You Gotta Celebrate the Little Things!

Day after day, in this journey that seems more snail-like than gazelle-intense, you gotta celebrate the small victories. And today, I'm happy because the Chase #1 has fallen below the $4K mark!!





The account is closed so the only place it can keep going is down.  It's closed because I didn't want to accept a  change in terms so closing the account locked in a 6.99% fixed rate.

Total debt reduction for January was $935.71 which isn't too far off my goal of $12K for the year.  I do need to pick up the pace a little bit.  But January was tight ----then again, which month isn't tight?  Anyway...today I'll be content in knowing that I've reached another milestone with the Chase #1 card and keep plugging toward the finish line.

Final 2 Year Updates

I'm combining these last three into one post ....because life is crazy busy and while I have a minute to type this out I might as well do 'em all!

BANK VISA

This one is probably on schedule to be paid off first. It has a 6.15% interest rate and the starting balance was $3,575.78. Two years later, it has dropped to $2,060.51!

CHASE CARD #1

Definitely my highest credit card balance. It has a 6.99% which is fixed since I opted out of a change in terms. This one started at $6,698.00. Two years later, it's down to $4,300.80!

Money Market Loan

This is a crazy loan. I borrowed from my savings to replace a heat/air unit in our old house. And for a couple of years I never paid myself back ANYTHING! I'm still not paying much, just snowflaking little amounts when I find them. But at least I'm not ignoring it any longer. Two years ago I owed myself $4,711.50. Now that amount has been reduced to $4,534.39. Not significant progress....but I'm just happy I've put it back on the radar screen!

So there you have it! Total progress since the beginning of this blog.....$69,010.56! Now before you get all excited, remember that $45,739.46 was because of the inheritance my husband received from his mom. It still bothers me that we owe so much money, but it's wonderful to see that the numbers are moving the right way!

2010 Ending Balance - Chase Card #1

HUGE SIGH! If my readers have all forgotten me, I wouldn't blame them. I am really trying to stay focused on my goals, and spare time is just non-existant!

But I'm home today since schools are closed, and I found a minute to update this balance.

In August, 2009 the balance on this card was $6,698.00

Total paid through December 2010: $1,724.91

Ending balance = $4,973.09

Chase Card #1 - August '10 update

$74.34 paid. New balance = $5,270.92


To give myself some encouragement, I'm looking back at the original post on this balance. $1,400 is not alot to some people, but I'm reminding myself that it IS progress. Also, with this posting the total debt balance has dropped out of the $339K into the $338K range. Each $1K drop is something to cheer in my book!!!

Final June '10 updates

Posting this partly because we're already halfway through July! And partly to remind myself that everything is not doom and gloom around here. Progress is certainly not as fast as I would like, and I'm not sure July is going to show much progress at all....but I need to remind myself where I've been and that financial progress is not a microwave, but a slow cooker.

Chase Card #1:
$75.46 paid. New balance = $5,422.21


Money Market Loan:
$5.29 paid. New balance = $4,597.79


Net Worth Funding Goal: (click to enlarge detail)


Items to note:

• Halfway through the year, but not quite halfway to meet the $15K goal. Really going to have to step it up to reach $15K.
• Dividends paid during June were down (as compared to March) mainly because of BP. GRRR!
• Nothing has been added to the rental emergency fund for a couple of months. We've been making some small, but necessary repairs to that property. Hopefully, that will change in July and more will be added to that separate emergency fund. My goal is to have the tenant deposit plus 6 months of expenses in that account (mortgage payments, association dues, and property taxes). I'm very close....but need another $550 in that account . I should at least be adding in at least 1/12 of the annual tax amount.
  

Still in catch-up mode - Chase Card #1 May '10 update

Gosh! I have been such a bad blogger. I've been very preoccupied --- started Spring Cleaning. And that is one of those phenomenon that once I'm in the zone, I don't dare switch gears for fear of losing momentum.

The deep cleaning is good for my soul. It keeps my mind off the bad news, the economic turmoil that I'm afraid our country has not seen the end of yet, the financial uncertainties I find myself dwelling on in spite of all the planning, working, and saving. Anyway, that's my excuse for not posting all the May updates yet. But here's a quick one for ya....

Chase Card #1....
$80.09 paid. New balance = $5,497.67


I will be back with more updates. But be patient...this is a big house....or maybe it just seems big when you're trying to fit in Spring Cleaning between work, family, weddings, graduations, and birthday parties.

More April '10 Updates

April is always a busy month. I'm not working the double shift hours like I did the first two weeks of the month, but things are still busy at the office. Even today I'm up at the crack of dawn to get a couple of hours of weekend work knocked out so I can really be "here" at home once the rest of the family wakes up!

While I wait for the coffee to finish brewing, here are the last of the loan updates for April.

Money Market Loan:

$4.02 paid - $4,616.25 remaining. WooHoo! I'm hoping next month I'll cross over that $100 paid threshold.




Bank Visa:

$93.61 paid. New balance =$2,957.03 Another WooHoo! This one has now gone under the $3K mark never to return again!!!



Chase Card #1:

$158.32 paid. New balance = $5,577.76. And this is the biggest WOOHOO! With this update the total of all the credit card debt is now $12,816.01. It started at $15,981.86 so credit card debt is down over $3,000!!! YIPPEE!!!


