February 2018 Debt Update

Each month I chronicle our progress on our debt free journey. This is how we did for February 2018.

In February, we paid $1,288.87 on debt.

Credit Card:  $558.87
Student Loans:  $230
Mortgage:  $500

I started this month with such hopes of getting our debt paid down quite a bit, but Murphy had some other plans in mind for us.

Three days into the month our middle got really sick with vomiting and high fever, but there were also migraines included. And when he has migraines, he cannot keep anything down, including water. The flu had been taking a toll on the whole school district, and we were just managing symptoms as best as we could. When he started having a seizure, we had to take him to the ER. It was the first time he had one, and the cause of it needed to be found. He did test positive for Influenza Type A, and we were sent home with some anti-nausea meds. On the way home, I hit a deer.

That gets us into our next two hang ups. The deer. Thankfully the type of comprehensive coverage we have covered the damage done by the deer, but there was damage to our hood that was prior {see all that peeling paint} and they weren’t going to fix just a small part of the hood. So we had to pay for a portion of the repairs to the hood.

The other hang-up here was that the cost to fix the car came ever so close to totalling the car. My fender, headlight, hood, grille, driver door and two part bumper all needed to be repaired or replaced. The “wiggle room” when all was said and done was only $61.14. The estimator literally started his conversation with me as “I’m a little nervous about this car because I totalled two last week”, and as he was making his way through the estimate he said “how attached to this car are you?” Very… very attached. We’ve had it for nearly 7 years, and it’s paid off. I’m attached.

Other happenings this month included the elementary Valentine’s exchanges, middle school science fair, multiple weekend practices for the spring musical, an orthodontist visit for Bookworm, and an allergist visit for me. Starting next month, I will be setting aside $20 per week up until July so we have a down payment for the orthodontist. After the down payment, we will owe $200 per month until the balance is paid in full. I’m only expecting to pay $3,250 of that estimate, including the down payment, since insurance covers their portion. But I don’t know if we’ll have another insurance switch. And if we do, I’ll be responsible for the entire amount if they’re not a participating provider.

Before the month had started, I had aimed for a $700 payment as our debt snowball. When all is said and done, I think the payment was a better than I anticipated with everything going on. Our 2018 debt payment is at $2,378.74, and our total is now teetering on $84,000 paid.

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.