If you missed my other 2 confessions, (a) you are a terrible fan, don’t you know that reading RDS is as important as the air you breathe?, and (b) you can check them out HERE and HERE.
So today is the day. The day I share our debt load. *takes deep breath*
I’ve been really nervous to tell you guys exactly how much debt we have. If you’ve read my About page, you know that we have five figure debt closer to six figures than four. That means that our debt falls somewhere between $54,999 and $99,999. (Yes, our. In case you are new around here, my husband and I have combined finances and combined debt!)
*takes second deep breath*
As of yesterday (12/19), we have $64,210.56 in debt. This is after paying off $14,500 in 2012 and $15,589.71 this year.
Let’s break it down:
Student loans = $44,005.29 at 3.15% – 6.55%
Seven of them, to be exact. The top 5 paid for my accounting degree, half of my MBA program (which I then quit because I couldn’t afford it), and “living expenses” — translation: dumb shit no one needs.
#1. $2,940.07 at 6.55%
#2. $8,835.06 at 6.55%
#3. $17,644.73 at 3.15% – 6.55% (mostly the latter)
#4. $4,383.18 at 5.75%
#5. $3,779.91 at 5%
#6. $3,416.42 at 4.25%
#7. $3,005.92 at 3.15%
Discover credit card = $2,784.51 at 2.99% until March
This is next on the attack list — it was a balance transfer from an old car loan that had an interest rate of 11.67%.
Furniture loan = $1,797.97 at 0% until July
Note: While I do not actually own furniture, I am paying for furniture. And this my friends is why you don’t finance stupid shit. The same could be said for Discover and my car loan (and some of my student loans). I hate when life lessons are this expensive…
Chase credit card = $0!
I just included credit card this because we just paid it off Wednesday. Bye bye, Chase! We’re never, ever, ever getting back together. Like, ever.
Car loan = $15,622.79 at 3.93%
There it is. That’s our debt load. All $64,210.56 of it, much of which could have been avoided and/or reduced. It is what it is.
It’s bad. But it’s going to be okay. If I had to screw up at something, I’m glad it could be something as trivial as money. This can be fixed. There is not irreparable damage here, just an opportunity to turn things around.
By the way, we have a debt free date goal. GOAL being the operative word, as this will be a stretch. Like more of a stretch than I put my jeggings through after eating Chipotle three times in a week. My debt free date goal is:
September 20, 2016
Sound random? That date is Steve’s birthday. His 30th birthday to be exact. The goal is to be debt free before we enter our thirties. Which means we have to average a payment of just under $2,000ish plus interest per month. Possible? Yes. A stretch? Also, yes. But what does it hurt to reach for something a little out of range? [Insert stupid quote about the moon and stars here]
Obviously, you shouldn’t expect to see $2,000+ payments on the reg around here. Ideally, windfalls and kick ass income months will make up for the lean months. With both of us making irregular income, it’s hard to say what our payments will be from one month to the next. Here’s to hustling in 2014!
By the way, I know no one will be reading blogs around Christmas, but I’ll probably put up a recap of the year and my 2014 goals before the end of the year anyways. Maybe the 27th and the 30th? In between stuffing your face with cookies and taking a million pictures of your kiddos with their new shiny presents, you should come read RDS. Seriously, I’ll love you forever.
[Image from BuzzFeed]