Now to get that pesky work finished before the rugrats start circling. Hope you have a great Saturday!

More March '10 Updates

It's late, and I need to get another 30 minutes or more of work in before my head hits a pillow. Gone are the days when I would stay at the office 10 to 14 hours a day 7 days a week. The good part about my job is that I can get my work done at any time day or night. The problem when I try to work at home is that I can get NOTHING done until I feel like my house is semi-orderly and my kids are asleep so I'll continue to live on coffee and very little sleep for the next two weeks to make sure I get all those tax returns ready to file.

I'm taking a quick break to post the last of the March updates:

Money Market Loan went down $4.43. New balance = $4,620.27





Chase Card #1 - paid $96.99. New balance = $5,736.08





Chase Card #2 - paid $129.40. New balance - $2,670.14. And yes, if you've been following you know that I actually transferred this balance to the HELOC. But I'm keeping it separate in my mind, in my ultimate plan of attack of all debts, and I've decided to leave it separate on the blog too. Since the interest rate has been significantly reduced, and the required payment is interest only I don't expect to see much progress on this balance until I've knocked off some of the other balances with higher rates.




Back to the 1040's for me!

Chase Card Updates - Feb. '10

With all that was going on here last month and the fact that February is shorter than all the other months anyway, I guess it's no surprise that I've fallen behind in my updates.

Chase Card #1 - The party is over for this card too. Fifteen months at ZERO interest was nice while it lasted, but because I opted out of their change in terms I'm stuck paying 6.99% on this balance from now on.

$102.93 paid - new balance $5,833.07





Chase Card #2 - 190.67 paid - new balance $2,799.54

Chase Card #1 - Jan. '10 update

This should be the last month of the zero promo rate I've enjoyed on this card for 15 months. In those 15 months, I've never paid more than the minimum payment. Since I opted out of the recent change in terms, the interest rate should be 6.99%. Not terrible, but not as good as a zero rate! So yes...the party's over for this one.

Last payment = $121.00. New balance = $5,936.00

New Milestone with the Chase Card Dec. '09 Updates!

Chase Card #1 - $123.00 paid. Remaining balance = $6,057.00




Chase Card #2 - I was able to use the first 4 Snowflakes to reduce this balance $135.93 during December. Remaining balance = $3,342.27





But the best part of this update is that it brings total debt reduction since starting the blog past the $50K mark!! Granted, $45,739.46 was from my Mother-in-law's estate. I'm just so glad we didn't squander it away, but significantly reduced the debt load and my stress levels.

A few quick updates

Seems like life is running at warp speed, so I'm combining a few updates into one post. Nothing major here, just slow (but steady) progress towards these stinkin' balances!

$126 paid on Chase Card #1 - new balance $6,180.00




$87.22 paid on Bank Visa - new balance $3,392.99




$5.23 paid back to the Money Market Loan - new balance $4,647.98



I'm having a little happy dance, since this brings the credit card totals under $15,000 and over $1,000 less than when I started this journey!

Dear Chase - don't change my terms

Since most of our extended family is out of town this year, we opted for a small scale traditional dinner at home for just the four of us. The kitchen is already cleaned up. DH is watching football, I've got the kids hooked on a Brady Bunch marathon, and I'm going through a stack of mail.

Lo and behold! A little flyer from Chase regarding an Important Change in Terms Notice. Remember this sweetheart of a deal? 15 months at ZERO interest, then a fixed 6.99% APR. Well, just as I anticipated now that we're getting close to the end of the ZERO rate, they are changing the account to a variable rate. Beginning in January when the zero rate runs out, it would be 8.99% but would follow any increases/decreases to the prime rate. I was a little surprised to actually be able to talk to a real person on Thanksgiving Day, but I did and immediately rejected the change in terms. Therefore, the account will be closed immediately. But I will be able to pay off the balance at the fixed 6.99% rate I signed up for.

Add to my list one more thing to be thankful for: The ability to pay off my past at relatively low rates without feeling like I'm being jerked around by the credit card companies.

Chase Card #1 - October update

Knocked another $128.00 off the balance this month. New balance = $6,306.00

I think the turtle is a good icon for this one....slow but steady progress.

Chase Card #1 Update

Love love love that right now 100% of my payment goes to the balance. I will really hate when this ZERO interest promotion runs out. Paid another $131 on this balance during September, leaving a balance of $6,434.

Chase Credit Card #1

Listing out these debts is about as depressing as all the rain we've been having lately. But I know that if you draw a line in the sand, don't acquire any more debt, and keep making payments (however minimum they might be), eventually there will be progress.

Chase Card #1 is the result of a balance transfer from another credit card late in the year of 2008. I have been making the minimum 2% payments each month. And lucky for me, the card is still at ZERO interest until January, 2010. At the time I signed up it was supposed to switch to a fixed 6.99% rate in January 2010. But with all the changes in the credit card industry this year, I'm not sure if they have changed the terms. I haven't been reading those inserts too closely since I really don't have any options except just to ride it out and pay it off.

Thirty days ago, the balance was $6,698. Currently, it is $6,565. And I will be transferring another payment in just a few more days. So maybe then we'll see a little more movement on the ticker line.