Women in Red Racers - Northeast Region

[Minnesotagirl7]

lazysundays- I like the idea of consolidating the regions too, but I'd like to try to boost membership before we decide to make that change. I sent an email to the captains of the regions to see what they think. If no one has any ideas on how to bring in more members, I'd be all for bringing us all together!  

[wudnit]

I think the updates are a big part of the Boards as well and, unfortunately, we get updates less and less.  I think the updates really encourage people to sign in and check them out.

[janie4]

Janie4: 7/28/2014 $8,341 (07/21/14, $8,620)

Debt name	Initial Balance	Minimum payment	Last Update	New payment	Current Balance	Percent paid off
CC 15%	$210	$25	$204	$180	$24	88.6%
CC 2.99	$531	$25	$492	$0	$492	7.35%
CC 0% until 11/14	$216	$25	$216	$24	$192	11.1%
Student loan	$7663	$158	$7663	$0	$7633	0%
Total	$8620	$233	$8,575	$204	$8,341	3.2%

[Maryland Monroe]

Update: Maryland_Monroe[2] 8/1/14 $74456.65 (1/1/14 $80451.89 NE 113)

[Minnesotagirl7]

Consolidation of the WIRR Boards
Just wanted to let people know that we’re planning to consolidate the WIRR regions into a single group/thread. This will help facilitate more discussion & accountability, and the updates. I’m not sure when this will happen, but it should be sometime in the near future. More to come!

In the meantime, I need the captain(s) from each region to contact me, and to send me their current spreadsheet so we can start consolidating them into one. [e-mail]

[wudnit]

update:

Wudnit $44,546  (1/13/10 $172915 NEU46)


HE:   $37,128
House Mortage $7418



Below $10K on the house!!!  That makes me very happy!!  When I first started this race, I owed $42,040 on the house, $29,392 on our camp, $38,453 on our HE,  and $63,025 on our apartment.  Both the camp and the apartment have been paid off, and it will not be long before the house mortgage will be paid as well.  Of course that HE loan is a thorn in my side, but once the other things are paid off, that should drop quickly!!!  I would love to see the HE below $30,000 by year end. 

I so want to be debt free!!!!

[movinonup]

UPDATE- movinonup: 08/01/2014 $292,751.48 (02/12/13 $309,217.65 NE100) NY

Account	Interest Rate	02/12/2013	07/01/2014	08/01/2014	Amount Paid Since Last Update	Total Amount Paid	Percentage Paid
LOC	18.240%	$3,500.00	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00	$3,500.00	100.00%
CC#1	0.000%	$20,688.08	$9,264.66	$9,065.16	$199.50	$11,622.92	56.18%
CC#2	0.000%	$(8.16)	$14,610.60	$14,317.60	$293.00	$(14,325.76)	(175,560.78)%
CC#3	19.990%	$10,300.00	$4,103.66	$3,924.10	$179.56	$6,375.90	61.90%
CC#4	16.990%	$9,135.05	$6,866.24	$6,791.85	$74.39	$2,343.20	25.65%
CC#5	10.990%	$4,910.22	$10,447.48	$10,335.65	$111.83	$(5,425.43)	(110.49)%
CC#6	0.000%	$1,239.00	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00	$1,239.00	100.00%
SL#1	3.500%	$23,021.50	$20,221.36	$20,023.92	$197.44	$2,997.58	13.02%
SL#2	6.800%	$4,748.54	$3,089.43	$2,984.48	$104.95	$1,764.06	37.15%
SL#3	6.550%	$2,533.57	$1,890.42	$1,850.59	$39.83	$682.98	26.96%
MTG	3.875%	$220,170.76	$223,803.81	$223,458.13	$345.68	$(3,287.37)	(1.49)%
Auto	4.240%	$8,979.09	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00	$8,979.09	100.00%
Total		$309,217.65	$294,297.66	$292,751.48	$1,546.18	$16,466.17	5.33%

EF=$124.19

I am very happy with this month's decrease, but I am anticipating that I am going to have to use my LOC to pay my daily-use credit card.  I do see an end to unusual expenses, though there is one that will show up on my next bill that was about $500.  I don't like that the two sentences that I wrote have good news... bad news.  Ugh.

