The bad money news... but followed by good!

    First the bad news:
    I tallied my credit card statement and I am right back to $16,373.79 in debt -- after about six months of working hard to pare that debt down to about $13,000.
    I knew before that making this big change, moving and settling in a new place was going to put me back in the debt hole. I wasn't sure how much but I guessed it would be at least $3,000. So when I saw the final number, I was disappointed, but not totally shocked.

    And now the good news:
    I am getting $1,000 in relocating expenses. A pretty paltry amount quite frankly, but I am glad for it. Even better news, a generous friend of my family has made a huge donation to my cause and is giving me -- interest and repayment free -- $1,500 to help me out!

    My plan is to use $500 to rebuild my mini-emergency fund back to $1,000. The remaining gift will be used to pay back the credit card.

    So, after those transactions go through, my debt will stand at $14,373.79.
    Using one of the ubiquitous debt calculators on the Internet, it would take $1,143 a month to be paid off by Sept. 25, 2007.

    That's my goal, but I honestly don't see how I can do that. But! First things first, I have to re-evaluate my monthly budget. I totally fell off my spending record for most of May, but I've got every last receipt and even jotted down when I spent little bits of cash for snacks small things here and there. When I sort that out and finally get my first (and fatter) paycheck, I'll have a better idea of how I can meet that goal.

Comments

[Les]

Wow. You gotta introduce me to your friends, DH!

[Leanne]

Hey,that is some really great news in there! And look on the bright side, if you hadn't already paid off that amount to start with, you would be up around $20,000 in debt. Makes yours look pretty good, doesn't it? Keep up the great work! :)

~leanne

[Leigh Ann]

You would be amazed at how fast the debt goes down if you are focused on it. You are doing great, just remember to never incur anymore debt. This dollar amount is the highest debt you will ever have.

And also remember, you owe them money, you don't owe them your life!!! Remember that!

[jazz]

Don't forget that a lot of your relocation expeses are tax deductable too!

[College Graduate]

Hey!!!!! So happy you're back on the blogging scene!

I understand what you mean. In between paying off debt life happens :).

--CollegeGrad