I hope you didn't think I forgot we have to pay down debts! The month after Christmas is an especially rough time for those who found Christmas budget battering. It's important for us to stay motivated to keep progressing even through set backs.

So...are you breezing through January and paying off debts like a snowball madly rolling downhill or carefully treading on ice?

What is your balance owed?

Post as you get those debt payments in! 

If you need more cash freed up to tackle those pesky debts, check out our challenges all over the community!

 My current balance is $3,994.33. This is increased from the amount I was working on at the end of 2007 so I am motivated to find ways to get that back down...quickly.

I used Christmas money to pay off in full 2 smaller credit cards. As for our $6000 credit card debt, it will be gone shortly. We bit the bullet and refinanced our two loans (5.5% and 8.25%) into a fixed 4.875% loan once I realized how low rates had dropped and what we would qualify for. With the savings in interest, we added extra to our loan to pay off this last credit card. We have plenty of equity in our home (which contributed to getting the low rate along with a credit score of 780 for DH and 760 for me) and are borrowing/refinancing for about 1/2 of our equity.

With our lower rate and now just one loan, our payment dropped quite a bit. We were going to use this extra money to pay off the $6000 cc but it still would have taken quite a while and the interest rate on that card hovers near 9%. So we just paid it off. Now, we are going to aggressively save this extra money for our emergency fund. I just set up a new account as my paycheck can be direct deposited into 6 different accounts. So I have part of my paycheck going to my regular bank acct for bills, part going to my credit union for smaller savings and the "extra" going to this new account for emergency savings. (My retirement and Roth payment taken out separately).

I feel hopeful about this financial move. While I am not cancelling our credit cards, they are now locked up. Our lifestyle won't be changing but we will finally have savings and when something unexpected comes along, we can use our savings instead of the credit card.

We are about the same debt wise.  With xmas, birthdays and $1200 and counting in vet bills ,we didn't get ahead but stayed steady. But the next 5 birthdays are paid for  (in the next month) except when we go out for dinner for mil birthday but that can come out of feb entertainment/food budget.

 as of today, we owe $2,000 on cc and $2,000 to a Dr. We paid $4,000 on cc in 2007 and $800. to Dr. We are being slower with the Dr because he is patient, on interest and will not turn this bill in to a credit collection agency. Hope to get this taken care of quickly and fully. Babs

$313.32 paid towards debt this week.

Total owed now is $ $3,686.01

We got serious this month - paid off one credit card we had down to $250, and knocked another one down nearly $800 (with $12000 left to go it doesn't feel like that much). I am working extra hours and we are eating from our pantry and freezer to find the extra money. This year I want to wipe out all consumer debt (the one card and 7 months of a car loan) so I'm pushing myself to earn more and spend much less.  (how does one get a $12000 credit card? by not planning for the computer needs of college children, being oblivious to the rising cost of gas and not adjusting the budget for it, and having one child transfer from a full-tuition scholarship college to one that costs much, much, much more, having our insurance company only pay for some repairs to my husband's truck after he hit a deer and by needing the foundation to our three story barn/garage rebuilt - and all this stuff just totally surprised us! ugh, now we save for these kinds of things).

We paid another $200 on the targeted card this week.  I'll be so glad when it is done.  DH is so obsessed about it hat I'm having to fight to keep the bill money in the bank account until the bills get in!

re-tired

I have $1027.99 due to my credit card, which I'm going to kill off in the next couple of months (the tax refund should cover it), and then the money that's been going to that will go into savings; I need new windows - the old aluminum frame ones I have leak heat horribly, and I can really tell the difference in the rooms in which I've already replaced the windows.

That leaves the car loan (which is a special case; I owe the money to my uncle, and he's not charging me interest), the student loans, and the first and second mortgage - not great, but not bad, and I'm on track to have all the student loans paid off in about 10 years (no bad, for a projected 17 year pay-off) and when i'm done with the second in about 6 years, if I add that to the first, then I can pay that off before I retire in 15 or so years, which will greatly reduce my retirement needs.

Well, we did ok this month but didn't pay as much as I hoped.  We have 3 cards plus a 0% car loan that we are working on.  We paid $540 to the cards this month.  Would have been more but unfortunately both kids (and me!) got sick this month and with the new calendar year our health insurance deductible restarts so the doctor visit (baby has ear infections now) was essentially out of pocket and then the medications plus had to get a humidifier for the baby . . . sigh.  There's always something isn't there!

Next month should be better, fingers crossed!