An interesting trend has developed in my life the last few months.
I think I’m growing up.
I mean, of course I’m growing up. But, I think I’m really moving into a new stage in my life. I find myself not caring as much about things that I used too…and caring more about new, more adult things. It’s a bit strange, but it feels good.
My confidence is also way up. I used to have quite a bit of confidence issues, especially in social settings. Lately however, I’m feeling really good about what I’ve accomplished this year, and the amount my debt has gone down. I still have a ways to go, for sure, but this year has been good.
Speaking of some debts, I still am tracking everything, and I thought it would be fun to look back at the debts I still have today and see what they were in December of 2007, two years ago.
Mom Trading Debt
Currently repaying this at around $1,000+ a month, with a few larger payments ($8,000!) this year as well.
2007 -$145,650
2009 – $109,436
Student Loans
2007 – $44,859
2009 – $32,852
Car Loan
2007 – $14,726
2009 – $6,005
IRS
Granted, this number was wrong originally, once I got it all worked out, the total was around 15K
2007 – $28,000
2009 – $0
It will be nice to get my Mom number under 6 digits in 2010. I plan on keeping up the $1,000 or so pace into the future, as this is what my Mom wants, and the reality is that I will probably be taking care of her financially even after I’ve paid back everything I lost.
After I get married (next summer!) I will start including my future wife’s numbers into the mix here. She has about the same amount of student loan debt as I do, but also a little credit card debt that we will payoff as soon as we can once we get hitched.
It was pretty funny, we checked our credit reports (and scores) this week, and I was so proud of her because she knew what a “hard pull” was and wanted to make sure that pulling our own scores wouldn’t be a hard pull. Cute.
She came in at a 711 on Experian, me at 664. Her report is actually spotless and has a great history, the only thing dragging her down a bit is her credit card balance, and once we pay that off, I’d expect her to be above 750. Very impressive.
But back to confidence.
I’m really looking forward to the day when my living in the office days of 2007 become far enough away that it becomes a funny story.
You know how really not fun things at the time can become quite a laugh after a while? Like the time my girlfriend broke up with me in 7th grade and then dated my best friend? Yeah, HILARIOUS now…..not so much then! (darn you teenage angst!)
Anyway, I’m hoping that the time is coming soon when my stories of being so ridiculously broke and in debt are comical. Well, I’m not quite there yet. I think once I’m actually debt free….then I can look back very fondly and comical on this journey, but not quite yet.
This has been one of my more rambling posts in a long time. Well, I’m off to Portland for the holidays, be safe, and have a great Christmas!
{ 8 comments… read them below or add one }
You are making great progress in paying down your debt. I am impressed. What do you think is the number 1 reason for your success this year?
Must feel good to pay mom back! You’re a good creditor, congrats!
If you see JD in Portland, tell him Samurai said hello!
Great news! Just be careful not to blow the budget on the wedding planning! Congrats!
Great work. I’ve noticed when it comes to paying down debt, that often it doesn’t seem that progress is being made until you step back and look at the comparisons from a couple of years ago. Then, it’s like WOW! and it’s hard to even imagine having had all that extra debt. Sounds like you had that moment, and it’s a good feeling.
Good job getting that debt down, i’m thinking that mom doesn’t charge interest and maybe you could save money by knocking off some higher interest loans first and then be able to focus on her later.
You have done a good job, but it is curious why these numbers reflect two years, and not just this last one.
Great job on your journey back to fiscal responsibility. I’ll be checking back to see how well you do in 2010, keep up the good work!
Unreal progress! Especially when you compare it to Casey Serin. Who had a much similar story to yours, and has since proceeded to self destruct in the biggest of ways…