Commit. Plan. Take action.
Mike and I spent almost $2,000 on gifts this year.
$1,979.24 to be exact.
And that was under budget.
That amount doesn’t include the tithes we gave to our church and other donations.
$1,979.24 only includes how much we spent on gifts for birthdays, Christmas, Father’s Day, Mother’s Day, and a few weddings. Since we have been focusing on paying off our debt, we gave gifts only to close family and friends.
The end of January is nearly here already and I can’t believe how quickly the month went by! I am happy to say that, during the first month of the year, we had some significant wins in our debt-free journey. Here’s the latest debt update…
The biggest win of January was getting our emergency fund fully re-established again. For now, we’ve only got $1,000 socked away. However, as we pay more things off, we will be adding to this. Because my husband and I work jobs that can vary in pay, it is extremely important to have a few months’ worth of expenses saved just in case.
Now, for the numbers…
Altogether, we made $1.,503 in payments towards our debts. This leaves us with the following account balances…
Next month we will at least make the same amount in payments and hopefully more. We also will continue to add money to our emergency fund when we have it. There are a few additional expenses occurring next month that will soak up a bit of our savings and debt payoff cash though.
We are preparing to register our car in Georgia (finally). Our North Carolina registration is up at the end of the month. To pass inspection here, register the car, and get our licenses, it will like cost around $1,000 (oof).
Outside of that, I can’t wait to update you on where we are in another month’s time. Remember, if you are on your own debt freedom journey that every tiny step forward counts, even if it seems insignificant now!
Readers, tell me about your recent debt wins!
The concern that I hear the most from people who are trying to pay off debt is how to recover from a setback.
Maybe it’s happened to you.
You get all fired up about paying off debt, take the time to create your debt freedom plan, figure out which debt you’re going to pay off first, create a budget, and start to throw every available dollar toward your debt.
This works fine for a month or two, or maybe just a week or two, but then something comes up to throw your plan off course.
No one has gone completely untouched by the coronavirus pandemic. Half of Americans say they’ve been financially affected by the virus. However, many states are beginning to reopen businesses and some folks are going back to work. What many people aren’t considering is how to begin setting themselves up for their own financial recovery.
Before you can start preparing to recover from this pandemic financially, you need to consider how you’ve been impacted. Everyone’s finances are set up differently. Some individuals have been hit way harder than others during this time. Certain folks are out of work, while others haven’t been financially impacted (much).
If you’ve been out of work, the first thing you may do when you get back to your job is get caught up on your bills. Others may want to focus on revamping their emergency funds or savings accounts. Many will look at how they can mend their retirement accounts after the market crash.
Depending on how you were impacted by the global pandemic, what you focus on will be different. So, think about how you have been affected by COVID-19 and what your first steps need to be.
For us, our financial recovery will focus on re-establishing our emergency fund and focusing on rebuilding our credit. We decided to take a break from a few payments during this time so our finances wouldn’t be as tight.
This will undoubtedly have an impact on our credit scores and the length of our debt freedom journey, but it was something we thought would decrease our current financial stress. (Worth it, in my book!) Once we’ve rebuilt some of those areas, we will refocus on snowballing our debt with everything we’ve got.
On top of that, we are also going to be looking into some hustles to help us earn a bit more to make these things start happening sooner. My husband is looking at becoming a delivery driver and I’ve looked at some additional hustles as well.
For now though, we are continuing to stay in and stay safe! Readers, how are you prepping for financial recovery post-COVID?
Do you feel like you’ll never get out from under your pile of debt?
If so, you need to read this inspiring story from the Miller family.
As their family grew from five mouths to feed to seven and with a wage of no more than $14.50 per hour, Ella and Lavern Miller paid off $137,000 of debt in four years!
Read on to hear from Ella Miller herself how they paid off so much debt in such a relatively short time.
Bills are still trickling in from when I gave birth last August. Our little one entered the world on August 31 and, surprisingly, I wasn’t hit with a mound of medical bills immediately. In fact, nothing started coming in the mail until late November regarding my labor and delivery bill. Here’s a look at what the out-of-pocket cost will be for our family.
While I was pregnant, I researched the cost of having a baby and posted about it here on the blog. For a lot of people, it is shocking when the labor and delivery bill arrives and it is five figures. The average amount most women pay to give birth in a hospital is around $40,000. That’s if everything goes perfectly. Additional drugs or other medical intervention will cost more. For instance, I was induced and required medication for induction. This meant my pharmacy cost while in the hospital was higher than average, but we will look at a break down of the bill below.
There are plenty of other costs to giving birth in a hospital. Many people don’t consider what they’ll eat while they are there (and trust me, hospital food isn’t it). In fact, during COVID, some of the hospital’s services, such as food delivery, aren’t completely available. On top of that, you may be in the hospital longer than you think. My stay started Monday afternoon and we didn’t leave until Thursday morning. Some hospitals may charge parking during that period of time. Be sure you are prepared for that.
Some of these unexpected costs may throw people for a loop, but what really shocks most couples is when the labor and delivery bill arrives.
