Crystal Groves

I’m keeping track of my payments towards my father’s debt reduction to kinda see the progress as we reach my goal of having his loan paid off by September 2009. So expect these posts monthly! Each month, seeing the progress should hopefully motivate me to stay on track with this.

• Starting Balance of Loan in January: $5388.14
• Starting Balance in August 2009: $493.62
• Total Payments in August: $527.17
• Total Payments YTD: $5516.41
• Total Finance Charges For August 2009: $2.35
• Total Finance Charges YTD: $97.07
• Starting Balance for September: -$31.20 (which will be applied to the next round of debt)
• $0 Goal: September 2009 PWNED

Notes for this month:
Well that did it, it took 8 months (actually longer than I anticipated because February was such a bad month), but my original goal was to have it paid off by September 2009 and I did it on August 14th. You can view all of the payments and notations throughout the last 8 months. My dad has had this balance for years and I conquered it in 8 months.

Now I will continue doing monthly posts like this as I meet two more big goals. 1. To pay off all remaining interest-accruing debt (about $2600 worth from me taking over dads tractor supply bill and getting his truck fixed etc). And 2. Paying back the last person who loaned us money for the down payment on our home ($5,000). The goal is to complete both of those by December 2010. It will take slightly longer only because after the interest-accruing debt is gone, I plan to start putting a little more away into savings again, so my payments will be smaller.

I will keep charts on my blog of my progress as well.

See also: July, June, May, April, March, February, January

I’m keeping track of my payments towards my father’s debt reduction to kinda see the progress as we reach my goal of having his loan paid off by September 2009. So expect these posts monthly! Each month, seeing the progress should hopefully motivate me to stay on track with this.

• Starting Balance of Loan in January: $5388.14
• Starting Balance in July 2009: $990.74
• Total Payments in July: $507.63
• Total Payments YTD: $4989.24
• Total Finance Charges For July 2009: $10.51
• Total Finance Charges YTD: $94.72
• Starting Balance for August: $493.62
• $0 Goal: September 2009

Notes for this month:
No news of note this month. Just anxiously, impatiently waiting for August 15th when the balance will be NEGATIVE (which just applies to the tractor supply debt anyway). I guess I should note that dad is no longer mowing the old neighbors lawns, so he doesn’t have any extra money coming in anymore unless he gets lawns up here, which he’s gonna try to do. The old women from the old neighborhood were kinda taking advantage of him and he had enough of it I think. So this is gonna put a damper on finances for a bit. Fortunately we’ll have all interest accruing debt gone this year besides the house.

I will note I also got a $6 rebate on my credit card, which I applied towards this balance.

See also: June, May, April, March, February, January,

I’m keeping track of my payments towards my father’s debt reduction to kinda see the progress as we reach my goal of having his loan paid off by September 2009. So expect these posts monthly! Each month, seeing the progress should hopefully motivate me to stay on track with this.

• Starting Balance of Loan in January: $5388.14
• Starting Balance in June 2009: $1509.77
• Total Payments in June : $527.17
• Total Payments YTD: $4481.61
• Total Finance Charges For June 2009: $8.14
• Total Finance Charges YTD: $84.21
• Starting Balance for July: $990.74
• $0 Goal: September 2009

Notes for this month:
Finally got the balance under a grand. I may have it paid off by the end of July if my side work money comes in. I put a little extra on this month because I thought it’d be more motivating for me to see it in the triple digits.

See also: May, April, March, February, January,

The biggest problem with trying to live cheap while paying off debt is the motivation.  After the third can of tomato soup or the fifth peanut butter and jelly sandwich you just want to say “Screw it” and go order take-out.  Sometimes you do, and you feel intense buyers remorse, so you go back to eating soups and sandwiches on the cheap.

The biggest method that keeps me motivated is speaking out about my goals and the wins and failures I go through to reach them.  Even if I don’t really have an audience, in my mind placing a statement or oath or promise or goal out on the internet keeps me feeling obligated to my goal.

It’s like a public declaration of sorts.  And posting so many updates about it on your blog allow you to not only keep track, but then to go back and see how far you’ve come.  That’s why I keep a progress bar on my blog, as a visual stimulation of what I’m trying to achieve.

I tell you what though, I’m craving some indian food.

I was having a conversation with my dad on the way home last night, mainly because I wanted him to know that on August 15th his loan would finally be gone and hoping that would make him happy. I also said that I’ll be taking over his Tractor Supply payment so he doesn’t need to use that card anymore. I was trying to explain to him that soon we would be free of all interest-accruing debt besides the house, but his reply was “I already know I’m always going to be in debt.” I asked why, and he said because “I only ever have $170 left over from Social Security every month after paying bills”.

I told him that’s not always going to be the case though. Once everything is paid off he’ll have over $300 more (so about $500) left over each month because he won’t be making payments anymore, and quite frankly that’s more than what I’ve been living off lately while trying to pay off these bills.

I guess it’s just hard to try and explain to him without feeling like he feels I’m lecturing him. I think the best route is just to do the payments, get it done, and then tell him when he needs to stop making a payment. Eventually it will add up and he’ll see, and maybe won’t feel so defeated when it comes to finances.

1. Dad debt-free except the house by end of 2009 – This one is very on schedule to happen around October. This includes his loan that will be paid off in August, and his Tractor Supply bill.