-movinonup

[steph08]

UPDATE: steph08 8/2/2014 $15,260.45 (4/8/2014 $19,016.35 NE116)

Card (Interest Rate)	Start	Previous	Current	Difference	Target Payoff	Normal Payoff
Lowe's (0%)	2,136.35	1,733.72	0.00	(2,136.35)	August 2014	September 2015
Furniture (0%)	4,239.04	3,869.04	3,109.04	(1,130.00)	December 2014	March 2018
Car (2.9%)	13,488.55	12,809.02	12,151.41	(1,337.14)	August 2015	June 2017
TOTAL	19,863.94	18,411.78	15,260.45	(4,603.49)

Paid this update: $3,151.33
Total Paid: $4,603.49
Percent Paid: 23.18%

I missed my updates at the end of June and July - I had a baby at the end of June and haven't been able to keep up with life since then!

Lowe's has been paid off! Woo! I am working on the furniture next - I am going to pay off the 0% that will expire in the spring and let the rest of the balance sit at 0% since I will only have to pay like $50/month.

[nidena]

Another update coming next week.  Seven years of tracking!!

[janie4]

Janie4: 8/8/2014 $8,233  (07/21/14, $8,620)

Debt Name	Initial Balance	Min. Payment	Last Update	Payment	Current Balance	Percent paid off
CC 15%	$210	$25	$24	$24	$0	100%
CC 2.99	$531	$25	$492	$48	$444	16.4%
CC 0% until 11/14	$216	$25	$192	$66	$126	41.7%
Student Loan	$7,663	$158	$7663	$0	$7663	0%
Total	$8,620	$233	$8,341	$138	$8233	4.4%

I wish the student loan payment hit earlier in the month.  Failing to move the needle on that makes the rest of my progress look bad.  I got a refund from cancelling a service, so I put that $60 towards the credit cards.  In another week, I can make a $90 payment on those from an extra paycheck and money I save up each pay-period for electronics (part of the 0% balance is for a tablet I bought for traveling).  I'm in the process of paring down my daily spending.  I managed to spend only $25 on snacks this week at work, and I'm not planning to do much this weekend, so I will have reduced my weekly cash spending from about $100, to $60.  I'm planning on splitting the $40 between my equity loan and another $20 towards the 2.99% card.  I'm on track to pay off the 0% card by November, so I can afford to put a little bit more towards the other card.  So that will bring my total payment on August 18th to $110, which will knock off another chunk of the credit cards.

I'm debating adding my equity loan to this race.  It's a 20 year equity loan I took out to do the apartment conversion.  It's at 5.49% interest rate, which is much higher than my 1.625% student loan rate.  Once I have the credit cards paid off, throwing the extra money at the equity loan is more bang for your buck, and at the current rate of inflation, my student loan debt is being eroded with no effort on my part.  I've only got four years left of payments.  On the other hand, the faster I pay off the student loan, the faster I can put the whole student loan payment towards the equity loan, and work on paying that off faster.  

I'm going over my budget and seeing where I can cut.  My current car is a 11 year old Nissan, only has 99,000 miles on it, and I drive it about 5,000 a year (more this year because I'm sharing with my mother while she looks for a new car), so it will last for another five to ten years.  If I put off saving for a new car for another year, I can make extra payments on my student loan or my equity loan of about $150 once I've paid off the credit card debt.  That, combined with the extra money I'm planning to put into it once the apartment is finished and rented, would pay off the equity loan in 11 years, rather than 20.  But if I pay down the student loans first, it's almost the exact same timing on the equity loan.  I have to think about it more.  Aside from what I've done - downgrading cable, spending less on eating and drinking out, getting rid of unnecessary services, I'm starting to hit a wall of where I can cut.  I'm going to try and spend a month of doing the bare minimum of dry cleaning and cleaning supply shopping, and see where I am - what I absolutely have to have at the end of the month, and what I can live without.  If I can get to a place where I can spend half the extra two paychecks a year on debt reduction/savings, I'll be happy.  

