Debt #3 details:
I believe this was a credit card that I stopped making payments on after putting living expenses on it for a year. My advice? Don't ever do that. Not a good idea.
The latest balance I have for this debt came in the mail a couple of weeks ago. I currently owe $11,815.23. The original debt was $15,100.80. Since defaulting on it, they have added a few hundred in fees, and I've made just under $6k in payments toward the debt. My last balance, about 3 months ago, was just shy of $13,000. Just like any other loan, the interest I pay will decline as the debt principal drops. It looks like about $1200 each quarter is going toward this debt so I'm looking at roughly 10 more quarters until it's paid in full - that's about 2.5 years. I am hoping to speed this up by sending in additional payments, but first I want to fund an emergency fund and pay off a few other small debts that are outstanding.
As for Debt #1 listed over on the sidebar? That should be paid in full and I expect I'll get a notice in the mail in the next few weeks letting me know it's paid. Small steps, but in the right direction!
Monday, January 7, 2013
Sunday, January 6, 2013
Debt
Some of my debt is listed on the sidebar over on the right. This is not complete - it is only the debt for which I currently have a total and starting amount. I've paid off approximately $10,000/year since I started work in August, 2010 because my paycheck is garnished each by roughly $800 - 900 total per month.
I'll update these amounts as I receive my quarterly notices of where I'm at on each debt. My most recent update is the $15,100 debt is now at $11,815 as of mid-December, 2012. Yay! Every bit paid off moves me closer to my goal of zero debt and repayment of all debt I incurred when my business failed and I lost my house.
I didn't declare bankruptcy at the time because I believe if I caused on the debt, I need to pay it back. I'm definitely not anti-bankruptcy, though. I know there are cases where people are overwhelmed with medical bills, or they took out a risky home loan. But for anyone who just "wanted it all" and bought big screen tv's and snowmobiles on credit (like my cousin and his wife...more on them later) then you need to take responsibility for that debt. I have a decent income and I have the capacity to pay back what I owe, so I will.
This is not the first time I've paid off a large amount of debt. When I graduated with my bachelor's degree in 1991 I paid back nearly $20,000 in student loans, and several credit cards - including my Amoco credit card which was over $8,000 - in about a year and a half. I buckled down, worked multiple jobs, sold tons of stuff on ebay and paid off the debt. And I can do it again.
And as long as I'm getting my finances back on track, I may as well get in shape and get healthy at the same time! 2013 is going to be all about ME. I look back on 2001-2003 as one of the very best times of my life, and that's just a shame. I need to look forward to a time when I'm out of debt and able to pay cash for a house, and with some willpower and hard work...the best is ahead of me, I just know it!
I'll update these amounts as I receive my quarterly notices of where I'm at on each debt. My most recent update is the $15,100 debt is now at $11,815 as of mid-December, 2012. Yay! Every bit paid off moves me closer to my goal of zero debt and repayment of all debt I incurred when my business failed and I lost my house.
I didn't declare bankruptcy at the time because I believe if I caused on the debt, I need to pay it back. I'm definitely not anti-bankruptcy, though. I know there are cases where people are overwhelmed with medical bills, or they took out a risky home loan. But for anyone who just "wanted it all" and bought big screen tv's and snowmobiles on credit (like my cousin and his wife...more on them later) then you need to take responsibility for that debt. I have a decent income and I have the capacity to pay back what I owe, so I will.
This is not the first time I've paid off a large amount of debt. When I graduated with my bachelor's degree in 1991 I paid back nearly $20,000 in student loans, and several credit cards - including my Amoco credit card which was over $8,000 - in about a year and a half. I buckled down, worked multiple jobs, sold tons of stuff on ebay and paid off the debt. And I can do it again.
And as long as I'm getting my finances back on track, I may as well get in shape and get healthy at the same time! 2013 is going to be all about ME. I look back on 2001-2003 as one of the very best times of my life, and that's just a shame. I need to look forward to a time when I'm out of debt and able to pay cash for a house, and with some willpower and hard work...the best is ahead of me, I just know it!
Welcome!
Happy 2013!
