• About Me
  • Disclosure
  • Shop

Making Cents Matter

  • Home
  • Resource Library
  • Budget
    • Budgeting Tips
    • Our Monthly Budget
    • Meal Planning
    • Free Printables
  • Debt Free
    • Debt Free Tips
    • Our Debt Free Journey
    • Free Printables
  • Saving
    • Ways We Save
    • DIY
    • Free Printables
  • Recipes
    • Recipes
      • Breakfast
      • Lunch
      • Dinners
      • Instant Pot
      • Slow Cooker
      • Soups
    • Meal Planning
    • Preserving Food
  • Garden
    • Gardening Tips
    • Preserving Food
  • Shop

January 12, 2018 · Leave a Comment

December 2017 Debt Update

This post may contain affiliate links for your convenience.
Click here to read my disclosure policy.

Budget· Debt Free· Our Journey· Our Monthly Budget

0shares

Here it is… my last debt summary for 2017.  If you saw my goals post, then you’ll already know how much we paid off in 2017, and our new total debt paid since we started our journey back in 2014.  But I wanted to break down how we did in December on paying our debts.

December 2017 Debt Update

So how did we do?  The answer… pathetic.  December’s debt payoff is by far the smallest I’ve done to our credit card for the year.  And honestly, I’m a little embarrassed that I put such a small amount towards it.

December 2017 Debt Update

In December, we paid $919.94 on debt.

Credit Card:  $189.84
Student Loans:  $180
Mortgage:  $500

There is one, and only one, reason for this: the payments I made on this card were at the beginning of the month.  As I explain in my 2018 goals post, during the last half of December I was having some asthma and allergy issues, and was in a constant brain fog.  Yeah, the family was home and we were spending time with each other, and yeah, the kids were sick too, but that stuff happens throughout the year and I can still stay on top of the payments.

I pay our card each week, so that when the due date comes there is no minimum payment due.  During my brain fogged, allergy ridden, asthmatic state, just breathing and communicating was hard enough, keeping up on budgeting wasn’t happening.

It’s like my brain goes into survival mode, and things that are staring me in the face get preference over everything else.  Since I had already paid December’s minimum payment on this card at the end November, this bill wasn’t starting me in the face.

And while I could beat myself up and feel super guilty over it, let’s face this simple fact: it’s not going to do any good.

So, now that we know what my issue was, and I am in the process of seeing a specialist to help better control my asthma and allergies {because it has been getting worse over the last few years}.  This isn’t the first time that’s happened.  Back in September 2016 I had the same issue, but we didn’t have it linked to allergies yet.

After I see the allergist, I should be able to have better control over my allergies and asthma in the future, and yes, in turn be able to focus on the budgeting better as well.

Throughout 2017 we’ve paid $15,464.26 on our debts,
putting our total debt paid off  at $81,544.28.

If you’re interested in other debt updates I’ve done this year, you can check out these:

  • October & November 2017 Debt Update
  • July – September 2017 Debt Update
  • April – June 2017 Debt Update
  • March 2017 Debt Update
  • February 2017 Debt Update
  • January 2017 Debt Update

 

I want you to remember throughout your debt repayment journey is a thing called life.  There will absolutely be months where you’re crushing it, and months where life happens and you’re just getting through.  In the end, all of that is completely okay!  The end game is financial freedom, and financial security.  The journey is all about changing your financial habits, learning to spend within your means, saving for the known, and having a little money on hand for the unknown.

December 2017 Debt Update

 

How did your 2017 debt repayment go?  Did you payoff any accounts?  Did you master budgeting for the year?  Let me know in the comments below!

Related Posts

  • March 2016 BudgetMarch 2016 Budget
  • How To Cook and Freeze Dry BeansHow To Cook and Freeze Dry Beans
  • Calendula Lotion BarsCalendula Lotion Bars
  • Debt Free Progress: December 2015Debt Free Progress: December 2015
  • Slow Cooker Pot RoastSlow Cooker Pot Roast
  • January Budget CategoriesJanuary Budget Categories
0shares
Previous Post: « January 2018 Meal Plan
Next Post: Greens, Beans and Rice »

Reader Interactions

Want access to our resource library? Sign up for our free email list!

