Hello everyone, yet another month is in the books. It sure is true, time flies the older you get. I’m still trying to figure out what happened to April, but it looks like my efforts are still paying off.
Below you’ll find the usually net worth and debt snowball breakdown, but there is one thing missing. May 1st 2009 is when I began my “Destroy Debt” campaign. I started with $101,543 of debt. Depending on your definition of debts some people do not count everything that I count. Student loans and 2nd mortgages are included in my totals. I believe that everything besides the 1st mortgage is a debt that must be paid off before becoming “debt free except the house.”
Over the past year I’ve paid off $37,944 in debt and paid $6,700 in cash for a family SUV. I haven’t used a credit card over two years and have not taken on any debt in 2 years. Below is my Credit Karma forecasted credit score. I’ve been tracking it for the past year. It hasn’t changed much. The only part of the score that is keeping me down is the credit utilization. I have not credit card or loan debt except the mortgages, but I continue to get penalized for it. Oh well, FICO and Suze can suck it!! I am NOT my credit scored!!!!!
My “debt free” date is July 2011. It is very exciting to see the light at the end of the tunnel. If you are just starting, it will get better. Keep working at it and the balances will come down.
Net Worth Snapshot:
Emergency Fund: Holding at $1,000.
401K: The 401K is continuing to perform well.
Car: The family G-ride is holding steady.
House: This will remain the same until June 2010. June is approaching quickly; I’m getting nervous to see what the house is worth. The good news is houses are beginning to move in my neighborhood.
Snowball: The snowball is rolling at a steady pace. We’ve had a few expenses that have popped up, but were able to still make our monthly goal. We are still on track to have the 2nd mortgage paid off in late August or early September. After that the student loan and two 401K loans will be erased by the end of the year.
Yakezie Posts
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- Net Worth Review: August 2010 By Elle
Article by Jeff Kosola
DeliverAwayDebt is designed to help people along the journey toward "Debt Freedom". I use my battle against debt to demonstrate anyone with enough passion and motivation can blast away debt. My net worth is updated monthly and all my Pizza Delivery earnings are tracked. These are posted to demonstrate that YOU CAN eliminate your own debt. It will take some work, but nothing in life that matters is easy.
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{ 16 comments… read them below or add one }
Awesome progress!
Mrs. Frugal´s last blog ..Net Worth and Goals: April 2010 – 2.9% Gain
Jeff your debt tracking rocks…. I may well start doing a similar kind of round up which would basically be in smaller stages for me…. saving Emergency fund is my current aim.
Forest´s last blog ..Condom Soccer Balls, Not Just For Hard Times
Good job! Just out of curiosity, at what point did you feel like you could see the light at the end of the tunnel? Also, where did you get the Credit Score Karma thing-y?
@Mrs. Frugal thank you very much young lady.
@Forest Yes sir, public tracking helps to keep me motivated
Step 1 Emergency Fund, funny you mention that because EF are covered in an up coming post.
@Mysti I began to see the light in January when I realized debt were falling off and I was meeting my milestones. I’ve been meeting the milestones for a few months now which makes me want to go even faster. CreditKarma.com is the site to check out. It’s free and very close the “real” Suze Orman number (I mean FICO) It I haven’t been clear, I’m not a fan of either
I’m pulling my free yearly credit reports later this week, I’ll be able to verify how accurate CreditKarma is once I see the real numbers. My guess is that they are VERY close. I’ll let you know. Yakezie…
Seriously, by the end of the summer that snowball is just going to start gaining so much momentum it’ll seem to roll itself. Kudos to you guys for keeping at this and going strong. Yakezie!
@Jolyn when I read about the snowball and how everything just added on and builds up as you go, I had no idea how cool it was. I love to watch the balances come down
Wow, that’s ginormo monthly change mate! Well done!
Congrats for not using your CC over the past 2 years! Damn, that’s awesome! I might have to follow you for at least 3 months. I’ve spent $2,000-$3,000 every month for the past 3 months due to buying a computer, suits, vacation etc. I gotta cut it down!
Shouldn’t you be in the positive in 6 months at your rate?
Sam
Financial Samurai´s last blog ..Where Did All The Time Go?
Thanks Sam,
I have a beautiful set of scissors that will handle any credit card you have. We can also arrange the cards on a cookie sheet and bake them for 20 min at 350 degrees. The result will be a gorgous piece of credit card art as the plastic melts and runs together. We could take the cards to the gun range and blast holes in them. We can boil the card and then make a credit card ash tray out of them. We can make some great jewelry with them just like my Newton Post from a couple weeks ago. The list can go on and on.
I will not say that I will never use a credit card again, but I sure will not be anytime soon. I know it was completely my behaviour and actions that lead me to the dark side of debt (debt and Star Wars – good post idea (maybe next week)). I’ll be here if you need help to curb that spending habit you are developing
I’m glad you finally got that computer you’ve been looking at
My net worth will be positive in 6 months, but my total debt will still be negative. That’s ok though, I’m right on target with my plan so I’m VERY happy with the progress.
Sounds good Jeff. I’ve only got one personal credit card and pay it off every month. I’m just spending too much.
Bought the 15″ macbook pro for the wife and I got her hand me down 2 yr old computer. It’s much better than my 5.5 yr old ibook!
Financial Samurai´s last blog ..Where Did All The Time Go?
What great progress! I love seeing this stuff
Jackie´s last blog ..How to Build an Emergency Fund in Six Easy Steps
Thank you Jackie, I think you’ll like my next post. You are included
Great progress. I am going to check out this creditkarma program as we speak. I have always been interested in my score, but always to cheap to pay for it. I just assume its great… but we all know what you get when you assume.
Keep up the great work!
Odysseustoday´s last blog ..Purgatory of Student Loans – The Grace Period
Just ran my credit score… 737. Boo-ya got ya by 3 points!
Odysseustoday´s last blog ..Purgatory of Student Loans – The Grace Period
@OdysseusToday nice job on your credit score. Although according to the banks and FICO you need at least 760 to get a good rate for a house. You are allow by law to receive an annual credit report from each of the big 3 once a year. http://www.annualcreditreport.com/ is the site to check out. I run mine and my wife’s once a year. Oh yeah, it’s free!!!!
Wow – justt found your blog. Looks like you have had great progress over the past year – at this rate you’ll beat your debt free date – good luck!
2million´s last blog ..Baby 2million Turns One – My How Time Flies
@2million I’m glad you stopped by. Thanks for the kind words. Congrats on Baby 2million turning one. Lil DeliverAwayDebt just turned 3 yesterday, and boy does the time FLY!!!