The Debt Killer Diaries

Let’s just be honest here…. I am STOKED about the new budget and debt reduction plan I created today with my Quicken software.  I know, I know…..reality may get in the way of this perfectly pristine debt killing plan, but all things said-I THINK I can make this work!

I set up the budget using bare minimum expenditures for anything other than utilities, as in NO frills.  That’s easy, though.  I never go anywhere.  The most we’ll spend outside budgetary restraints this month will be for gas and doctor visits.  It’s kind of really easy to live simply and without the frou frou when you’re lodged somewhere out in the boonies, and nothing retail or enticing is located anywhere within 5 minutes!

Here’s a brief breakdown of monthly VERY mandatory expenses:

For April’s Debt Reduction Plan, it’s gonna take $1066.00 ($267/wk).

Granted, some of the items on this list are not being paid yet, due to being disputed and something about Quicken seems to not want to cooperate with certain accounts, so the $260.67 account, actually should read $80.  It reads right on its individual page, but when viewing the Summary, it keeps showing up like that?!  I’m hoping it’ll fix itself when I do the first Update after the first round of payments go out this Friday.

So, to accomplish April’s Debt Reduction Payments, and put back enough for mandatory expenditures, we need roughly $562 per week. Depending on the economic climate for the upcoming month, this is entirely doable, if both of us continue to bring in our typical weekly income.

So tomorrow, to further commit myself to this plan, I’m going to start writing out the checks and getting correspondence around to send to the assorted creditors (mainly medical bills). We’ve already wiped out 3-4 of the bills from the hospital stay last December, and now getting around to some of the others that have fallen by the wayside.

For someone like me, it’s exciting to know that I am going to be making progress and taking care of responsibilities instead of shoving bills in a basket and ignoring them until the phone rings.

It’s triply exciting to know that I’ve only got less than a handful of debts that are lingering from my questionable and less than responsible past.

For right now, it’s hope I am clinging to, and hard work I am doing so that life can continue to improve, at least on the financial front.