Thursday, August 6, 2015

Happy 6th Blogiversary

It's another Blogiversary!  My 6th!

So here we are, 6 years later (and 1,228 posts later) still dealing with our debt.  With the exception of the student loans, we actually have paid off most of the "original" debt, and then added different debt. But yeah....6 years....still dealing with it.

So here are all the numbers that have been addressed this week:

Retirement loan - $10,052.45
Student Loan - $21,311.57
Credit Card - $10,725.78
Mysti's Car - $3,550.00
G-man's Car - $2,390.00
Medical/Dental - $0.00

Total: $48,029.80

We are down $10,942.08 since last blogiversary, $6,554.40 since the first of the year.  We are also $28,619.23 from the original number (even though only the student loan is any debt that existed at that time), and $31,972.20 since the official reset in 2012. 

Like anything else, you are starry-eyed in the beginning about your hopes and dreams.  We were going to have this paid off in 5 years. The original 76k divided by 5 years would have been just over $15,000 a year, or  about $1,200 a month.  Except we STILL hadn't gotten how interest really would impact things.  How easily an emergency (some real, some perceived) derails the plans.  We didn't anticipate the number of car repairs or house repairs.  How our mind set was so ingrained that it was difficult to let go of it.  We just didn't get how HARD it would be to undo damage.

I know this isn't a popular answer, but we want to be able to do STUFF, own STUFF.  We want to be able enjoy our lives and not just work to pay the bills.  We want to help pay for college and weddings and give more to organizations we believe in.

So everyday we "pay" for our past.  Years ago, we pulled equity out of our house, and then the bubble burst and our house was underwater.  We finally refinanced in 2011 to a lower interest rate, and added $9k to our mortgage in closing cost and fees.  And 2 weeks after, our world fell apart and we had one of the two worst years we have ever had, financially and emotionally. Those 2 refi's on the house has screwed us now with trying to sell because there were other things that didn't change along with it.  The 2011 one really didn't do what we thought....adding the $9k did not balance out the "savings" on our monthly mortgage (in the end, it turned out to be less than $100 because they forgot part of our taxes when calculating the escrow).

But finally in 2012....we started to really get it together.  Plans we had finally came together, and small traction started.  2014 ushered in the changes we were working for, which included the offer of relocation out of this very expensive state.  Alas, that plan hasn't quite come together, but we are working on it.

Even with putting money into the house, a pay cut, an increase in some things (like electric!)....we have still managed to pay off the most we have ever done in one year.

I am not the model of perfection in the getting out of debt game.  I have blundered...many times.  I will continue to blunder.  But I will continue to give you the real numbers, and the real emotions that go with decisions.  You don't have to agree with our decision.  But remember, you only know the parts of the story I share, and sometimes there really is more to it.

When we did the reset, I stated that 2016 was our year that things were going to drop like flies.  Well....I will amend that now....probably will be 2017.  But I am not fully ready to give up.  I would love to see the grand total around $40,000 by the end of the calendar year.  We will see what happens with the house.  If we take a loss....all of it is blown out of the water.

And then we will cry.  And then we will dust ourselves off and keep going.  Thanks for sharing 6 years worth of ramblings with me.

13 comments:

  1. The retirement loan and the car loans are going to affect your cash flow the most and you are getting so close. For the record, I would take a loss on your house to sell. If you had to do another retirement loan or whatever, I think it would be worth it.

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    1. There is a tentative plan that I need to discuss with the mortgage person (or I will email ya) that pays off the retirement loan and my car (which frees up $600 per mon), allows for a loss, and helps with downpayment. But it may screw up our debt to income. So I am still working on it. Buying a new home may be out of the question....but not sure yet.

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  2. onwards and upwards as they say. It will all come together, maybe just not as soon as you had hoped..........congratulations on six years of blogging.

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  3. At this point, I would be inclined to take another loan to allow for a loss on the house, and rent in the new town for the time being - just to get your family back together. It's been too long and I worry about the effect it's having on all of you. I'm also one who still wants to DO stuff despite the debt. Memories are priceless and they don't always wait for us to undo our mess. Life happens and you're doing really well!

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  4. I agree with taking the loss and renting for awhile. It will allow you time to decide exactly where you want to live with out jumping into the purchase of a new house in a new city and it being somewhere you dont really want to be. Then you dont end up back in the we need out of this house what to we do position again. Congratulations on your blogiversary!!

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    1. We really dont want to rent unless we have no other choice. Our kids will be in high school in a year....we can't keep moving them. If we rent....we will have to buy within the school boundary or move schools. Or wait 5 years until they graduate to buy. Us we then have to move all our stuff again. We are trying to just be settled and done. Renting just keeps the limbottom situation going.

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  5. We plan and plan and then life happens. You're doing well, eventually it will all work out.

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  6. I agree with everyone's comments. You are really doing pretty good. I can relate to the under water house. We did essentially the same thing refinancing when the California market was at it highest. We've been underwater since. Just now it's looking like we may be coming out of it. We still have a hefty mortgage going into retirement , so we're not sure what we'll do. But life happens, and I agree you have to have some fun and experiences you and your family will cherish.

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  7. You are down $28,000 since the start ... you could just as easily be up by that amount, so I think you are heading in the right direction.

    Happy 6 years!

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  8. Hmmm interesting that you never mentioned the home equity loan. Can you do a post on those? how much? what was the rate etc. I have always wanted to do on on my house but I may hold off...

    HS

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    1. There is no home equity loan. We did a true refinance in 2011 that I spent days talking about in January. Do you mean the loan I mentioned above to NDChic? That is a personal loan.

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    2. Oh sorry, you said- Years ago, we pulled equity out of our house, and then the bubble burst and our house was underwater.

      so I thought you took a home equity loan which were popular back then.

      Are you still moving soon ? or wait on house to sell? sorry I'm just now catching up lol

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    3. In 2007 we did a refi, and took a cash out on some equity. The rate ended up way higher than we thought....then the company disappeared. Then the bubble burst. So we did another refi in 2011 to help with the interest rate, but the closing costs were high.

      No moving updates....

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