The dates I was in the hospital were August 30 through September 2. When the bill came from the medical center where I gave birth the total came to $26,250.40. Thankfully, my insurance is covering $23,548.85 of that. However, that still leaves me footing $2,701.60 of the bill. Here’s a break down…
As mentioned above, I had to stay in the hospital a little longer than most mothers when they give labor. So, my room and board and paying for the labor room is a little higher than average. My pharmacy and laboratory costs are a little more expensive too. I went into the hospital because I was having trouble regulating my blood pressure. So, some additional medication was needed. Many people may pipe up and say we could’ve saved money by sharing a room too. During COVID that simply isn’t an option though, and you still have to pay the private room fees.
I honestly chuckled when I saw the bill. The most important part of labor/delivery was the anesthesiologist (that epidural saved me), but it is one of the cheapest item lines on the bill. The room, which is the most expensive part of the entire ordeal, was uncomfortable and the food was poor. At the end of it all though, we got our sweet little Chicken Nugget (her official nickname). She makes the labor and delivery bill irrelevant.
There is a big change coming to Our Debt Free Family!
Recently, I’ve had a huge revelation and because of this revelation, I have decided to sell Our Debt Free Family.
That means that there will be a new owner and writer on the site.
Around the new year people tend to set financial resolutions and plans for the next 12 months. The beginning of the year is also a good time to get a decent price on a used car. As you know, our little family grew by one last year with the addition of our daughter, Dahlia. Before now, we’ve driven a 2015 Volkswagen Golf GTI. However, fitting the car seat in the backseat isn’t the easiest thing to get done. So, we have been going through the pros and cons to try to decide whether or not we want to trade in our vehicle.
My husband absolutely loves cars. It is something he’s always been passionate about. One of his lifelong goals was to become an automotive journalism, which he accomplished last year. That being said, there is a little nostalgia attached to the cars we’ve had together.
Before we transitioned into being a one-car family, my husband drove around in a tiny 1999 Mazda Miata. We took a lot of adventures in that car. Eventually, Drew wanted to take it to race at the track. Unfortunately, that never ended up happening. We sold the Miata during the pandemic and still miss it dearly. It was such a fun car with so many memories attached to it.
The Golf is no different. For one, it is the first thing Drew and I truly purchased together. We named the car Gerry and we’ve used it as our primary driver now for three years. There have been road trips, it was the car we brought our daughter home in, the car we packed up and moved states away in. So, even though it is a pain to get the car seat into, part of me wants to hold on to Gerry just a little longer.
While we were initially mulling around the idea of trading in our car for something that would lower our monthly payment, we probably won’t be making a trade in unless we find a crazy good deal. The car seat dilemma is a temporary one. When we go on road trips, we can purchase a roof rack instead of buying another car. Ideally, we will pay the Golf off over the next two years or so and then pay for the next car in cash, keeping the Golf as a beater until it dies.
The only way a trade in would make sense for our family right now is if we found something that would give us lower payments with more space. With cars and real estate, that perfect mix of cheap but spacious is hard to find. Will family road trips in our little Golf be difficult? Yes. Will I also probably bump my head every time I put the car seat in the back? Also yes. At the end of the day, we have to keep our eyes set on what will be best for our family financially.
We all know at least one person that takes being “a penny pincher” to a whole new level. The ones that buy the cheapest toilet paper and pull the 2 sheets apart to make 2 rolls or the one that buys paper plates and tries to wash them.
I would definitely classify myself as being a penny pincher, but hopefully not to the extreme stated above! (My husband might have a different opinion of this!) From my experience, I’ve noticed that when one becomes too much of “a penny pincher,” it actually hurts your bottom line more than helps it. Here are some [Read more…]
It has become popular for people to choose words to describe their goals for the year. This year, my word is going to be “intentional.” I want to be more intentional about how I spend my time and what I focus on, shifting towards things that bring me joy and make me more available to my daughter.
According to Merriam-Webster, intentional is defined as “done by intention or design.” Some common synonyms for the word include conscious, deliberate, purposeful, and willful. So, instead of doing things on a whim or without planning, I’ll take my time and be intentional with how I move forward.
It’s more than that though. Since giving birth to my daughter I have avoided things that feel like a waste of time. My time is valuable. I could be spending it with my daughter, watching her continue to grow. So, when I’m not doing that, I want to be using my time to the fullest. This means being more intentional about how I spend my time. For instance, I need to make certain things higher priority during her resting hours instead of scrolling endlessly on social media. That way, when she wakes up from her nap or simply wants to spend time with me, I’m there to do it.
I’m also going to be intentional in other ways. We are working to be more intentional with our money and how we spend it. There are things we are doing (like cleaning out closets and minimizing expenses) that are helping us be more intentional about how we spend. For example, we definitely didn’t need a dozen streaming subscription services. Trimming some of those down can help us save for more important things.
Another way we hope to be more intentional in 2022 is with our health. Towards the end of my pregnancy and since my daughter’s birth we’ve spent so much money on eating out. Instead of spending money on fast food or eating out daily, we are going to put money towards our health and wellness. For me, this will take the form of private yoga sessions once a week. My husband is going to look into martial arts classes. Rather than throwing it away on junk food, we will be more intentional with our money and put it towards improving our body and mind.
When it is all said and done, financial resolutions and your “word of the year” only work if you have a plan to put behind them. To be more intentional this year, I am journaling daily, I’ve deleted many social media apps off my phone, and I’ve added more books to my TBR list. We are surrounding ourselves with people and things who are positive, intentionally working to create a happy, healthy life for our family.