* indicates required

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

CommentLuv badgeShow more posts

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Primary Sidebar

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • YouTube

Post Categories





makingcentsmatter

makingcentsmatter
Only you can determine what your financial goals a Only you can determine what your financial goals are. If that means you're adding money to your savings account, or contributing to your retirement, while you are paying off debt, then so be it!⁠
.⁠
Do what looks right for you and your personal finances.⁠
.⁠
.⁠
.⁠
.⁠
.⁠
.⁠
.⁠
.⁠
.⁠
#budget #budgeting #savingmoney #savings #cashbudget #cash #cashisking #frugalblogger #frugalmom #frugalliving #financialgoals #personalfinancetips #personalfinance #debtfreejourney #debtfreecommunity #debtfreeprogress #makingcentsmatter #financialfreedom #debtfree
The trick to meal planning is to make it predictab The trick to meal planning is to make it predictable. But predictable doesn't mean the same thing week to week. You could have a chicken meal, a soup meal, a pasta meal, a leftovers meal, a family favorite meal, and so on.⁠
.⁠
We always try to go with themed days, but some weeks are so hectic the theme is literally "fast". Thankfully that hasn't been the case lately.⁠
.⁠
.⁠
.⁠
.⁠
.⁠
.⁠
.⁠
.⁠
#mealplanning #mealplan #budget #budgeting #monthlyincome #savingmoney #savings #cashbudget #cash #cashisking #frugalblogger #frugalmom #frugalliving #financialgoals #personalfinancetips #personalfinance #debtfreejourney #debtfreecommunity #debtfreeprogress #makingcentsmatter #financialfreedom #debtfree
I can only hear about my extended warranty I never I can only hear about my extended warranty I never purchased so many times. 😣⁠
.⁠
.⁠
.⁠
.⁠
.⁠
.⁠
.⁠
.⁠
.⁠
.⁠
.⁠
.⁠
.⁠
#makingcentsmatter #budgets #monthlyincome #debtfreecommunity #realbudget #savingmoney #payingoffdebt #savings #frugalliving #frugalblogging #budgeting #monthlyincome #zerobasedbudget #financialgoals #personalfinance #personalfinancetips #financialfreedom
March Debt Paid numbers are in!⁠ .⁠ House: $51 March Debt Paid numbers are in!⁠
.⁠
House: $511.13⁠
Citi: $0 – this has a residual $3 in interest charges since payoff, due in April⁠
D NelNet: $100⁠
K NelNet: $100⁠
K Chase: $600⁠
Explorer: $336.27⁠
.⁠
Total Paid in 2021: $8,258.84⁠
.⁠
Extra Payment: There isn’t one this month since we were $25 away from zeroing out the budget for our February 15th monthly paycheck. That $25, and monies left from our January 15th paycheck, covered our OOP costs for Hubs’ filling. We also have some savings goals coming up that need to be met, making our debt payments a little lower for the time begin.⁠
.⁠
.⁠
.⁠
.⁠
.⁠
.⁠
.⁠
.⁠
.⁠
.⁠
#makingcentsmatter #debt #debtfreejourney #debtfreeprogress #debtfreecommunity #realbudget #savingmoney #payingoffdebt #savings #frugalliving #frugalblogging #budgeting #monthlyincome #zerobasedbudget #financialgoals #personalfinance #personalfinancetips #financialfreedom⁠
The battle for who can charge what tonight is abou The battle for who can charge what tonight is about to begin. 😬⁠
.⁠
My kids run off with my charger, plug it into one outlet 5 feet from where they found it like that particular outlet is the only one in this house, and then proceed to fight over who can charge their device first at night.⁠
.⁠
Then they get grumpy when it's their turn and it's not the proper input cable. #itwasmychargerfirst #dontlikeitgofindyourown⁠
.⁠
.⁠
.⁠
.⁠
.⁠
.⁠
#parentingteens #parentingtweens #momlife #realife #budget #budgeting #savingmoney #cash #frugalblogger #frugalmom #financialgoals #personalfinancetips #personalfinance #debtfreejourney #debtfreecommunity #debtfreeprogress #makingcentsmatter
A needs his wisdom teeth taken out. I've talked a A needs his wisdom teeth taken out. I've talked a bit in our February Budget Check-In about how much of this I think we'll owe, and you can check that out on my YouTube channel if you're interested, but I wanted to say here...⁠
.⁠
To the mother with little kids struggling to get your finances in order, it will get better. I wish I could have heard those words years ago.⁠
.⁠
Nearly 10 years ago we were facing a $1,400 out-of-pocket portion for A's Phase 1 orthodontic work (I looked it up after I uploaded the video... we had a $1,400 portion).⁠
.⁠
It was a lot of money for us at the time. Our kids were 6, 2, and 3 months old. I don't think we even had $500 in savings, and I just left a part-time teaching job because it wasn't paying the part-time daycare bill, so paying our portion in full was just a dream I didn't think was achievable.⁠
.⁠