Everyone has their ups and downs in life. I am currently crawling back from the devastation that was 2009. That was the year I closed my business and walked away from my house. I lived in an area with one of the highest levels of unemployment in the country (topped out over 15%) and was hit twice during the year by distracted drivers, totaling my car each time. Then my dog died. By December of that year I was sleeping on my brother's couch so that I could walk to a $9/hr temporary, part-time job. My debt was enormous. If I could go back and do it all over? I don't think I'd change a thing - it was one of the greatest learning experiences of my life.
I spent the first half of 2010 applying for jobs in any and every field. I was offered a job 400 miles from my hometown and I jumped at it. I borrowed $1,000 from my aunt, packed up some of my clothes, a sleeping bag and a tent and off I went. I camped at a KOA campground for just over two months while I saved my paychecks so I could rent an apartment. This was in a fairly expensive area of the country and now I understand why they were having trouble filling the position - a decent apartment in the town I moved to was around $1,000/month. So I settled down 30 miles outside of town in an apartment that ran $650/mo. In retrospect, I'd have been much better off paying $1k per month to be 5 minutes from work...but yes, hindsight is 20/20. I spent an awful lot of money my first 18 months on gasoline and utilities as the apartment was in an historic building with high ceilings...but, again, it was a learning experience.
By April of 2012 I had moved closer to work and was now paying $900/month for my apartment, no utilities included. I was fast sinking underwater with my living expenses and I stopped making the drive home for visits. After weighing the pros and cons carefully, I went with my gut and decided to transfer to SC, where I am currently living. I've been here about 5 months now and I've already managed to pay off another chunk of my debt and I have $800 in savings as an emergency fund.
Things are steadily improving. But I want to be out of debt, I want to lose the extra weight I've been lugging around for the past 10 years, I want to improve my health...I want it all, and I want it NOW! This blog is going to keep me on track with my goals and honest with myself. I'm going to track my spending, my exercising, my weight loss...you name it, it's going to be here for all to see!
I welcome constructive comments, insights and criticisms along the way - we can all learn from each other. Thanks for stopping by!
Everyone has their ups and downs in life. I am currently crawling back from the devastation that was 2009. That was the year I closed my business and walked away from my house. I lived in an area with one of the highest levels of unemployment in the country (topped out over 15%) and was hit twice during the year by distracted drivers, totaling my car each time. Then my dog died. By December of that year I was sleeping on my brother's couch so that I could walk to a $9/hr temporary, part-time job. My debt was enormous. If I could go back and do it all over? I don't think I'd change a thing - it was one of the greatest learning experiences of my life.
I spent the first half of 2010 applying for jobs in any and every field. I was offered a job 400 miles from my hometown and I jumped at it. I borrowed $1,000 from my aunt, packed up some of my clothes, a sleeping bag and a tent and off I went. I camped at a KOA campground for just over two months while I saved my paychecks so I could rent an apartment. This was in a fairly expensive area of the country and now I understand why they were having trouble filling the position - a decent apartment in the town I moved to was around $1,000/month. So I settled down 30 miles outside of town in an apartment that ran $650/mo. In retrospect, I'd have been much better off paying $1k per month to be 5 minutes from work...but yes, hindsight is 20/20. I spent an awful lot of money my first 18 months on gasoline and utilities as the apartment was in an historic building with high ceilings...but, again, it was a learning experience.
By April of 2012 I had moved closer to work and was now paying $900/month for my apartment, no utilities included. I was fast sinking underwater with my living expenses and I stopped making the drive home for visits. After weighing the pros and cons carefully, I went with my gut and decided to transfer to SC, where I am currently living. I've been here about 5 months now and I've already managed to pay off another chunk of my debt and I have $800 in savings as an emergency fund.
Things are steadily improving. But I want to be out of debt, I want to lose the extra weight I've been lugging around for the past 10 years, I want to improve my health...I want it all, and I want it NOW! This blog is going to keep me on track with my goals and honest with myself. I'm going to track my spending, my exercising, my weight loss...you name it, it's going to be here for all to see!
I welcome constructive comments, insights and criticisms along the way - we can all learn from each other. Thanks for stopping by!
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