Ah well, the getting out of debt race is a marathon, not a sprint.  Based on current salary, and making extra payments when I can afford them, I should be out of debt by 59, 8 years before I plan to retire.  So I'll have a few years of more disposable income and no house payment on full salary.  Not bad.  

[nidena]

Aug 6, 2014 23:57:37 GMT -5 nidena said:

Another update coming next week.  Seven years of tracking!!

Oops!!  I meant in two weeks.  

[speechchick71]

Hi all, popping in from the South board to post this.  I though it might be interesting for those who want to learn more about planning their finances:

I don't know if any of you know about this but there are free college courses you can take for information purposes only (not credit although I think you can get some sort of certificate). If you google "coursera" you'll get the website and see all of the courses available but I thought this might be a good topic for those of us on these boards. It's being offered from University of Florida and, again, it's FREE. You don't need to apply or anything and you're not considered a student. This course is on personal and family financial planning. It doesn't start until Aug 20 and I think it's 7 weeks long. You create an account and then log in for the readings/homework/presentation. I did (part of) one on Thomas Jefferson and it was really interesting. You don't need to do the homework although in this case it might be a good idea.

Here is the link to the class: www.coursera.org/course/uffinancialplanning but again, if you just go to coursera.org and do a search, you might find other courses that are interesting to you!

[Maryland Monroe]

Do we know if anybody is going to update the clubs (5500, 5500-2500, etc.)?

[oceanfire31]

Oceanfire31: 8/15/2014 $4441.08 (09/07/2009 $22,908.15 NE679, NE692)

Account	7-16-14	8-15-14	Difference
SL (3.25%)	5026.32	4441.08	585.24
Savings	250	250	0

scrgrl47: So I had a moment and spent some money on a shirt I have been wanting all summer.  However, it was money I had earned on an extra watering gig so I did not feel too badly. 

In other news dipped under the 5000 mark !!!!!

 

[oceanfire31]

Speechchick71: Thanks for the link, I decided to sign up and see what it was all about

[janie4]

Janie4: 8/8/2014 $8,019  (07/21/14, $8,620)

Debt Name     Initial Balance Min. Payment Last Update Payment Current Balance Percent paid off
CC 15%             $210              $25              $0              $0              $0              100%
CC 2.99             $531              $25              $444          $30              $414          22.03%
CC 0%
until 11/14         $216              $25              $126          $30              $96            55.56%
Student Loan     $7,663            $158            $7,663        $163            $7,509         2.01%
Total                 $8,620          $233             $8,233        $223            $8,019         6.97%


So the student loan payment finally hit!  I put an extra $6 whole dollars (sarcasm) towards it, which actually paid for a lot of the interest (yay low interest rate!).  2% down on that one makes me feel like I'm making progress.  

[Deleted]

Hello!  This is my first post.  Right now, I would like to concentrate on 2 HUGE credit card debts I have.  

I am a divorced, single mom (who is about to get engaged again - yay!).  My bf is a divorced, single dad.  I just bought a house last year and am comfortably making payments on that, on time, every month.  I had a few big expenses when I moved in (furniture, a new hot water heater, paint, rugs, all of that funness) that, when compounded with old legal bills and other absolutely ridiculously nonsense impulse purchases got me into this mess.  I want to try to axe my cc debt and bring my credit score back up (it jumped off a cliff in the spring and is slowly coming back to life but is pretty crappy right now) ASAP!

Thanks for having me!

