Debt Elimination Progress: May 2018

 Originally Posted on May 1, 2018 in Free, Fun, Family

What a strange month–the weather here in Maryland was out of control, and while I felt like my spending was “crazy,” I can look at Mint and see that it was the least money we’ve spent in a single month in over two years.  This teaches me that my day to day feelings do not always reflect the reality I am living.  I’m still working on the pacing of my expectations and emotions while managing a long term goal.  Overall, this month was a great month for personal learning.

Progress from April:

• Significantly reduced food spending. This was a major win!  All the work I’ve been doing to modify our food spending, both in groceries and dining out, is paying off.  Our grocery bill has been hovering around $1,000 for several months, even as our dining out has been decreasing.  This month we spent less than $800 on groceries!  Hooray!
• I did even more math. I added up how much I’ve reduced my student loan and mortgage debt during this same period of loan payback (since the end of January).  I’ve also reduced these other non-targeted debts by $1,333.82.  That’s an impressive bolstering.
• Our debt payoff is slowing down, but we are still making progress every month.  I anticipate a modest raise in July, which will help, but our pace is going to slow down a bit for May and June as we prepare for a lengthy trip to Korea to spend time with family.  However, that means more work we do on controlling the spending, the more powerful the impact on debt reduction.  Here are the numbers for the end of April:
  • Home Improvement Loan: $4,000
  • Visa Card: $7,160.37
  • AmEx: $13,475.81
  • TOTAL: $24,636.18
  • Amount paid off this month: $727.18
  • Amount paid off TOTAL: $6,319.82

Add the reduction of non-consumer debt and we’ve torched $7,653.64 of debt in three months.  Unbelievable.  We are really making progress.  Sometimes it still just feels like a drop in the bucket, but these numbers show a 20% reduction of consumer debt in just three months.  That’s not a small achievement.

Goals for May:

1. Continue to target food costs for reduction.  Use it up!  Cheaper vegetables!  Bake bread!  Freezer cooking!
2. Save up a small cash cushion for Min to for Korean trip in June (may slow debt progress this month; acknowledge and embrace).
3. REALLY REALLY: No purchasing beverages for convenience/craving (BIG challenge).  I have to do this.  Did better in April, but did not abstain.