Update Time!

DH gets paid Thursday night, but all the payments are in place, so I am updating. I have been kind of restless lately, just having problems staying focused and getting things accomplished in a timely manner.

		Start	20-Apr
Sallie Mae		12762	12197
Wells Fargo		11700	10898
Campus Loan		8250	7655
Chase 2		2300	1500
Credit Union Card		700	725
BOA		9300	8834
BOA 2		1833	2195
Car Loan		7875	5567
Chase 3		1710	0
Chase		2353	0
Car Loan 2		2090	0
Target		149	0
DH School		376	0
Capital One		376	0
		61774	49571

We are at $12,203 paid off. I will have one more update for the month of April, and it will all be for the Chase card. Next month, I am going to focus on paying for our cruise shopping, gambling, and such with cash. Here are my May objectives:
*Be at $13,300 paid off
*Have Chase at $1000.
*Have total savings at $630.
*Be at 179 by May 30th.
*Enroll in summer school.

Progress on April To Do List

*Get down to 182 by April 30th. I have got to step up my exercise to accomplish this. I am at 187 now, so five pounds in 13 days isn't realistic, but I am sticking with my eating plan and exercise.
*Pay $400 to car loan. Have paid $75, $325 to go, which is budgeted for.
*Get Chase 2 down to $1200. At $1500 now. $300 more to go!
*Pay $100 towards a dental bill. We actually paid this sucker off. Done 4/15
*Add $290 to emergency fund. $140 to go
*Have all garden/yard word done. Thanks to Sarah, I know how to accomplish this in a much more frugal manner :) Still need to do one flower bed. Almost done!
*Have out paid off number at $12,500. This will put us right at 20% paid off. At $11,708 right now, so I think we are on track!

It is nice to actually meet the majority of my goals for once. I love making lists and goals, but actually getting them done is another story.

Sunday Ramblings

I feel like EVERYONE around me is either pregnant, trying to get pregnant, or just had a baby. I am sooo ready to start trying, but I know realistically, the longer DH and I wait, the better our money situation will be. We are planning to start trying this summer sometime. Even delaying TTC one month will give us an extra $1000-$1500 to put towards debt or add to our EF.
On one hand, I am pleased with our progress. We have paid off $11,708 in 9 months. We are on track to end the year with about $7,800 on the BOA card and the student loans, for a total of $24,110 paid off.
I wish we could get the BOA down more, but I need to be realistic. If DH and I want to have some type of a life and start a family, I think $7800 is the most attainable goal. We will turtle along in 2011, just paying the minimum payments on the student loans and extra money to Bank of America. DH thinks we can pay off BOA in 2011 with his overtime. I am happy he is so enthusiastic, and we just have to stay focused on our goals.
I started a new eating plan last week, consisting of a ton of fruits, veggies, beans, wheat bread products, lean protein, and lean dairy products. I an trying to avoid processed and prepackaged foods. So far, it is working BEAUTIFULLY! I am down 2.2 pounds, which makes me ecstatic! I am going to stay on this eating plan until the cruise, but I intend to make eating more fruits and veggies a permanent thing. I forgot how much I absolutely love squash, zuccinni, pineapples, bananas, and strawberries. YUM! I am down 18 pounds, and I would love to lose 5 more by May 8th to get me at 182. I am really starting to notice a difference in my body and how my clothes fit. I am wearing stuff I haven't been able to wear in over a year, so it's like I have a whole new wardrobe.
DH gets paid this Thursday night, so we should have a nice update. I haven't been working my second job as much as I should, but I plan to get on track this week. My first job has just been nerve-wracking lately, and there has just been so much to do around the house, especially with DH working so much.

I hate Wells Fargo

I have a student loan through Wells Fargo. I have been paying on this student loan for the past two years faithfully, using my online bill pay through my credit union. I get a call from the credit union and the rep tells me Wells Fargo returned my bill payment! I called Wells Fargo, and first they tell me they did not return it, that my credit union must have been the problem. I send them a letter from the credit union saying that Wells Fargo returned it. Then, Wells Fargo tells me they could not find my account and that is why it was returned, even though the account number is on the check, and I have been paying like this for two years! I went ahead and paid this months payment through the Wells Fargo site. Their poor customer service just irks me.

