Me again, Money Saving Lords and Ladies. If you missed last week, be sure you check out the King of Free’s inaugural post on QoF. You definitely want to read it. 🙂
Hey everybody. So glad you stopped by today. Freedom Friday is when I bi-weekly let you in on how we’re doing with our pursuit of paying off debt. It’s also when many of you have e-mailed me with your story (with either “Freedom in Progress” or “Freedom Achieved” in the subject line) so I can share your story to encourage others, too.
So I mentioned a couple of weeks ago that I was feeling a little frustrated with myself and our progress is paying off debt. It seemed like we weren’t paying off things as quickly as I’d like and that since we’re on our last debt in the debt snowball (which is still pretty hefty), it felt like the same old story and the same old song. Many of you responded with greatly encouraging words and I appreciated it so much! It was the oomph that pushed me through a couple of blah weeks.
As an exercise of reflection, today I went back and added up what we’ve put toward the evil sorcerer Sallie Mae since February when we started tearing into her. It may sound funny/un-me but anytime we have extra cash come into our possession, I go out and put it on Sallie Mae without keeping a specific running tally. It’s the best way for the money not to go into our general spending and for us to lose track of it. The more quickly it travels out of our account and into Sallie Mae’s hands, the better. So, I was a bit surprised by what I discovered when I ran the numbers today. I knew that the total had moved substantially since we slayed the Target Debt Dragon. But I had no idea exactly how much we had knocked off of Sallie Mae in only 4 months. Drum roll, please.
$13,702.55 has been paid toward Sallie Mae since we started cracking into her mid-February. WOW. I am simply overwhelmed by that number.
So, I promise to quit royally whining. We’re doing fine. And a difference is being made. Sometimes I need the strength of the numbers to remind me of that.
NOW, I need some of your stories! If you’ve been reading Freedom Friday for awhile, been encouraged by the voices of others on the same journey, it’s your turn to SPEAK UP! We want to know what life has been like for you since you’ve started paying off debt. What have your learned? What can you share? You don’t have to be debt free, just on a path to freedom. Please e-mail me your story so I can share it with the other Money Saving Lords and Ladies in the Court of the Queen of Free. There is strength in numbers and we’re better together.
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