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Big-Picture Goal mid-year review

June 24th, 2008 at 05:43 pm

OK, per mighty Merch (there's no "not so" in my opinion Smile), here are my thoughts on my Big-Picture Goal, which as most of you know is to pay off all credit cards and personal loans by 12/31/09.

In a perfect scenario I'd be one-quarter done by now. My starting balance was $70,251, so that means I should have paid off $17,563 by now, and have a balance of $52,688.

Instead, to date I've paid off $16,472, and I'm at $53,779.

That means I'm $1,091 behind schedule.

If all stays stable in my life, that number is not alarming, because a debt snowball has you paying off much less at first and then gradually increasing over time. However, I know for a fact that the second half of 2008 is going to be anything but stable:

- In August, AS will officially graduate from her Master's program, and her two deferred student loans will come due. I believe one of them had a monthly payment of about $200, and the other has only a slightly smaller balance (and I have no idea what the interest rate will be).

- In September, NT will (hopefully) be starting school, to finish his B.A. Now I'm hoping to borrow enough to cover the whole thing (and have already assumed $40K of imaginary debt in preparation), but there's a chance there will be expenses that need to be paid upfront.

- In November, our mortgage payments will go up. Whether we let our ARM adjust or we refinance to a fixed-rate loan before that, it's going up either way. I'm not getting a 5.0% loan with no fees and no points, and that's that. How much it will settle at, I have yet to learn.

Luckily there should be offsets to these bumps in our monthly bills:

- When AS has finished her capstone project (before Aug. 1, hopefully), she will begin her job search in earnest. She already has an application at the one place she wants to work more than anything. We're hoping that with her advanced degree she will command a better salary than she does now.

- NT and I should get cost-of-living raises this year. Mine should hit in September, and I can't remember right now when NT said his would be.

- And, if the above isn't enough, I'm hoping to scrape a few bucks off our phone bill in October by switching two of our phones to prepaid. Our grocery/household category could definitely shrink too, though I hope it doesn't come to that. Probably I wouldn't, because our quality of life is good where it is, and the due date on my goal doesn't have any real significance: I wouldn't die if I were a month or two late on finishing it.

So where does that put me in my Big-Picture Goal? Shakily optimistic, I guess.

4 Responses to “Big-Picture Goal mid-year review”

  1. creditcardfree Says:
    1214326121

    Anything you can sell to get you up to current? Extra furniture, computer equipment. Best of luck...it is best to be optimistic!

  2. sagegirl Says:
    1214326520

    I think you have an awesome plan. BTW, "imaginary debt" made me laugh--I like how you have planned for it already

  3. merch Says:
    1214330754

    Glad to hear you have reached 93.788% of your quarterly goal.

    Just keep the focus and you will seem some opportunities to get back inline. i think the biggest thing is that you are conservative with your future debts. Hopefully, these will bring you back inline with your goals.

    I was thinking of dropping the "not so mighty" in January if I hit my goals. But, thanks for the nice words.

  4. ceejay74 Says:
    1214339774

    Thanks guys! Oh, and I found an entry with my New Year's Resolutions in it. Besides the one I've already addressed, the others were to: Start planning seriously about becoming a mom (check), keep working out almost 5 days a week (check), plant a balcony garden (check) and meet my first big payoff goal by 3/31 (check). So on my other goals I'm doing great or already finished!

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