Welcome to my first monthly debt payoff update! In these updates, I plan to detail how much we paid, tell you about any extra income we received during the month, and finally tally where we stand now. Should be fun!
I started this site to hold Mr. TMG and me accountable in our debt payoff journey. I also want to inspire and encourage others who are in debt—especially six figures like we are—by showing everyone that debt doesn’t have to be forever.
Whatever your numbers, I hope you find some inspiration in our story.
Let’s get to it!
Debt Payments
Here is a breakdown of all of our payments in January:
Navient 1-05 Stafford Sub: $4,122.23
Navient 1-03 Direct Loan-Sub: $30.61
Navient 1-09 Direct Grad PLUS: $2,005.31
Navient 1-07 Direct Loan-Sub: $59.13
Navient 1-08 Direct Loan-Unsub: $100.73
FedLoan 1: $2.86
Navient 1-12 Direct Loan-Unsub: $132.09
Navient 1-10 Direct Loan-Unsub: $162.42
Mortgage: $1,368.26
FedLoan 2: $45.76
Our extra payment this month was more than enough to pay off the lowest balance loan on our list, so we were also able to apply some to the next loan we’re targeting.
Ready to get out of debt?
We’re deviating a bit from the debt snowball method again (like I explained in this post) because the balances on 1-03 and 1-09 were about the same—$5,065 v. $5,171. We’re going to skip down to 1-09 and circle back to 1-03 when it’s paid off.
The payments for Mr. TMG’s loans (FedLoan 1 and FedLoan 2) actually represent two months’ payments. We pay on them just before the first of the month, and in December, because of New Year’s Day, the payment didn’t actually post until January.
Extra Income
I mentioned before in this post that we pay our minimum payments at the beginning of the month and then make our extra payment in the middle of the month.
The extra payment consists of the amount budgeted for debt payoff for the current month along with any extra income earned or received from the middle of the previous month to the middle of the current month.
The extra income shown below is income earned or received between December 16 and January 16, when we made the extra payment. We received quite a bit of extra income during that time, which helped accelerate our debt payoff.
- Christmas gifts (cash): $500
- Mr. TMG’s side job: $1,862.25
- Mr. TMG’s FSA reimbursement: $1,250
My FSA reimbursement posted to our account after January 16, so it will be included in the extra payment in February.
Related: 21 Side Hustles You Can Start Today
Remaining Balances
Now for the moment of truth. Here are the remaining balances on all of our debts.
Grand Total: $635,880.57 remaining
Stupid interest is killing us, but we’re making some good progress.
Overall, I’m really excited about our debt payoff last month. We’re inching that total down slowly but surely!
How did you do with your financial goals last month? Did you make the kind of progress you wanted to?
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Ready to get out of debt?
Hi, I’m Rho! I’m a wife, mom, and Biglaw associate who believes that true wealth is having control of your time. I help busy lawyers like you take back control of your time by teaching you how to achieve lifestyle freedom through mindset shifts and financial independence. Read a little more about me here.
