Wow, it’s been nine months since our last Debt Pay Off Report. Let me tell you A-LOT has happened in nine months; I mean A LOT. When I stopped doing the debt payoff reports it was mainly because I knew that we needed to take a step back from being so narrowly focused on only paying off our debt. There were so many other things that we kept telling ourselves we’d get to later; you know once the debt was paid off. It got to the point where we weren’t living. Admittedly, I preached a lot of “you gotta sacrifice and keeping pushing” sermons during our debt or die days, but I realize now I was wrong. COMPLETELY WRONG.

So where are we now when it comes to our finances? This question is a question asked a consistent basis. We were very open with sharing our debts amounts and the struggles and highs, so I don’t fault people for being curious. However, answering that question isn’t as easy as throwing up some numbers.

We’re still putting the pieces together.

We’re having conversations about what we want our lives to look like, and we’re laying the foundation for that to happen.

We’re learning to balance having debt and still achieving our goals because let’s be honest it’s not everyone’s goal to be debt free or to join the FI/RE movement. Some people may want just to create a life where their debt isn’t smothering them. Where it’s manageable, where they can go on vacation, buy that perfume that makes them feel like their the sexiest woman in the room, or be able to help someone in need. Guess what, you can do these things and still have debt. We’re doing it, well at least the perfume part.

In 2018 I started the year self-employed. I went from a six-figure job to relying on my skills to bring in extra money (read more about why I left my job here). Admittedly, we were lucky. Marcus and I had done so well with our Broke on Purpose Journey that we reached a point we were could comfortably live off of his salary and use whatever I brought in to supplement. It took some adjusting, but we made it work. I started a full-time job in May, and we’re still powering through this year living Broke on Purpose but just with a different focus.

Here’s where we last left off with our goals with some new items sprinkled in.

SAVINGS

Last year we wanted to beef up our emergency fund from $7500. I’m happy to announce that we’ve successfully reached our goal of having $10,000 saved in our emergency fund.

We have maintained a savings of $2000 for car repairs which have had to be refilled throughout the year after putting over $1000 worth of repairs to both our paid off vehicles, and we’re on track to have $900 saved for Christmas. We also have several sinking funds for a variety of things for which we’re actively saving. For instance, we’ve already saved $4000 for a trip in 2019. One of the ways that I keep all our saving goals in check is to plan them out using a worksheet from the Money Moves Mega Bundle.

This year we’re also contributing to our ROTH IRA’s which is something we didn’t do at all during the first three years of this journey. I regret not doing it. Like I kick myself. We were so focused on using that money to pay off debt that we let it blind us to the fact that we were wasting precious years of compounding. Moving forward, this is one area we won’t skimp on ever again.

We’re investing in the stock market. I’ve talked to several wealthy people, and one of the consistent things that They tell me that they live below their means, they save, and they invest. We’re teaching ourselves more and more about the stock market and consistently investing every month.

STUDENT LOANS

So far this year we’ve paid off $10,728 of our student loan debt. It’s weird seeing that amount so low compared to previous years. Our ACTIVE student loan debt currently sits at $85,152.87. I say active because this year a “millionaire next door” blessed us by paying off the $24,897  balance on my Great Lakes Loan at the beginning of the month. This loan had an interest rate of 6.8%. Instead of making payments to the student loan company we’ll be making payments to them at 0% interest. Do the math, and you’ll see that this gift is saving us thousands of dollars! Since this is a debt we’re still paying it brings our total amount of loans owed to $110,049.87.

At the present moment, we are paying a combined amount of $1601.00 each month towards our student loans.

UNEXPECTED EXPENSES

If you follow me on Instagram, then you know the story of how I spilled ranch dressing all over my 2011 Mac Book Pro. I was devastated. That computer helped me build two brands and go me through my Ph.D. program. I was expecting it to last another two to three years and it would have had that freak accident not of happened. While I was able to salvage the computer, it has several issues that make ineligible for everyday use, like the “CTRL” button not working. So, I purchased a brand new 2016 MAC Book Pro with touch bar. When you break down all of the specs, it was the best deal around even compared to refurbished models. This purchase set us back $2800 (which includes a warranty and accessories). To fund this purchase, we used money in our savings and have paid ourselves back.

WE’RE MOVING

We’ve decided that we’re moving next year, and with moving comes a lot of headaches unintended cost. I’m already planning and decluttering like crazy. We’ve set up an initial savings goal of $6000 for moving expenses and repairs to be saved by April 2019. We’re doing pretty good so far saving at a rate of $1000 per month with only $4000 left to go. If Marcus gets a Holiday bonus like he usually does, we’ll add that to the amount and achieve this goal by January 2019.

IN CONCLUSION…

When you add it all up, we’ve had a pretty great year considering we’ve made less this year significantly than the previous three years. This year saving money has been a huge goal of ours, and by finetuning our spending habits, we’ve been able to do a lot more with our money besides putting it all towards debt. Our financial story is starting to acquire more depth, and we’re happy with what we’re building. We’ve saved and cash flowed and paid over $25,000 this year and we still have two more months to go.