It’s been a little while since we update this blog. To be
honest, part of the reason is that we haven’t made a ton of headway in the past
2 months. The last “big” payment was on
10/15/12. There are a million reasons for that which I won't get into now, but hopefully that big payments start happening again this month! We are still making the $300 payments every month, but that really
isn’t doing much. Half of the payment goes towards interest and the other
have towards principal. It sucks.
We started July 2nd owing $41,634 in student
loans. Since July 2nd, we have paid $5,000 towards that debt. Now, we should be
at $36,634 in debt left, but due to interest, we still owe $37,591. That’s a
HUGE difference. When paying off debt, it’s important to remember how much
interest sucks.
This blog is a sort of torture Stephanie and I have put on
ourselves. We talk about it from time to time, but I think we both get
discouraged when looking at how much is left to pay. I have said this before
and will say it again, I HATE debt.
Is there any hope for us? I think so. We have been married
for almost 6 months and are finally getting a solid grip on how much we should
be spending on groceries, eating out, and things like that. We are beginning to
keep an eye on our finances in a more realistic way. I thought it would be
possible to only spend $100/month on groceries, which it turns out is not all
that possible. It’s important to always be realistic, otherwise you will be
frustrated because your expectations are WAY too high.
Due to our very busy schedules we aren’t able to clean
houses at the same rate we once were. I coach high school basketball and we
both joined the high school staff at Highlands Church, so our weekends are
pretty much gone. Stephanie is starting a new job today which will help a TON
in paying off this stupid debt.
The thing about paying debt is that your “plan” for paying
it off hinges on a million different things. We are hoping neither one of us
gets really sick. We are hoping our cars never break down. We are hoping we don’t
get pregnant (we want to someday, but I would prefer to not owe the government
$35K when that happens). Sure, we have a small emergency fund, but that only
goes so far. This debt is hamstringing us in every part of our life. The only
thing that is keeping us from going insane is thinking about how great it will
feel to pay it off!
We are in need of something from everyone reading this,
though (aside from your encouragement and prayers!). Our current living situation is incredible! We are so very thankful
that God has provided us a place to live that is so cheap and allows us to pay
off our debt at a higher rate. However, all good things must come to an end. We
are looking to be out of where we are sometime in May and aren’t really sure of
what we are going to do after that. Yes, an apartment is an option, but we
really want to avoid that. The thought of paying $900/month to rent something
for a year sounds awful. This is where we need you. If you know of ANYBODY who
has some extra space (guest house, empty part of the house, etc.) please let
them know about our situation and if they might take us in for cheap. I know,
we are asking for a hand-out of sorts, but that is okay. I’m checking my pride
here in order to pay off debt and really set our family up for better times
down the road when it comes to finances. We would really appreciate any help we
can get!
Anyways, thanks again for reading. We are always getting
words of encouragement from family and friends and that goes a LONG way in
keeping focused on our goal. Thank you!
