My Debt-Free Journey: Part 1

I’ve talked and read about finances for the last few years, so I have been slowly building the foundation of a radically changed mindset, even if I didn’t always know it. In January, just like years prior, I set a few goals. Sometimes, I create a vision board highlighting a few themes that capture those goals; one of this year’s themes is financial wellness.

My initial goal this year was to pay off my federal student loan. The balance for that was over $8,000 in January. I paid it off on June 2, 2020.

The keys to the last six months of my debt-free journey?

Decreased Expenses…

Coronavirus

Life has dramatically changed for us over the last few months. In an effort to protect our health and flatten the curve, we haven’t been able to go out as much. Where was I spending money other than bills and groceries mostly? Also, the 0% interest rate on some federal student loans helped out A LOT. All of the money paid towards my loan was going directly to the principal.

No car insurance payments for 3 months

Currently, I pay my car insurance nine out of the twelve months of each year. Not having to pay for that over the last few months has helped out a lot!

Increased Income…

Temporary Raise

I was blessed with a temporary increased pay raise back in April. Although it will be ending soon, I’ve taken full advantage of the opportunity and applied it towards my goal.

Award

On top of the raise, I got an award at work, and that added more momentum for me to keep focus

Taxes

My refund went right to—you guessed it—debt payoff.

Commitment…

Debt goals

I wrote them down and plastered them on my wall in my living room. They are there for me to see all the time.

Budget

I didn’t budget before this year. I put money into savings on a frequent basis, paid my bills, etc., but I never actually wrote one down. Now, I use EveryDollar.com (it’s almost impossible not to mention Dave Ramsey when you’re on a financial journey. Ha!). To be honest, I’ve fallen off of the written budget again because of the fact that my expenses have been so little. Recently, I’ve been putting everything in the category of bills, savings, and debt. Whatever is left over from bills and savings goes to my debt payoff.

Accountability and Encouragement

Some of my friends and family have known for a while that I have been trying to pay off this debt. They’ve kept me on track. I also read, watch, or listen to something related to finance almost every day. It definitely helps!

Who knew 2020 would bring all that it has?! It’s easier to reach goals when there are less obstacles, so this will be a real test to see if I can stay on course. There has been a lot of tragedy this year, but, like everything else, there’s always a silver lining.

Since I completed my initial financial goal for this year, I decided to come up with a new one—pay off my private student loan by December 31, 2020.

I hope that some of you join me on this journey over the next six months. Let’s build wealth!