Yes, I know it”s July 30th and I’m a few days early for the monthly update. Sometimes you just need to tell people good news. We had a great month in our snowball process and next month will be even better.
Traction
I can’t say enough about traction. Having a plan, working the plan, and seeing the results gives you so much momentum and traction that the task of paying off debt becomes easy. Ok, maybe not easy – but easier. Getting out of debt is not easy. It requires work, but once you get the ball rolling it will keep rolling as long as you continue to apply a little force to it. The force is your continued effort to live on less than you make and to apply all extra cash toward the debt. It really is that simple. If you haven’t read my “in depth” review of How to pay of debt fast, take 5 seconds to read it now.
Net Worth Snapshot
Emergency Fund
As usually it remains steady at $1,000. One of my goals this year was to bring that up to $2,000. I will begin the process starting in September. I’m so focused on getting ride of my second mortgage that I don’t want to take any money away from it.
401K
Thanks to a slight market rally this month, the balance has increased a bit. I’m almost back to the March 2010 levels that I loved to see. For the year I’ve made 5.2% on my investments.
Car
I’m am completely amazed that my 2002 GMC Envoy continues to increase in value. I paid $6,300 for it almost a year ago, who would have thought a car would turn out to be an investment 
Yes, I got a great deal on it. A family friend sold it to me for the price the dealer was going to give them for a trade it.
House
I adjusted the value of the house last month and will be adjusting in November again.
Debt Snowball
The balance on my total debt is coming down nicely. All the extra hours I’m working are continuing to pay off. I’m 99% sure I will be able to pay off my second mortgage next month. The $4,300 remaining on the balance will be a stretch, but I love a challenge and we’ll see if I can come through. Paying it off in August will put me 1 month ahead of schedule. Once the second mortgage is clear, the other “little” debts will be repaid by Christmas 2010.
{ 16 comments… read them below or add one }
Great job man. You’re doing awesome. Good luck on knocking that out this month.
you must try this
Wow, $4k paid on debt this month? Way to KILL IT, Jeff! Awesome.
looks like you had a ton of positive movement this month. you must be stoked. well done.
It’s taken me a couple of months, but I have made up a sheet which shows and will show our progress in terms of net worth. I will post the link here. I just love seeing this, but really, I didn’t know that it was truly such a huge jump for us.
Thanks for showing me.
Here is the link:
http://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=0AoTUPbi5k2IddDhMSlh4eUxXRGdmVjNyNVlpUTlvTkE&hl=en&authkey=CJHngpYP
You are making such a huge difference by posting your journey. I am encouraged every time that you post and I am thrilled to be one of your RSS subscribers.
Jan
Keep on rockin’ it! I hear ya on traction…..we have just barely started to feel that slight shift, and I have a feeling by Christmas this year, we will be rolling! I have you to thank for inspiration….awesome job.
Jeff as always this is just damn inspiring. I have finally put my first 1k into savings….. Still got debts to wipe but it’s going to plan.
Wow, great work. Indeed this is always inspiring. You are part of the reason I have looking around at seconds jobs. You are able to pay off your debt so fast, its awesome. Congrats and keep up the great work!
Just so excited about that 2nd mortgage balance. Can’t wait to see it at a BIG FAT ZERO. Keep it up.
I am glad to see that you keep pushing yourself. I know you will pay off that second mortgage next month! You have the focus and drive to make it happen. Before you know it, you will have your net worth in positive territory and interest will soon start working for you. Keep it up!
Go Jeff go! Whoever got away with lending you at 12.5% for your 2nd should be tracked down and confronted.
I’ve NEVER heard of a 12.5% mortgage rate before!
Nice job hammering away at it!
Soon before you know it… you’ll be out of that hole!
@Everyone – THANK YOU SO MUCH for all the support. My day job is really cramping my blogging style at the moment (i.e. work, eat, family, work, maybe sleep,…) Everything is looking good to be completed with mortgage number two. I’m very excited and can’t wait to be done with it. Again, thank you for the wonderful comments
Jeff
Wow- these numbers are fantastic!! You’re almost there.
Congratulations- you’re like.. at the last 100 metres of the 400 metre race and gunning for it!! =)
Excellent job Jeff! I am a little envious! We’ve only paid off $20,000 since last July. I think it might be time to do what you are.
Any recommendations for getting a job delivering? Seriously….
@Adam $20,000 is a great job and I’m sure very hard to do. Many people (not the readers here), can only pay a few thousand extra a year on their debt. They haven’t been able to curb their spending. Looks like you have a handle on that and then some, keep it up.
Pizza delivery tips -
1) visit every pizza place within 10-15 miles of your house. Someone will be hiring. Talk with a manager or owner, if they don’t have anything at this time, ask if it would be ok to check back every few weeks.
2) Be open to work late or some crazy hours. The hours you usually get when you start are shitty. It will only take one or two times to show the boss that you are willing to work and you’ll usually begin to get offered better hours. Tip: if you land a job, NEVER call in “sick”, always be 10 minutes early, and NEVER accept an offer to leave early (may places usually do this if they have too many drivers on a slow night). Leaving early just shows that you really don’t care much.
3) I like the Mom and Pop independent pizza joints because it feels more like a family. The chains have a much higher turnover so they might be the easiest to get a job at.
4) Remember that you are doing this to get out of debt. You’ll be expected to wash dishes, fold boxes, mop floors, cut veggies, cut pizzas, as well as deliver pizzas.
good luck and drop me an email if you’d like to chat further.
Jeff
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