MARCH 2019
This post is premature, but this entire debt-burying plan hinges, in large part, on optimism. So, please indulge me in this glass-half-full musing.
We’re hoping to start April with a brand new budget, minus two, if not three of our debts. (You can find our previous budget in earlier posts.)
This year’s tax refund will hopefully (yes, we’re still working on our taxes) chop down two “small” credit card balances, and what’s left of our student loans.
That means that every additional dollar will then go toward a real toad of a credit card that we’ve been paying on for years. It now has a balance of about $10,000. Starting in April, and assuming our tax refund pays off the two little cards and the student loans, we’ll have almost $800 total to dump on that big card debt. (If this is your first post, we’re using the Dave Ramsey debt snowball method.) If we make consistent $800 payments, we’ll have it crushed in about a year.
Here’s what April’s projected budget looks like right now.
*** BILLS ***
Toyota: $290
Health insurance: $300 (Julep’s health insurance is covered through his work.)
Home insurance: $125
House payment: $500
Last personal credit card: Minimum payment of $290, plus an additional $500 for a total of $790
Verizon: $85
AT&T: $55 (We split a cell phone plan with another person.)
Electric bill: $125
Netflix: $12
Gasoline: $130
Groceries: $400
*** SINKING FUNDS ***
Real estate taxes and auto insurance: $320
Propane: $35
Christmas money/car repair money/home improvements money: Total of $150
Miscellaneous gifts: $40
Fun money: $50 (This is the first time we’ve had fun money in the budget in about five months. Ice cream stands will be opening, and, well, this entire journey is about facing facts.)
Total expected revenue: $3,360
Total expected expenses: $3,357
You’ll notice there’s a $3 difference between our revenue and expenses. That’s the point of our budget, to figure out where every last dollar needs to go. As Mr. Money Mustache says, we need to think about our money as our little green employees. They should all be working for us. Right now, those little green guys are leaping to their deaths to pay off debt.
freshMint 