Denied.

Debts to Pay	September 5, 2018
Credit Card	1237.42
F	2,752.71
B	0.00
A	3,517.61
C	4,501.79
C. Car Loan	6,502.80
P	5,606.69
P. Car Loan	7,670.00
E	8,329.98
G	8,794.84
Total	48,912.84

Amount Paid Off This Week: $-3439.05
*Current chart shows adjustments for interest, pay downs, and pay offs.*

This week…YIKES.  It was kind of a weird week for us as a family.  First off, I have been on vacation from work since the last week of August, so I’ve been resting and recharging for nearly two weeks.  It was good for my soul and I got to take two different trips during that time, which was even better!  Second, my husband started his new job, and because of this, we had to buy another vehicle.  I could practically hear our savings account groan, but it was a necessity.  Third, we were denied pre-approval for a mortgage loan.  Again, major ouch.  This is what I want to talk about today.

As I mentioned in previous posts and in the above paragraph, my husband started his new job this week.  He is super excited to be selling life insurance and has already done amazingly in his first few days!  But because of the type of work he is doing, he is now technically self-employed.  This has its perks, but in regards to qualifying for major loans (i.e. mortgage loan), we are pretty much marooned.  I’m not sure how it works in other states, but in ours, if you are self-employed, you must have two years’ worth of income in order for banks to even consider looking at giving you financing.  So although my husband will be making a steady income, and most likely more than he made at his previous job, he will not have a W-2 or a paystub to prove he is making this money.

After we found out we were denied for a mortgage loan, we panicked (actually it was just me because my husband never freaks out ever).  We were told that based on my income and our debt load, we would not qualify for anything at all.  Now if I made more money, or we had few debts, it would be a different story.  Mind you, we have plenty of cash in the bank and are able to pay a sizeable down payment.  But those aren’t the numbers that are considered unfortunately.  So we decided to take a hit to our savings and pay off some of our student loans.  We both paid off our loan groups with the highest percent of interest, totaling about $4200 between the two of us.  Huge.  OUCH.

While it made me sick to my stomach to spend that much money in a week, and on paper, it looks like we have nothing to show for it, I know that we will be thankful in the long run to have our student debt paid off faster.  We are exceedingly grateful to have found a wonderful car for my husband that we are able to afford easily.  So if we aren’t able to qualify for a mortgage just yet, at least we have my parents who are still letting us stay with them until we figure life out. 

Life has thrown a lot of curveballs at our little family in the last year and a half.  We’ve had to overcome a lot and grow up more than we could have imagined.  Sure, things are crazy stressful.  But maybe we don’t need a mortgage and other bills right now.  Maybe we just need to focus on saving our money, paying off our debts, and being a family.  And honestly, I’m not sure I would want it any other way right now.

--chloe.

Snowball Effect, pt. 2.

Debts to Pay	August 21, 2018
Credit Card	758.87
F	2,748.40
B	3,162.20
A	3,517.61
C	4,495.04
Car Loan	6,502.80
P	7,185.79
E	8,320.70
G	8,782.38
Total	45,473.79

Amount Paid Off This Week: $670.18
*Current chart shows adjustments for interest, pay downs, and pay offs.*

This week, I started a debt snowball chart.  I found a basic one on Pinterest that I thought was simple enough for me to keep up with.  As I shared before, my husband and I would like to be debt free by the time I turn 30.  That is in less than three years!  So how do we accomplish this in only 28 months?  Well, we set a few guidelines to follow.

First of all, if we purchase another home, we won’t count that in our debt load.  That would simply be unreasonable.  And given our track record of moving frequently, it’s a safe bet that when we do buy our next home, it will be another flipper.  So although we will be responsible and pay our mortgage (plus some) every month, we don’t really see owning a home as a debt that needs to be paid off immediately.

Secondly, our vehicle falls into the same line of thinking as a house (at least for us).  My husband will be starting a new job soon and we will need to purchase a vehicle for him.  Again, we will continue making payments on these, assuming we have to borrow money for his car, until they are paid off.

Third, our main goal is to be student debt free.  Collectively, we owe $38,000 in student loans.  These have no value to our lives anymore, unlike a home or vehicles.  I have my degree, I paid way too much for it, and I don’t use it for my current job.  My husband did not finish his degree, and while he wants to go back to school some day and finish, it’s not his top priority, and that is totally ok!  So you see, we have debt for something that isn’t being utilized by us on a regular basis.  That seems pretty silly to me.

So if we look at our debt as just being what we owe in student loans, that gives us a little more wiggle room.  We still have $38,000 to pay off in 28 months.  Truthfully, I don’t know if it can be done.  I hope that we can do it, but I’m just not sure.  I do know, however, that we will get close. 

Currently, I have deferred payments on my student loans because I work for a non-profit.  I have been able to do this for the last 3 years, and it has been helpful because of all the other things we had going on to not have to pay for these.  But now, I am choosing to make payments anyway.  My statements show I do not owe any monthly minimums, but I am paying $250 month to try to knock some of this out.  At this rate, it will take me roughly 11 months to pay off my first loan.  But with any luck, we will have it paid well before the 11-month mark.  There is always tax time, right?!

As I buckle down for the next 28 months, pray for me.  You may not be a person of faith, but I am.  And I fully believe that God is sufficient and wants my family to be debt free.  It takes discipline that I don’t have yet, but am working on.  So if you are a praying person, remember me and ask God to guide me on this journey to a debt free life.

--chloe.