		Start	12-Apr
Sallie Mae		12762	12304
Wells Fargo		11700	10898
Campus Loan		8250	7655
Chase 2		2300	1500
Credit Union Card		700	725
BOA		9300	8925
BOA 2		1833	2220
Car Loan		7875	5839
Chase 3		1710	0
Chase		2353	0
Car Loan 2		2090	0
Target		149	0
DH School		376	0
Capital One		376	0
		61774	50066

$11,708 paid off. Soooo close to being under $50K!

Update Time

		Start	9-Apr
Sallie Mae		12762	12304
Wells Fargo		11700	11051
Campus Loan		8250	7655
Chase 2		2300	1500
Credit Union Card		700	725
BOA		9300	8925
BOA 2		1833	2220
Car Loan		7875	5839
Chase 3		1710	0
Chase		2353	0
Car Loan 2		2090	0
Target		149	0
DH School		376	0
Capital One		376	0
		61774	50219

We are now at $11,555 paid off. DH worked a ton of overtime last week, and sadly, $350 had to go to a dental bill. Blah. Oh well, at least we have the money to knock it out in one swoop. We made $226 worth of progress, and we were able to put some money back for our cruise in May. By the end of the month, we should be well under $50 K, and our paid off amount will be over $12K. Just gotta keep on paying down and moving in the right direction!
I haven't weighed in since before Easter. I have done horribly lately, with all the Easter treats hanging around. I am going to get back on track, and try to be at 182 by May 7th.

First Quarter is Over-A look at 2010 Goals

Now that the year is 1/4 of the way over, I think it's time to look at the goals again.
Financial Goals

Pay off Chase 3-1586-This card is now gone. I will continue to use this card for all expenses and pay it in full every month for rewards.
Pay off Chase-2190-This is at $1700. I am currently attacking this card and the car loan.
Pay off Chase 2-2353-This card is gone. Yay!
Pay off BOA 2-2300-I will start working on this in the summer hard. Now at $2220.
Have BOA 1 card at $8000-Now at $8975. We are on track.
Have credit union card at $367-Now at $740. On track

Continue to pay student loans in a timely manner-Doing.
Pay $450 a month to my car-If I can do this, the balance will be $1777 by December 2010. I am paying at least $300 a month, but have not been able to do the full $450. When the BOA 2 and Chase Card is gone, the car loan is next to go.

Save $900 total in baby fund-I actually adjusted this because DH and I bought a travel system on sale this weekend. It was $140, and it is normally $220. We bought some other, smaller items on clearance. And No, I am not even pregnant yet! I figure if it is stuff we are going to get anyway, we might as well save money on it. Now at $150, $750 more to go.
Save $2100 total in emergency fund-have $300 (pathetic!), so $1800 more to go-Cleared this out too, so it only has $100. I am saving $87 every pay period, so we will have $1927 at year end just from this. I will also start putting some found money in here.
Save $630 for DH's crown in February-have $315, so $315 more to go.-Done. DH now has a new crown.:)

Leave 401 K and IRA contributions alone. If I do this, we should contribute around $8K to at least hit the $22K.-Actually increased these. Yay!

All in all, I think we are doing pretty well this year. We have paid off two cards so far, so we have two more to go, and then the car loan. Savings will get higher with time. We have the automatic contributions set up; now we just have to let it grow without touching it.

		Start	31-Mar
Sallie Mae		12762	12304
Wells Fargo		11700	11051
Campus Loan		8250	7655
Chase 2		2300	1700
Credit Union Card		700	740
BOA		9300	8925
BOA 2		1833	2220
Car Loan		7875	5850
Chase 3		1710	0
Chase		2353	0
Car Loan 2		2090	0
Target		149	0
DH School		376	0
Capital One		376	0
		61774	50445

I forgot about a payment I made to the car loan. It was only $30, but every little bit helps. We are at $11,329 paid off. DH is working Good Friday this week, so that will be double time and half. His next check on April 9th should be around $1740. Here is the plan for it:
Check:1740
Mortgage:-855
Car Insurance:-137
School Loans:-229
Dental Bill:-350
Credit Union Card:-20
That leaves $149 left. I think we will put some of this to our cruise cash, but the rest will go to Chase or the car. DH might get a $100 bonus on this next check, so it will be even better if that comes in.
For our cruise, I still need to book the rental car and two excursions. I am soooo ready to go! Only 37 days!