Year End Debt Totals

uncreatedsnow

I just did the math for where I was New Years 2013 vs. where I am now and I paid off $5,000+ in debt! I didn't realize it was that much and I'm super excited about it! I don't post much here but read all the time so thanks to everyone for all the awesome info. Also to add to that, I have my E-fund up to $1,000+ and have officially stuck to my budget for over a year! I'm so excited! How did everyone else do?

jessica490

Congrats! I am finally getting rid of H's car debt. We are trading it in this weekend for lease and will save about $250 a month. Also changing insurances and will save $850-$950 a year!

Mom987

Great news! 

Xstatic3333

We paid off $6000 in CC debt this year-BUT we did it by using some of our e-fund once we got better jobs, so it feels a bit like "cheating." I'm excited for next year though! I had lots of lofty goals when we discussed this a few weeks back but I think paying off my Grad PLUS loan in 2014 and getting halfway to our down payment are both doable.

OP, congrats! Jessica, awesome insurance trade off. Is that all in car insurance?

jessica490

2 cars  and a condo

hoffse

I've never had credit card debt, and H and I rent, so all that I've had to worry about is student loans this year.  I paid back $9,094 in 2013.  It will be the same for 2014.  And 2015.  And so forth.  I'll finish paying them in December of 2020.  I suppose I could afford to pre-pay them, but they are at a super low interest rate (4%), and they're perfectly manageable for me as they are.  We will be pre-paying H's federal loans, but only because the interest rates are higher.  His loans don't enter repayment until November 2014 though.

lifeonthehill

We paid off $16,800 this year in SL debt and managed to save $5,500 into our 6- month fund($4,500 to go). We are feeling really great about what we have done with the last 12 months. And can't wait for the next 12!

mana8503

We paid off just around $15,000. 9k was by our tax refund (we got married at the end of 2012). It was 3 credit cards, a personal loan, court settlement, and a student loan.

Can't wait for this year we pay off a car and the last student loan then focus on savings.

brij2006

We paid off about $15k this year between SL's and car loans.  I'm hopeful for 2014 though.  We will be starting with about $72k in debt, and our goal is to end 2014 with $40k.

cbee817

We paid the remaining balance of DH's SL- about $3,900. We paid off a dryer and new siding for our garage with 0% CC - about $2,100. We also paid for $13,200 worth of day care and about $6,900 toward our mortgage. We put a new roof and gutters on the house ($15,570) and paid back our savings account plus an additional $6,100.

For 2014, we have to pay off dining room chairs ($2,200 with 0% CC) by June. We will pay $7,200 toward our mortgage. We're hoping to save at least $500/paycheck and adjust expenses to account for $20,000+ for full-time day care.

MrsAshleyH10

I finally created (and stuck to) a budget this year and tracked debt.. This year we've paid down almost $17k.  *happy dance*

Mom987

We paid our mortgage down $21,000 this year!!

vlagrl29

We paid off DD's hospital bill - $2500 and contributed 4k to an Efund.  I started that efund with only $18 in Jan. so that's pretty cool! 2k left for the efund and I'm excited to get back to putting money in retirement in 2014.

vlagrl29

We also paid off mine and DH's CC's

Ducktale

We threw 7k at a house refi into a 15 year, 17k to finish off out student loans, and $3500 to beef up our efund. Very productive year financially speaking.

MommyLiberty5013

At the end of 2012 we had $2k in our e-fund (bought a home, sold a home and moved in 2012, which ate away at our funds). By August 2013, we had saved back up to $14k. We are at $11k now (had two sets of medical bills and a car accident to pay for), and are rebuilding. No debts other than the mortgage, but DH gets a raise in January, so we'll increase the monthly amount paid to principal only.

vlagrl29

I added up all the gigs our trio did this year and we booked 52 events this year!  Holy crap!  13 are on the calendar for next year.  I tripled what my goal was for 2013.  We played 40 events this year alone and it totally helped build the efund and pay down debt.  I just put another $225 in our efund today.

smbenevides1989

We had a rough year with DH losing his job 2 months before our wedding, got a temp job but lost that 2 months into it (a month after our wedding), but since he has had this new job (since September), financially we are off to the right start. 

I have been tracking my budget since the beginning of the year, but much more closely since August. So since August, I have paid off $4122 in CCs, paying off 6 cards, and have put $700 towards my student loans. 

In 2014, I would like to pay off the last two credit cards (estimated 3 1/2 months of payments), use our tax money to put towards a car for DH, and save my paychecks towards the DP of land to start building out dream home.

Sisugal

jessica490 - PLEASE reconsider the leased vehicle.  Trade in (or better yet sell the car yourself) and buy a used vehicle that you can afford to pay in full within 3 years- and then keep it as long as possible (making "car payments" to a savings for a future replacement.
Leasing for most people is penny wise (short term) and pound foolish (long term).
DO get rid of the expensive vehicle though.

Wulfgar

Did a rough calculation and we paid off roughly 19k in debt, that is spread throughout student loans, car loans, and mortgage.  We did have to put on CC medical bills at the end of this year.  Our goal for next year is to rebuild our E fund after we pay off our CC debt.  Then I will focus on our savings accounts MW will focus on her student loan debt since her grad loans are roughly 6%.  The bulk of my student loans are below 2% so I am in no hurry to pay them off.

I am hoping to get a promotion some time next year since I didn't get one this year that will help our financial situation.  I also get a roughly 3% pay raise at the end of April, early May.