I was even stressing about the monthly $100 payments. We were so strapped. It was our breaking moment to start cutting costs and budgeting more effectively. We've learned a lot in that time period.⁠
.⁠
What we've learned is that it does no good to stress about it all the time. Life happens. All you can do is try to plan ahead, and if it's something that's unplanned, readjust. It won't always be easy, especially at first, but it will be worth it.⁠
.⁠
Nearly 10 years later, we are still paying off our debts. Student loans suck. But I see this bill as a reminder of how far we have come. Seeing a bill like this doesn't stress me out like it used to, and I know we can easily create a plan that can get it done and out of the way.⁠
.⁠
Will it delay our debt-free date more? Yes. But it's not worth stressing over. Life happens, readjust, and continue on down the path. It's called a journey for a reason.⁠
.⁠
.⁠
.⁠
.⁠
.⁠
.⁠
.⁠
#wisdomteeth #personalfiannce #personalfinancetips #financialgoals #budgeting #budgets #savingsgoals #savings #cashbudget #zerobasedbudget #debtfreejourney #debtfreeprogress #adulting #lifehappens #realife #realbudget #makingcentsmatter
It's almost payday! Here's how our variable budget It's almost payday! Here's how our variable budgeting categories are working out for the pay month.⁠
.⁠
Food is looking good this far into our paycheck, probably because miscellaneous - which includes eating out - took a hit with unexpected purchases. Pet is low for this time of the month, and Household is spot on.⁠
.⁠
Fuel looks like it'll be lower than last month (yay for weeks of snow days & delayed school starts), and Therapy had one more appointment than initially planned.⁠
.⁠
Garden, Dental, Medical & Propane are not included in these estimates so far because those expenses are coming from sinking funds. Once we're done with the month and review the budget, I'll move over the total amount spent from those sinking funds.⁠
.⁠
How's your paycheck budget coming along?⁠
.⁠
.⁠
.⁠
.⁠
.⁠
.⁠
#realbudget #monthlyincome #monthlybudget #budget #budgetupdate #budgeting #savingmoney #variablecategories #savingmoney #savings #debtfreecommunity #debtfreejourney #cash #financialgoals #personalfinancetips #personalfinance #frugalliving #frugalblogger #budgetblogger #makingcentsmatter
Automating your finances makes saving money and bu Automating your finances makes saving money and budgeting more convenient, and therefore easier on you. Out of sight, out of mind, right?⁠
.⁠
What's one thing you can automate this week to make your finances easier?⁠
.⁠
Me? I'm going to set up our sinking fund transfers to automate every payday (the 15th of every month). Our bank set up a feature on their app where we can schedule savings transfers now, and I'm going to take advantage of it!⁠
.⁠
.⁠
.⁠
.⁠
.⁠
#personalfinance #personalfinancetips #budgeting #budgettips #personalfinancemadeeasy #savingmoney #savings #sinkingfunds #cash #frugalblogger #frugalmom #frugalliving #debtfreejourney #debtfreecommunity #debtfreeprogess #financialfreedom #makingcentsmatter
Oh my word... our miscellaneous category has gone Oh my word... our miscellaneous category has gone a smidgen overboard this month!⁠
.⁠
I foresee a goal for March's paycheck to at out less than twice. That's where this category went awry. $99.16 of it went to eating out. 😑 Some of it was avoidable, but not all of it. Having to drive to multiple appointments in one day during snow squalls and rearranging our whole day was one of those unavoidable instances.⁠
.⁠
Tracking our expenses - much like a budget review - is vital to sticking to your budget!⁠
.⁠
.⁠
.⁠
.⁠
.⁠
.⁠
#makingcentsmatter #debt #debtfreejourney #debtfreeprogress #debtfreecommunity #realbudget #budgetcategories #monthlyincome #savingmoney #savings #frugalliving #frugalblogging #budgeting #zerobasedbudget #financialgoals #personalfinance #personalfinancetips #financialfreedom #expensetracking #budgetfail
Load More... Follow on Instagram


Copyright

I love it when you share our content! Please keep in mind that all content, images and text on this site are property of Making Cents Matter. Feel free to use no more than two photos on your own site, provided that a link back to my original post is included. Do not crop, edit, or remove any watermarks from any of my images without obtaining written permission from me first. Thank you!

Privacy Policy & Disclosures

MakingCentsMatter is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and other affiliated sites.

You can read more about our privacy policy and disclosures here.

Copyright © 2021 · Captivating Theme on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in