EB: 8/20/2014 $12,500  (8/20/2014, $12,500)



Debt Name          Initial Bal. Min. Pay. Last Update Payment Current Balance % paid off
LL Bean Visa 12%     $7400      $150         $0           $0           $7400               0%
SW Visa 16%           $5100      $150         $0           $0          $5100                0%

Total                     $12500     $300         $0           $0         $12500                0%


I think I made this chart correctly - please let me know if I am wrong.  This is just where I am starting from.

-EB

[chiver78]

chiver78 8/20/14  $19210.83 (8/20/08 $45152.97 NE266)

creditor	8/20/2008	8/20/2014	PAID OFF!
BofA-1	$0	$0	$0
Chase	$0	$9700.00	($9700.00)
Citizens	$0	$0	$0
Discover-1	$543.07	$1009.00	($465.93)
AmEx	$3142.50	$2122.14	$1020.36
car	$4602.06	$0	$4602.06
Discover-2	$5648.17	$0	$5648.17
SL	$7528.74	$0	$7528.74
1st National Bank	$9862.14	$2080.66	$7781.48
BofA-2	$13826.29	$622.22	$13204.07
Citi	$0	$0	$0
Elan	$0	$3676.81	($3676.81)
TOTALS	$45152.97	$19210.83	$25942.14

6 years ago today, I signed up for this racers board. I have moved a little bit backwards in the past year for a couple reasons*, and I honestly thought I'd have won my race by now. it definitely sucks to be stuck in limbo while waiting to sell a place I haven't wanted to live in for at least 3 years now, but it is what it is.

*those reasons are: 1)that I am trying to maximize liquid cash for the house sale, in case I need it to close. the market is hovering right around my payoff value, after accounting for commission/closing costs, and 2) I am spending as little time as possible in the showroom I call home, which isn't always the cheapest thing to do. I'm looking at making better decisions about what I'm spending my $ on, and I'm absolutely looking forward to knocking out the rest of this debt once I finally unload this damn house.

of note - the larger balances in that table have great interest rates, which is why I've been able to preserve liquid cash at all. Chase is 0% thru 6/2015, 1st National and Elan are both 2.99% for the life of the balance. the three other balances are what I need to work on first. I thought about taking a transfer offer just to knock off the interest, but really it's only a couple hundred dollars' worth of savings over the balance. frankly, if I know it's on a card that's charging me interest, then it's more of a fire under my ass to pay it off quickly.

I know I haven't been posting in this thread much. seems like the last post I made was the last anniversary update last year.   I need to get better about that too. and I think I volunteered to help out with updates at some point. is there still a need for me to do that?

[nidena]

Welcome, eb!  
Buying a new house always brings extra expenses and going to Lowe's/Home Depot can be worse than going to the grocery store for "just one thing."  lol.
Are you able to only make the minimums?  If you can pay more, pay as much as you can, monthly, to the SW Visa since its both your lowest balance and highest interest rate.

I'll be posting my update very soon.  My HEL is so very close to being under $10,000 that I can taste it but, alas, that milestone will have to wait until Sept 15th.  However, I have attained my goal of $65,000 paid off by this debt paydown anniversary date of Aug 22nd.  My next milestone will be $75,000 paid off and NO HEL by Jan 2015.

[scrgrl47]

Awesome non-numbers update from scrgrl47! 

Not only did I pay off the mom loan which frees up $500/month to snowball into my student loans, but I also got a promotion that came with an immediate 10% salary bump AND a promise of another 5-10% during the 2014 review cycle.  Holy crap!  In my 13 years out of college, I haven't come close to this % increase, including when transitioning between companies.  So very, very happy. 

It's especially sweet following years of post-MBA financial struggle (the irony....) as I tried to find the right industry/company for me.  
Knowing what it feels like to really struggle is the extra motivation I need to put all the extra toward this debt.  I never want to toe that line again and right now is when I can control that.  Even if something out of my control happens in the future (which I'm sure it will - life, you so funny!) I'll be in a much better financial place to deal with it. 

