The slow March begins...

The last 4 months have been great, haven't they?  In each of the last 4 months we've paid off a loan!  It seems so crazy sitting here thinking about it.

In November we paid off the truck.

In December and January we paid off two of the Gate loans .

In February we paid off the ECSI loan and the third Gate loan.

In short, we killed it.  We really focused, even while going through the holiday season, and we met our goals.  And now comes the hard part.  

The remainder of our loans are all multi-month projects.  We knew this was coming, but it does derail the momentum a bit.  Paying off a loan was a nice way to end each of the last few months.  It allowed us to build a lot of momentum and fine-tune our spending habits that will propel us through the slow March that's upon us.  (See what I did there?)  Our next estimated payoff date (EPD) is April, and that will be one of Kristi's Stafford Loans ($4600 @ 6.8% Interest).  

Let's recap The List, shall we?

The List

1. The Truck
• $2,256 - PAID! (Nov 11)
2. Gate Loans
• $2,604 - PAID!! (Dec 11)
• $2,628 - PAID!!! (Jan 12)
• $2,799 - PAID!!!! (Feb 12)
• $4,978 - EPD:  June 2012
3. ECSI
• $5,486 - PAID!!!! (Feb 12)
4. Stafford Loans
• $4600 - EPD:  April 2012
• $5848 - EPD:  October 2012
5. Federal Direct Loan
• $22,495 - EPD:  July 2013

The more observant of you will notice a large gap between EPD of the Gate and second Stafford loan.  In previous years we stored money over the school year to cover the two months Kristi doesn't get a paycheck.  We realized that this money we were saving would almost all go to loans anyway, so we decided to stop saving and start using it towards loans now.  However, the drawback is that in August and September we won't have a snowball.  We'll make the minimum payments, but that's it.  Kristi is doing summer school this year, so that may change, but right now we're not planning having large snowball funds in August and September.

I'm incredibly happy with our current progress.  In the last 4 months we've paid off roughly $15,780 in loans.  I am amazed at that total.  I knew we were capable of this, but seeing it in print is still jaw-dropping.  It's also amazing that we're in month 5 of a 22 month plan, almost 1/4 done.  I say 22 months because with our progress so far we've cut a few months off the total time (even including the Aug/Sep no extra payment months).  


I want to thank everyone for the support.  It's really great to know we're on the right track and that everyone understands and supports us.  It's been hard saying no to a lot of the fun stuff we've had to cut back on, but in the end we'll be able to do so much more that it'll all be worth it.  Besides, we still have Alaska 2012 to let our hair down a bit on, so we can recharge and refocus when that trip is over.  It's very exciting to see where we were, and where we are headed.  Let's do this!

The Loans

The List

1. The Truck
• $2,256
• Estimated Payoff Date (EPD): November 2011
• We decided to upgrade my truck from a 1993 GMC Sonoma to a 2001 Chevy S10.  It's bigger, it has 4WD, and it can get us, our stuff, and the dogs around easily.
2. Gate Loans
1. $2,604
2. $2,628 
3. $2,799
4. $4,978
• These are some small loans from Willamette that were mostly for living expenses and books.
3. ECSI
• $5,486
• This is a student loan from Willamette
4. Stafford Loan
• $10,942
• This is Kristi's loan for her MAT program at Willamette.
5. FSA
• $22,495
• This is several federal student loans consolidated into one loan payment.  Had I to do it over again I wouldn't have consolidated and kept them separate as they would have been smaller loans we could have paid off individually as time goes by to keep us motivated.  As it stands now this loan looms large at the end of trail. 

Grand Total: $54,000 and change

This is the goal: Debt Free in 2 years or less.  Piece of cake.

Each month is a new challenge, especially as the holidays approach.  Kristi and I recreate our budget each month based on upcoming events and past budget history.  For example, next month we'll increase our food budget because we'll be hosting Thanksgiving for Kristi's family and therefore will have to buy turkey and most of the food to make the side dishes.  In December we'll increase our Auto Expenses because of our planned trip to California to visit my family.  

However, the plan each month is to contribute about $2000 towards loans.  This includes their minimum payments and our Debt Snowball money.  The minimum payments are fixed, but the Debt Snowball will fluctuate each month depending on our budget and if any needs/emergencies pop up.  This month we had to take Riley to the vet, so our contribution will be about $1500 instead of $2000, but hopefully we'll average $2K and above.

As we work our way through the list I'll make a post when each debt is paid off and how we reacted to paying it off.  I'll also update the remaining debts and post a goal for the next pay off date.

Feel free to play the home game along with us as we begin our Oregon Trail to Debt Freedom.