im broke. This should keep me to my budget.

Worse news.... when I was checking my online account to my books I noticed 2 charges I did not make. I went to the bank this morning and they informed me that one was them. Apparently they have a limit of 15 online bill pays and then they charge you extra. Great.... guess I gotta eat that one. Then they started researching the one for 19.87. The phone number associated with the charge doesn't work (we tried) so they did some other research. That charge definitely wasn't me. They wanted $17 to initiate a charge back. Are you kidding me... .you want to charge me for something that I didnt make. She said... the other option is to just eat it because you'd only be gaining $2 back. I told her I didn't agree with it.... but right now Im more concerned with cancelling my debit card and getting a new one. Someone got my info and Im puttting a stop to this right here.... right now. There's a $12 fee to get a new debit card. But we will waive the fee for the new card.

So now I currently have no plastic (turned over my card to the bank) and my account is $19.87 lighter.... and I learned about their 15 bill pay limit the hard way.

I sure hope today gets better as the day goes on.

Actually I figured out what amount went to principal and used that number for the division. Yes its not exact... but its pretty close.

And no... this month is out of the question... Im beyond broke. After running my numbers Im going to be hard pressed for Jan because I need to rebuild my savings. Im thinking about just rolling the dice and hoping I dont crap out. Im considering starting my debt repayment and using whatever extra I can scrounge to rebuild my savings and hope nothing breaks before I get it built back up. If it does... the only option I have is that CC that has a zero balance on it... and Im really trying to keep it that way.

UPDATE: Thanks to 8 hours of holiday pay I have a little bit back in my savings and my CC still has a zero balance.

I am working on something and when I am done I will post it for ya'll to punch holes in my numbers and my thoughts. I really think I will be able to pull this off... but not if my plan is faulty.

crapola..... I thought I was going to be able to fix my car on my own.... nope... not happening. I did the research and realized that I dont really want to rip out the dash on my own.... so off to the shop it goes to get fixed. Estimated cost.... $200. Right now my HVAC doesn't work correctly (has a busted acuator (sp?) ) and that is keeping me from running the defrosters. Not good this time of year.

This sucks.... the part is only around $58 but I really dont want to tackle dismanteling my car and then trying to figure out where the the messed up part is.

There goes my savings.... AGAIN

December Numbers

CC1 - 1235.83 ... 25.50 progress on debt
CC2 - 2630.20 ... 48.80 progress on debt
CC3 - 6844.06 ... 67.17 progress on debt
CC4 - 4129.03 ... (229.89) progress on debt
Loan - 15815.09 ... 347.04 progress on debt
Total - 30654.21 ... 258.62 progress on debt

Are these minimum payments that you have made for the month or did you add something extra into the minimum payments?