In all, my estimates show I *should* be able to pay down principal of about $1,600/month.  When I started this race way, way back in ~2006, I was lucky to be paying just the minimums.

Hang in there, new folks - snowballing does really work. 

Nidena - Amazing, keep up the good work!  Can't wait to see that < $10k post...

Chiver - You've paid off 57.5% of your original debt and are under $20k racing debt.  Once your house is off your balance sheet, you're gonna obliterate the remaining balance!  This debt is done.  Stick a fork in it.  Etc, etc.

EB - Welcome to the board!  Congrats on your almost-engagement and new house.  Do you have a way to track your credit score easily and freely?  My discover card puts it in each monthly statement for free (can't rave about my discover card enough) but I know not everybody has that option.  If pulling that score up is a hugely motivating factor for you, maybe it makes sense to post it each month so you can see the FICO progress in addition to your $$ progress. 

Your chart looks great, by the way.  Love the colors, great way to show the different column headers. 

Janie4 - Welcome!  You're making fabulous progress.  That 2% will turn into almost 25% paid off within a year if you stay the course, how cool is that?  Everybody has different strategies that work for them.  I, myself, need the gratification of paying debts off more quickly to keep motivated.  If I were you, I'd hit those CCs with everything I had until they were kaput, then add the equity line to your race, but still putting everything you had at the SL until it was gone.  If you're racing it, you'll get to see the principal progress you make on your equity line while watching your SL decrease quickly.   

Oceanfire31 - < $5k.  I'll just be over here worshiping you.  **DROOL**  You're obviously making great progress so you can throw this suggestion out the window.  What about when "extra" comes in, like from your watering gigs, you put 33% toward debt, 33% toward savings, and 34% toward ? 

Steph08 - congrats on the new little one!  So fresh it still has that new baby smell....

Movinonup - wohoo payoff!  Boo unexpected expenses! 

Minnesotagirl7 - super excited we're consolidating. 

Maryland - >$6k in almost as many months, keep up the great work. 

[nidena]

So...sometime in early August of 2007, I came across this story about the Women in Red Racers on MSN Money.  These folks had paid off tens of thousands of dollars in the year or so since they had came to be.  I was eager to join the "race" and it couldn't have come at a better time.  I had just spent nearly $16,000 on...wait for it...art...while on a cruise for my 31st birthday...and the interest rate was 17+%  That was on top of what I spent FOR the cruise AND the airfare to get to Miami AND the excursions AND the various other crap that is available to you while you're on the water for seven days...watered down mixed drinks, anyone?  

I was also paying off eight very large windows that I had just put in my just bought nine months prior very old (built in the mid1800s) house.  Not to mention a treadmill--I still have and use it: furniture that I bought when I moved back to the States after three years in Okinawa and using govt furniture; and loads of other things that I had put on the credit card(s)--at one point, I had 15 open lines of credit that were in use/had a balance.  I currently have one that I use; that won't end.  The interest rate is crazy low (regular not promo) and I get points.  I just use it better each year.

I am about $1200 away from maxing out the promo on my HEL so I will continue to pay aggressively on it until the balance is $7000.  The promo should kick in then--the promo period goes through Oct 31st this year and I'll need to have paid $12,000 extra in this past year in order for them to match 50%.  I just didn't think to ask if that was just principal payments or P & I so I'll pay as much as I can until then.  The balance on the HEL will be under $10,500 next Friday so I counted those payments in this update.  Needless to say, though, I've paid off nearly $40,000 in house debt since 2007.  I've also seen a "net" payoff of nearly $25,000 in non-house debt in that same time frame.  It goes up and down like the stockmarket but definitely has a downward trend.    Here goes:

UPDATE:
nidena: 8/22/2014 $157,910.37 (8/22/2007 $223,361.20 N453,503,NE648,NPT25)  A payoff of $65,450.83 or   
Only this much to go:    (I don't know what happened to the devil icon that symbolized $100k so I used the $25k marker four extra times.)

