Is it just me or are the months flying? I honestly feel like I just posted our March Debt Payoff Report and here it is already April. The way time goes is a constant reminder to me that we will soon be out of debt. We’ve given up a lot of life’s pleasures to focus on paying off our debt, and it will be nice to get some of those things back. Admittedly, I miss being able to turn to HGTV or watch the latest drama on Housewives. I also miss going to sit down restaurants. While we have date night worked into the budget, going out to dinner can still be expensive if you don’t watch it. So instead of us having a date night out we order food in and watch a movie. We can do this two to three times a week depending on what we order, and it’s still cheaper than going out.
This month Broke on Purpose was also featured on the His and Her Money Show! Talaat and Tai are a huge inspiration to Marcus and I as they’ve paid off all their consumer debt and student loans and are working on paying off their mortgage. If you haven’t, make sure to take a listen to some of their podcast or a youtube video. Trust me they’ll inspire, and you’ll be hooked.
We’ve also launched a new product here at Broke on Purpose! Money Envelopes. I mentioned above that Marcus and I don’t go to sit down restaurants but we still dine out. There have been a few instances where we’ve spent over what we budgeted in that category and so we’ve decided to start using money envelopes to keep up with that category. The Broke on Purpose Money Envelopes are available in two colors, black or white, and cover nine different categories. You can order a bundle of five which features your main categories like groceries, gas, and self-care, or you can pick up the mega bundle which features all nine envelopes including categories like latte loot and entertainment.
Alright now let me get to the April 2016 Debt PayOff Report! This month we were able to throw $2500.00 at our debt. For the past three months we’ve been able to pay over $3K a month so it kind of hurt to see that this month we fell short. We incurred a few extra expenses like having to pay for unexpected travel due to a family emergency as well as paying for hosting a dinner party (which I don’t regret at all). We could have used our emergency fund to pay for the travel, but we didn’t see a point since we knew we always had money left over from not spending everything we budgeted out.
This month we also paid off the remainder of my Navient Student Loan and got started on knocking out the interest on my AES student. Before we can even touch the principle, we have to pay off $3,366.99 of interest that has been accruing while my loans have been in deferment. This is why you should always pay the interest on your loans even though they are in deferment or forbearance. We were able to pay $2101.00 towards the interest bringing the final amount due to $1265.99. We must pay this before anything we pay starts to bring down the principle amount, which currently sits at $38,399.21. I’m excited that we’ll be able to knock out that last bit of interest with our debt snowball payment.
In total, we’ve paid off $12,519 for the year 2016 and a total of $41,925 since we’ve been living Broke on Purpose. If we keep up the momentum we’ll be on track to pay off $48,000 for the 2016 year though our goal is to pay of $50,000.
How as your month living Broke on Purpose? Share your stories with me in the comments and don’t forget to visit the Broke on Purpose Instagram and Facebook where we keep the conversation going on all things debt, money, and finances.
Sounds like you are doing really well in your efforts to pay off your debt. I also cancelled my cable because I didn’t think it was worth the money. I bought an HDTV antenna instead and I get all the channels that I like to watch with the antenna while saving a bundle in cable fees. The Broke on Purpose Money Envelopes are a great idea for budgeting!
I think you are doing great at budgeting. I hate it when unexpected expenses come up because they hurt my budget. We’ve also been living Broke on Purpose and we’re doing this until we’ve paid off our debt.
Tracking finances is a good thing to stay practical and organized at things. I use an Excel sheet to manage expenses and savings. Having a target to achieve is motivational.
Oh, I love those money envelopes! What a great way to track each category, in style! 🙂 Congrats for paying off such a huge amount on your debt! $2,500 is nothing to shake a stick at. How fun to see the momentum grow as the months go along.
Wow, you are really doing well on paying off your debt. Congratulations! For me, that is already an achievement. I also love those money envelopes. It is easy to track the money and bills too.
Money envelopes?! What a brilliant idea!! I’m pretty savvy with my money and spending but I would love to have these. I actually they would really work for people who have a hard time managing their money.
Wow what an amazing journey you are sharing about trying to get rid of debt. I am staring to work on this myself with my husband as we prepare to get rid of debt and start paying off those student loans that seemed great back in college, which are haunting us now.
What an amazing job you both are doing! My fiance and I are just broke right now because of our upcoming wedding, LOL. After our wedding & honeymoon we’ll be sitting down and begin paying off our credit card debts and than tackling his student loans ( I don’t have any).
Good luck in May! ♥
What a brilliant idea using the money envelopes! I may need to steal your idea. and CONGRATULATIONS on such a huge accomplishment with paying off your student loans!
Great progress! You are well on your way to paying off thise debts.
You probably know about Sling already! I cut DirecTV because I realized I was paying $100/mo to only watch like 20 of the channels. I wished there was an a la cattle option and then Consumer Reports reviewed Sling, which lets me pay $20 in my case to have HGTV and the Food Network, which was all I really watched, anyway. Between that and Netflix, I save so much money. I’d love to get to where you and your hubs are but it’s impossible when you don’t have that second income. I can budget all I want-and I’m pretty good at it-but there will never be enough money.