Here’s how I did 2 months into the year. Just about $1,600 went to principal this month, which brings the total for 2015 to:
That’s about 14.5% of the way there, with about 16% of the year past us. I’m okay with that–I should be able to put an extra $1,000 or so toward debt, not counting the rent money from our tenant that is scheduled to go towards loans alternating months.
For for the total debt payoff goal. I painted the cardboard backing, so it would be easier to actually see the puzzle. I didn’t actually have a paintbrush, so I used a paper towel, so please excuse the uneven paint job (but hey! more incentive to cover it up ASAP). And you can actually see the puzzle against the background.
My total debts are $93,802. It’s crazy to think about how recently I was celebrating being under $100,000. I’m not making the progress I used to make when I had two jobs, and no housing expenses, but refinancing my big loan to a lower interest rate has definitely made a difference. Even though I was really close to the $93,800 mark, the puzzle only reflects $94,000 – 30 pieces. My two undergraduate loans reflect interest when they show up in Mint, but I don’t think the others do, so it might actually be that my debts are a bit higher, but if I keep using Mint eventually the interest amounts will be so low that they don’t matter in the calculation too much (in a few years…)
So that’s it for my recap! Hopefully I’ll have plenty more progress to report in March when I finally receive my tax return, and maybe I’ll eventually even get better at budgeting!