we are OUT of DEBT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Screen Shot 2015-06-26 at 8.40.41 AM Not ones to bury the lead.... WE ARE AT ZERO PEOPLE!

ZERRRRRRRROOOOOOOOO!

YES

When we first started FPU a year and a half ago, we had no idea how much it would change our lives for the better.

couples money quote couples money quote 2

Basically, we started this debt-free journey we had

$-17,000 in credit card debt alone!

Let's just lay out all of the updates I've got from YIKES (November 2013) to now:

rp_debt.png august debt September budgeting and debt update

The total is weird here because we added in LB's debt with his credit card and the tires. So the total was $-8,635.28 as of October 2014.

October budget

December 2014:

December Debt

January 2015:

January 2015 Debt

Beginning of May 2015:

May debt

AND NOW!!!

June 26, 2015: We Are Debt Free!

Screen Shot 2015-06-26 at 8.40.41 AM

I share this to:

1. Brag

c. Be so darn proud of ourselves.

22. Make it VERY CLEAR that this stuff takes    t     i     m       e   . So much slow progress and patience. So much forgiveness and stick-it-ive-ness.  We have messed up so bad: the laundry room unexpected expenses, our wedding that we paid cash for, spending money on clothes and nonsense that we didn't really need, lacking patience with each other at times, holding ourselves to incredibly high standards and then beating ourselves up when didn't meet them... the list goes on.

x. This is hard work.

67. Encourage everyone in this: getting yourselves in a solid financial position and knowing that you are telling your money what to do is THE most important thing that you can do to remove stress from a relationship. Stress that actually isn't real and isn't about the other person. It is so much more about feeling out of control and taking it out on each other.

a. Remind myself that I never EVER want to be back there again. Being in debt was horrible and I am not interested in doing this again.

So go FORTH! Use the budgeting spreadsheet. Get on the same page with money. Ask questions. YOU CAN DO THIS!

 

January 2015 Debt Update

I know that I should probably wait until the beginning of February to update y'all, because we will be down to our very last credit card by then, but I just am too excited! In December we looked like this:

December Debt

But then we charged $1700 in order to wash clothing... the washer and dryer were well worth it, but man was I worried about the set back. Never fear though, because we paid that off too! Here is where we sit currently:

January 2015 Debt

I cut off the Home Depot line because it shows -3.10 because we returned something and so have a positive? Negative? Balance. Home depot owes me $3.10 and that's all you need to know. :)

The original plan was to use our check in the middle of the month to pay of the $762.59 credit card, but because we are refinancing the house, we wanted to get the $-3,844.16 card down below 80% of the credit limit. The good news is that we are still planning on paying off that $762 sucker at the end of January. The end is in sight... it is so close. We are talking 3 months at most and we will be DONE with credit card debt. Done DUN Done.

I tend to get a bit manic when the end of a goal is in sight: checking the budget everyday, tweaking and making sure that we are going to hit our targets, really cracking down on food spending, ect. I am DESPERATELY trying to not do that, but I am a future tripper, hear me roar. What I need to remember is that we have come this far... paid down this much debt... and we are REALLY doing it! We really are building a financial system that works for our family. It's liberating and empowering.

Addendum: I got asked again about how we are able to do this and stick to it over the course of a year, so I am linking you up again to the mother of all budgeting spreadsheets. It might just be my most prized possession.

When we started FPU we owed

$-17,000 in credit card debt alone!

To have that debt down to

$-4,610.05

Means that in the last year  and three months we have paid off

$12,389.95 !!! In DEBT!

How were the holidays to y'all? Did they murder your budget or are you incredible budgeting ninjas? Do share any victories or set backs. This is a safe space!