2. Pay back remaining down-payment loan to friend by August 2010 – Once dad’s interest-free debt is gone from #1, we’ll be piling all of those payments onto the very last person who loaned us money for the down payment on the house. I’ve already paid all of the other awesome people back. My payments plus my tax return for 2010 leads me to believe I can have this paid off by August 2010. But the time frame is lenient so I’m not too worried about it.

3. Save up $20k in emergency savings – I’m happy with the emergency savings I have now, but I like a big cushion. $20k seems like a very respectable cushion, and I live cheap as it is. I think a lot of my fears would not be so bad if I had $20k in the bank for emergencies. This -may- take 2 or 3 years to do.

4. Buy dad a new pre-owned vehicle in cash (and subsequently build up the $20k again if needed) – Though I never plan to buy a new car ever again, I would like a newer car for my dad. A nice pre-owned car that I don’t have to worry about him in. I’ve also made the commitment to never have a car payment again after paying off my mustang in February, so this will be paid for with cash. I’ve already started looking around at prices for pre-owned cars and they are -really cheap-. Lets hope they stay cheap for a few years This also may interchange with #3 as far as priority.

5. Pay back interest-free first-time home-buyer credit to government – Being a first-time home-buyer, I qualified for the $7500 tax credit from 2008 (sucks that they made it so much better for 2009). Since it’s an interest free loan that you can pay off over 15 years ($500/year), it’s really last on my priority list, but I do plan to get rid of it just to get it out of the way as soon as I’m able.

6. Start maxing my contributions to my Roth IRA – I will probably up my contributions to my 401k as well, but I really want to max my Roth IRA. Can’t do that until we’re debt free though. At least I am still contributing to it as much as I am able. That compound interest is important at my age.

7. Start heavily paying down on the mortgage - While I still plan to put a huge chunk of money on the house when the boyfriend sells -his- house, in the mean time I still want to put at least 2 extra payments a year on the mortgage, and any additional money I get throughout the year. -If- the boyfriend happens to move in, I suspect we’ll have it paid off in 5 years. If he doesn’t, then it’ll take me a while longer, but I still plan to pay it off way early.

8. Increase my income – I’ve already started this by taking up a second part-time job, but I am going to be looking at other ways to increase my income. This is only last on the list because it’s an ongoing thing with no set time-frame. I want to make sure I’m at least making enough to supplement my dad’s contribution after he passes away.

In addition to this, I received an offer from USAA for a no fee 0% balance transfer for a year. However the offer ends July 13th. I was going to wait until August to transfer over my fathers Tractor Supply balance, because I wanted an accurate count on how much money and such I spent on my dad’s loan without the interference of any other debt, but I don’t think I can pass up this offer. Honestly I think I can figure out the numbers enough to keep things accurate.

I’m keeping track of my payments towards my father’s debt reduction to kinda see the progress as we reach my goal of having his loan paid off by September 2009. So expect these posts monthly! Each month, seeing the progress should hopefully motivate me to stay on track with this.

• Starting Balance of Loan in January: $5388.14
• Starting Balance in May 2009: $1999.12
• Total Payments in May: $499.17
• Total Payments YTD: $3954.44
• Total Finance Charges For May 2009: $9.82
• Total Finance Charges YTD: $76.07
• Starting Balance for June: $1509.77
• $0 Goal: September 2009

Notes for this month: Getting down to the wire, folks. This is all very exciting for me. I never thought I’d see this debt of my father’s gone. But in August (maybe July if I get some extra money) it should be outta here. Some notes this month, I was referred to someone to commission some side work and made an extra $150 this month because of that, which will be a big help.

See also: April, March, February, January,

I’m keeping track of my payments towards my father’s debt reduction to kinda see the progress as we reach my goal of having his loan paid off by September 2009. So expect these posts monthly! Each month, seeing the progress should hopefully motivate me to stay on track with this.

• Starting Balance of Loan in January: $5388.14
• Starting Balance in April 2009: $2464.74
• Total Payments in April: $477.17
• Total Payments YTD: $3455.27
• Total Finance Charges For April 2009: $11.55
• Total Finance Charges YTD: $66.25
• Starting Balance for May: $1999.12
• $0 Goal: September 2009

Notes for this month: Nothing new to report for this month, really. It was a tight month in order to get that large of a payment because dad was short on cash again, and probably will continue to be until he is debt free. Guess that’s how things go. Fortunately with my birthday and getting $100 gift card to use towards groceries, that helped out a -lot-. Lawn mowing season starts this month as well, so I’m expecting things to get a lot easier while my dad makes extra cash from mowing lawns.

I’m also glad I reached my goal for this month to get his balance below $2k

See also: March, February, January

I’m keeping track of my payments towards my father’s debt reduction to kinda see the progress as we reach my goal of having his loan paid off by September 2009. So expect these posts monthly! Each month, seeing the progress should hopefully motivate me to stay on track with this.

• Starting Balance of Loan in January: $5388.14
• Starting Balance in March 2009: $2632.03
• Total Payments in March: $180
• Total Payments YTD: $2978.10
• Total Finance Charges For March 2009: $12.71
• Total Finance Charges YTD: $54.70
• Starting Balance for April: $2464.74
• $0 Goal: September 2009

Notes for this month: This month was a little rough because my dad had no money to supplement himself beyond his bills due to his mistake last month. I decided -not- to put my old car payment towards his loan this month so that I could provide him with some gas money and running around money. However his contribution still goes through every month, and I did add a little extra to that.

I think in April I might be able to get the balance below $2k, or at least very close to it.

See also: February, January