Year Goals - We're At the Halfway Point!

Let's talk money goals.

Most people who set goals/resolutions each year have some sort of financial goal on their list. Were you one of them? If so, the year is nearly halfway over - it's probably time to take stock of where you were, where you are now, and what you can to do stay on track.

One goal I set was to pay off our remaining consumer debt - $10,481.00 What goals, financially or otherwise, did you set? Share if you feel comfortable. Then take stock. Where are you at? What more do you need to do?

In the interest of transparency, let me share my update: As of today, we have paid off $7,396.31. Our remaining debt balance is $3,084.69. I do believe we're going to make it!

It hasn't been easy. We've had things come up, including cut income due to the current situation. We've also had some unexpected expenses, and unexpected blessings! Such is life, right? So...here's the skinny:

• In January we paid $974.76 to debt. I basically used every penny (except for 10% tithing) from my part time job to do that. Before I had the job, we were paying between $250 - $400 a month, depending on our expenses, so the job really bumped that number up. Unfortunately we also added a little over $300 to the credit card. I had subscriptions that I had not thought about that renewed. It was a good wake up call and reminder to eliminate those expenses. A little over half ($152) of that was interest rate charge. Yikes!

• February's beginning debt balance was $9,961.63. In February we paid $1,070.33. We added $57.00 to buy a toaster and an iron - ours had broken. I had the money in our emergency fund, but didn't actually have a debit card. It was in February that I decided I needed to get myself a debit card for unexpected expenses like that. 

• March's beginning debt balance was $9,074.62. We paid $1,562.33. We spent $150.00 to book an upcoming mini vacation (the debit card had not yet come in the mail, but that doesn't justify it, lol). We also had $118.72 in interest charges. March payment was bigger because of a work bonus received. We planned to pay down more with tax refund, but we ended up owing taxes this year. Due to COVID, we ended up cancelling our vacation and were refunded that $150.00.

• April's beginning balance was $7,421.06. We paid $1,899.69. Monthly income dropped as my hours were cut by about a third. We received the stimulus check. We took $200.00 of that to spend and put the rest to debt. I finally received my debit card. Interest charge was $93.98 - finally under $100!

• May's beginning balance was $5,892.31. We paid $1,430.62. Like every other month, my part time income went completely to debt. I received a $250 bonus from work too - the boss just wanted to be nice and help us all out since our hours were reduced! In May I had a debit card and so any unexpected costs that came up went on the debit card and came out of funds we'd set aside. Interest charge was $71.57.

• June's beginning balance was $4,621.52. We have paid $$1,907.12 so far. Because we refinanced our mortgage this month to get a lower interest rate (we didn't add anything to the mortgage, just switched to a 15 year loan which shaved 4 years off), we did not have a mortgage payment this month - so as you can imagine, that went to debt. We'll be making at least one more payment this month when payday hits. As of today, our balance is just over $3,000.00

So...that's the gist! We've worked really hard to stay within my husband's income. We've been oh, so tempted to spend money but have managed to save instead:

•  Our dishwasher broke over a year ago, and when that stimulus money came in you can bet I wanted to spend it on a new one! I somehow managed to keep the goal in mind. :)  
• Our front door is original to the house (built in 1974) and it's really struggling, as well as our garage door. I've got money set aside for when the garage door finally breaks, lol, but everything else we're holding off on as long as we can. 
• Our grocery bill has gone down the last few months as we've focused really hard on eating out of the pantry. We're eating less meat due to rising costs and I imagine it'll stay that way for the foreseeable future. 
• Not commuting to and from work and school each day is saving us around $200.00 each month.
• When we do shop, we're wearing masks and trying to make it a quick trip, so we're basically just buying produce and milk. Haven't had to buy toilet paper yet!
• I did upgrade our Disney+ to add Hulu. I imagine when/if things return to normal and we're gone most of the day I'll cancel it, but for now it's been nice to have since we're still trying to social distance. 

Where are you with your goals?

 If you're on or ahead of schedule, CONGRATULATIONS, keep it up!! If not, that's okay too. Take a look at where you are and where you want to be and set a plan. We've still got 6 months left in this year!  Nothing has happened according to plan in 2020 - and that's okay. Let's do what we can to finish the crazy year stronger than we were!