Even though my October debt repayment total, $2004, wasn't that spectacular, it was a huge month for us financially because we finally paid off the last of my credit card debt! I've updated my sidebar info to celebrate that fact.

We've still got a long way to go, but our story has changed significantly; it's not just about the massive debt but the success we've had in eliminating a big chunk of it. We ended October with $282,479 in mortgage debt on two homes and $73,542 of education debt for three degrees. It's a lot, but it's not the kind of debt you have nothing to show for!

The goal for November is to pay off $1000 of debt. It's less than the average minimum we pay each month, but I have some doubt the last two student loan payments of the month will go through in November due to the holiday, so I'm going to try and pay extra on the first student loan to make sure I hit this goal.

I'm confident I'll also finish up my remaining 2010 goals: pay off the Sears card balance (for the new stove) of $848.10, a month before the interest would be applied (as a matter of fact the payment has already been set up); and build our Xmas fund of $700. (Next year I'm going to have an escrow fund for gift money among other things, so I don't have to scramble to get the money together right before we need it.)

I've also got some other, less concrete November goals:
*Healthy eating, fitness, weight loss
*Decluttering
*Participating in NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month)

I'm not setting specific goals, like I want to lose 5 lbs., or not have any sweets, or get rid of 50 items, or hit a certain word amount in NaNoWriMo. I know November's a busy month so I'm not sure how much of this I'll accomplish, but I wanted to put those wishes out there, and I'll blog any progress I make on any of these goals. Hopefully that will spur me to do some things, because I've been feeling scattered and lazy and unfocused for the past couple weeks.

I think it might have something to do with 1) finishing with breastfeeding, which wasn't something I enjoyed but did give me a sense of purpose; 2) going on the trip to England, which we'd been planning basically since AA was born; and 3) getting rid of credit card debt, which has been my main life goal for the past three-plus years. Having three such big parts of my life, big responsibilities, end one way or another in one month may have zapped my motivation in other parts of my life temporarily. I want to feel some momentum again, and I'm hoping it's in one or more of the areas I mentioned.