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March Debt Progress Report

By thesavvysagittarius March 29, 2017Debt Free Journey, Debt Free Updates2 Comments

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My Story

If you have been following my story at all, you probably know that I tell my story at the beginning of every monthly report for those who just stumbled upon my blog. If you have read my story, feel free to skip ahead to my monthly report. I tell this story so I am not just some stranger, but instead someone who just might inspire each and every reader to follow the same journey!

My name is Elyse. I am 22, single with no kids and I am proudly on my way to being completely debt freeeee. I never really thought of myself as someone who was in debt. With no credit cards and no car payment, I was not the average American. All I had was a few student loans. It wasn’t until a few weeks before my 22nd birthday that I got a loan for a Jeep and my very first credit card. I should say credit card(S). For the month of December, I thought it was so cool that I finally had a credit card. I was excited over it actually. I was learning about all the different rewards I could cash in and it was fantastic.

Towards the end of the month, I was cleaning off a bookshelf, getting ready to move (again), and found The Total Money Makeover: Classic Edition: A Proven Plan for Financial Fitness. This $15 book completely changed my life path at the time. Dave describes being debt free as such a rewarding and achievable thing. In his book, he says it will take work and it will be hard, but it will be worth it. He has been right. There have been days were I have completely questioned my sanity. I sometimes wonder why I don’t just make minimum payments forever like everyone else.

“Sometimes, you have to like like NO ONE else, so someday you can LIVE like no one else.” – Dave Ramsey

February Debt Free Progress Report

By thesavvysagittarius March 6, 2017Debt Free Journey, Debt Free Updates1 Comment

As a 22 year old, I am working hard at being #debtfreeby23. It is going to be quite the challenge, but I am up for the challenge to be debt free!

My Story

“Sometimes, you have to like like NO ONE else, so someday you can LIVE like no one else.” – Dave Ramsey

January Debt Free Progress Report

By thesavvysagittarius February 1, 2017Debt Free Journey, Debt Free Updates3 Comments

How this single, 22 year old paid off $1,500 in debt in ONE month and how she plans to keep it up this year!
I just posted my goals about getting debt free a little over a week ago, but I have been working on this all month! I have big goals of paying off all of my debt by the end of the year and I definitely got a good start this month!

Now, I have to be clear that I did this without selling anything so far. I didn’t trade in my vehicle for a cheaper vehicle. The same items are still in my home and I still live in the same place.

I did pick up a ton of extra hours at work and I was a lot more diligent with my grocery shopping and eating out. The military also put me to work for a little while this month, which ended up as a pretty nice paycheck. I was also very meticulous with my budgeting throughout the entire month.

My Story

Towards the end of the month, I was cleaning off a bookshelf, getting ready to move (again), and found The Total Money Makeover: Classic Edition: A Proven Plan for Financial Fitness. This $14 book completely changed my life path at the time. Dave describes being debt free as such a rewarding and achievable thing. In his book, he says it will take work and it will be hard, but it will be worth it. He has been right. There have been days were I have completely questioned my sanity. I sometimes wonder why I don’t just make minimum payments forever like everyone else.

“Sometimes, you have to like like NO ONE else, so someday you can LIVE like no one else.” – Dave Ramsey

If you haven’t read the book, I recommend you go buy it RIGHT NOW!. It will be $15 that changes your life completely. I will wait, just be sure to come back!

I officially started my debt free journey on January 1st, 2017. While progress seems slow right now, my goal is to have everything paid off by my 23rd birthday on December of 2017. I am a little uneasy about the goal, but I am going to work at it until I am debt free. I am trying not to look at the numbers and just keep looking at the goal ahead because the numbers will probably stress me out too much.

My goal is to get completely debt free, buy a house in cash, and continue to save for an even better house! I am extremely excited about the opportunities to come with my journey ahead.

But Debt Free At 23 has such a great ring to it.

How I Plan to Pay Off $34,000 In Debt In 12 Months

By thesavvysagittarius January 25, 2017Debt Free Journey, Debt Free Updates6 Comments

No one really likes debt, but this 22 year old has a plan to be #debtfreebytwentythree

I always told myself that I was financially smart. There has always been some form of a budget. I have some savings. The only debt I had was student loans. I didn’t even get a credit card until the week before my 22nd birthday and I was irrationally proud of that.

Fast forward six months and I feel like I am drowning. Not that I am not making enough money, but that I realized how much debt I actually have.

$34,000 in student loans, credit cards, and a car payments. 90% of it being student loans.

I told myself I would never ever be like the rest of America, just running on credit.

But here I am.

I didn’t need my Jeep as bad as I just really wanted it. It is probably one of the nicest vehicles that I have ever owned, but I could have waited. Instead, I got a loan for it.

With the loan, came a credit card to help build my credit so my dad didn’t have to cosign a loan if I needed a loan again. Blah.

I did the math and just paying the minimum payments, I would be paying off my student loans for almost 22 years and that’s without the interest that would accumulate.

A month and a half later, after the Christmas shopping has been completed, I am feeling a little like every other American at this time.

The post Christmas- “I am broke” blues.

While “broke” may not be exactly the word that most people would use to describe a 22 year old that has a solid Army paycheck coming in two days, it’s definitely how I feel.