Mar 22 2009
Killing Debt
APRIL DEBT KILLING
Here it is, a month into the Debt Killer Plan, and we have successfully knocked out over $3000 of past debt. Of course, it helps when the government takes your federal and state returns and applies them to said debt, but hey…whatever works, right?
Apart from what the government took (for the aforementioned Student Loan debt ), and some tax issues with the state of Ohio [Ex. A], we paid down $388 in medical bills as well. That, in and of itself, was a stellar feat!
We knocked out four medical bills, in full, and started making payments on two other accounts [Exs. B & C].
In the next month, Ex. C will be completely paid, and we’ll start working on the larger med bills from two hospital stays, and one ER visit. Alot of juggling may have to ensue however, and it won’t go as quickly, but it’s more than we’ve been able to do in the past, and we are NOT giving up.
Gotta do some tweaking of the budget that I originally set up in Quicken, and finesse the numbers, then, if income remains on a semi-even keel, things will start to really fall into place!
MARCH DEBT KILLING
Had to post the thumbnail only, as the full image did not fit properly. Click on the pic if you want to see the real damage. Just be sure the hit the back button when you view, so you can get the rest of the story!
So here, it is. The Debt Killer (soul-wilting) list of debts that I have incurred and am currently working on eliminating. $72,953.73 in the red. I guess it’s not TOO bad, if you subtract the amount due on the mortgage, bringing the amount owed down to $19,961.14. Furthermore, I’ve included our son’s first set of student loans in our debt ($1725 & $975), which knocks it down even more to $17,261.14. Fully manageable, in a logical sense, right?
As for the monthly income to expense ratio, February shot up simply due to the arrival of medical bills after they were processed. Our portion of the 80/20 amounts to around $5800 currently.
So, out of the $17k debt load, I would say that at least $7400 is what I consider to be justifiable debt. (medical, property taxes, education costs, etc). The rest, as you will learn, is what makes me the reigning ignoramus of the known universe.
What you do not see on the list, nor will you ever see again, is credit card debt. Thanks to the saving graces of the protected innocent, and some hard work of our own, our final credit card was paid off, in full, this past week. No more credit card debt. Zero. Zilch. Nada. Zip. Gone. But that, my friends, is a nightmare that I shall recall at another time and place. Just know, that you can live without the little soul-sucking pieces of plastic. You can. You may not CHOOSE to, but it indeed can be done!
At least monthly, I will update this page with progress on how things are being paid off, reduced or otherwise eliminated. Stay tuned, it’ll be interesting to say the least!
