December 2019 | Debt Update

Hiya, welcome back to my Debt Updates!

This is December 2019 Debt Update

This months we've paid $1,000 towards debt so far. This is by far the hardest month to save money because I love giving gifts. There are a lot of gifts I'll be giving this year that are close to free or made from things I already have, but there are also a lot that I wanted to buy for people - which is okay as long as you have the money to do so!

By the end of the month, we will have also contributed $250 as a minimum payment towards the debt as well. We keep our minimum payments on while we pay things off because it just keeps us going with a little more gusto!

Thinking about more ways to make more $$ while we continue through this journey - what are ways you make extra income?

- Emily

Painting Wood Paneling

Last year around this time, Tom and I started painting our (now) rental home. It is owned by my parents and at the time, the previous tenant had just left and they need to do some fixing up. This is very common with rentals and since my parents have had rental properties my entire life, I've been a part of this process plenty of times. I was itching to quit my job and get out of that area for a fresh start with something new. We saw the door open for this home and knew we'd like to have a go at freshening it up.

For us, this meant painting everything white. Sorry, painting everything all the wood paneling white.

So how did we do this?
It's pretty simple and I know there are a ton of online resources that are probably better than this but, this is our experience!

We ended up sanding the walls from the top to the bottom. This was brutal to the arms and we definitely skipped some corners and edges. This was a big mistake. Obviously, 70's wood paneling is like plastic material and paint will come off plastic pretty easily. We found this to be true in the many places along the edges of trim that we did not sand. The paint started peeling off immediately. At this point, since we don't own the home and it's a true 'don't upgrade anything' rental - we decided to let it be and just live with a few peely-spots.

After sanding we did a basic primer and then a basic white paint from Lowes.
We did 3 rooms and one hallway all white. I think we'd like to touch up the trim and doors at some point, but for now, we are content with how things are.

Nov. 2019 Debt Update

This month did not go as planned!

We wanted to put $2,500 towards debt but only ended up paying our minimum payment of $250/month. #reallife If this isn't real life I don't know what is.

Honestly, I'm very discouraged and more upset with myself than I think Tom is.
Reasons why we fell short this month
 1. Our New Credit Card
We are currently using a special credit card that is supposed to boost credit scores. Why are we using this after we cut up our payments? Because we want to be able to buy a house within the next few years and after Tom's unfortunate pay-back history and then paying all of Tom's debts off at once his score was really low. We needed to raise the score but we didn't want to take out a loan just to do so. Our best option was this card. You need a refundable down payment for the card itself and can only spend that amount of money. Well the card is working and Tom's credit score has risen significantly since we've been using it, but we haven't been as careful as we should've been. I honestly don't like having it AT ALL but at this point we need it.

 2. Copeland's School & Kennel Cough
So we knew we needed to invest in puppy school for Copeland and we found a really great place in town to do so BUT it was pretty expensive and after the two-week program, they wanted us to bring him back for additional training work. Unfortunately, after we wend home on Friday, we notice Copeland started coughing. Of course, it was kennel cough. *Que additional doctors visit and medication expenses* We always want to make sure Copeland is ok and has what he needs

 3. The Farmers Dog
While we do want the best possible food for Copeland, the Farmers Dog is just too expensive to maintain - for our size dog, it's about $138/month. When we could easily be paying about $50 for kibble instead. I think we'll be doing more research on it before we switch, but for now I think we'll make that change.

 4. Friendsgiving
Almost every year, we host a Friendsgiving dinner with all of our friends. This was way more expensive than I thought it would be. We ended up making all of the food while everyone else brought dessert, appetizers, etc. I thought this would be a good idea but honestly, it wasn't. It was a lot of stress trying to cook everything and get it warm at once and then to also buy all of the ingredients. Next year we will only be cooking Turkey and it will be BYOB lol.

Trying "The Farmer's Dog"

So We've been searching and searching for a good food option for Mr. Copeland.

When we first brought him home we were on a kibble diet, but of course, after learning more about kibble and how not helpful it is for doggos, we nixed that from our options and only have it on hand for emergencies. If you're curious about the kibble and effects it has on dogs, go ahead and watch "Pet Fooled" on Netflix - it may change your mind about what you feed your pup!

We then tried a raw diet through Instincts pet food, but there wasn't a lot of information about the ingredients. While he LOVED this food and jumps for joy every time we get it ready for him, after more reading, it's really hard to determine if he's getting all of the nutrients he needs as a puppy from eating raw. Plus, it's super freaking expensive to buy supplements for dogs only to wonder whether or not they are actually getting everything they need.

So here we are researching all of the dog food options possible. Currently I see the most benefits from a cooked and regulated diet from food delivery services. Guess what - there are a million and 5 to choose from. We looked at the Farmer's Dog, Darwins (raw), Spot & Tango, and more. It was an exhausting search. After crunching some numbers, it seemed as if Spot & Tango was the cheapest service for us, but I had more personal recommendations for the Farmer's Dog and just felt better about it.

So, we've made our first trial order for the Farmer's Dog and it should arrive around Nov. 7th. We'll do another follow up post then. If you've been looking around and want to try a food delivery service, you can use this code for a free box of food no strings attached!: (https://www.thefarmersdog.com?ref=QYBVMK)

I think eventually I may go back to RAW for Copeland if I can do more research and get a better understanding of what he'd need, but for now we'll see how this works out!

October 2019 | Debt Update

October Debt Update:

We're at a debt standstill right now & if you were to ask me how we are doing I'd say "ok." 

Not good but not particularly bad - just ok.

Right now we have $17,784 left in my student loans. My goal in this whole process is to be as open and honest as possible about what we're doing and going through during our debt repayment.

Our goal for October is to pay off $3,000 in debt. We had to buy Copeland with credit based on the store we got him from so he is now paid off and so is a big chunk of my smaller loan.

So far we've paid off $2,288.68 in loans for October meaning we have $711.32 to go!

I have about $600 I know for sure is coming in before the end of the month, I just have about $100 more to figure out. I'm sure we can make it work.

Where are you in your debt-free journey?