Moving Right Along on the Path to Freedom from Debt: Four-Month Check-In

I last checked in on my debt reduction process at the beginning of November, when after only two months, I’d paid off $5,000. Well, things just keep going well. By the beginning of January, four months into my focused pay-down, I was just shy of having paid off $10,000, meaning that I am THISCLOSE to getting my debt under six figures! Yes, that’s still a terrifyingly high number, but focusing on how far I have to go is intimidating, so I’m choosing to focus instead on how far (and fast!) I’m going.

I also hit a big milestone yesterday: I paid off my highest-interest card! Card #1 is down to ZERO, baby! 

My original plan was to take the “debt avalanche” approach and attack my next highest interest rate, but I have a zero-interest balance transfer that expires in April, so I want to get that at least paid down, if not off, so I’m not hit with a big interest charge, which would pretty much negate the purpose of doing the transfer in the first place.

However, at the rate I’m currently paying things off, as well as now being free of one payment, I should have no problem zeroing out that account before the interest kicks back in and moving on to the next one!

I will have to redo my chart, because I had no idea I would be making so much progress so fast, but it’s a good problem to have!

I know I’m lucky in that Dude’s income pretty much covers all our living expenses so that I can put most of my earnings towards my debt. Not everyone has that luxury. But I’ve noticed that the more I do it, the more I want to do it. Working a second job is hard–I end up with only one day “off,” which means that’s the day to have fun and relax, or get stuff done around the house, and sometimes it feels like I never get a break–but when I see the payoff, and am reminded that I’m sacrificing some short-term flexibility for long-term freedom, it’s definitely worth it.