[wudnit]

WOW!!!  So nice to see some activity on this board!!

scrgrl:  Congrats on the raise and promotion!!!  WAY TO GO!!

Nidena:  As always, it is nice to see you kicking some serious debt butt!!

Chiver:  Been awhile!!  Nice to see you posting.  Always love a plan!!! 

Welcome to all of those new to the board!!


I will be posting my update next week.  I can't believe kids will be back in school next week!!  Really wish they didn't have to go back until after Labor Day, but it is what it is.  I always see Labor Day as the end of summer........I'm hating that....really enjoyed a gorgeous summer, it just has gone too fast!! 

I should be down to my final racing debt by the end of this year, I could be down to one as soon as next month if I decide to take money from savings to knock it out, but I'm trying to be patient and keep the savings aside.....with DH owning his own company and paychecks coming irregularly IF AT ALL, I need to make sure to keep up the savings.  Still, it is so tempting to pay off the house and have one less payment to make (although, as DH pointed out, I would still be insistent on paying the same amount toward debt, it would just go to the HE.  He's right!!!  I really want to be debt free!!)

[wudnit]

Update:  8/26/14  Wudnit $37,128 (1/13/10 $172915 NEU46)


I decided to use some of the windfall money I had received to finish paying off the House.  So now I am down to racing only the Home Equity.

 

DEBT	1/1/10	8/26/14	CHANGE
Home Equity	38458	37128	-1330
House Mortgage	42040	0	-42040
Camp Mortgage	29392	0	-29392
Apt. Mortgage	63025	0	-63025
TOTALS	172915	37128	-135787

I am thrilled to be under $40K.  I also am thrilled to be down to only the Home Equity.  (Of course, I do have a car loan that I am not racing right now.  However, I do have the funds to pay off the car loan.  I just wanted to have more cash available at this point in time.).  My GOAL is to pay off the Home Equity by August of 2015.  That means I have to stay with the strict spending plan I already have in place and keep my eye on the prize!!!  If the list were updated, I would be on the $25K-50K list.  Hoping that the list start back up again as they really help to keep me motivated and I look for any motivation I can get!  Hang in there everyone.

[wudnit]

My month to month table which I hadn't updated in FOREVER!!

DEBT	7/1/14	8/26/14	CHANGE
Home Equity	37159	37128	-32
House Mortgage	10293	0	-10293
Camp Mortgage	0	0	0
Apt. Mortgage	0	0	0
TOTALS	47453	37128	-10325

Please note that there are sometimes small issues of the numbers being off by a dollar or so, but that is due to rounding issues.  I report my debt only in whole dollars and always round up the amount I owe.

[steph08]

UPDATE: steph08 8/29/2014 $14,312.76 (4/8/2014 $18,411.78 NE116)

Card (Interest Rate)	Start	Previous	Current	Difference
Lowe's (0%)	2,136.35	-	0.00	-
Furniture (0%)	4,239.04	3,109.04	2,499.04	610.00
Car (2.9%)	13,488.55	12,151.41	11,813.72	337.69
TOTAL	19,863.94	15,260.45	14,312.76	947.69

Paid this update: $947.69
Total Paid: $5,551.18
Percent Paid: 27.95%

I am done paying extra on the Furniture - I think the minimum payment will be around $50/month, so I am just keeping with that. That card two 0% offers, one expiring in February 2015 and one in 2018. I have paid off the February 2015 offer, so I am just paying the minimum on the 2018 offer, unless I get a windfall and get tired of paying it every month.

[nidena]

Whoop!!  Whoop!!  The WIRR anniversary is right around the corner!  Captains, are we going to have a Galactic State of the Union

[Maryland Monroe]

Update: Maryland_Monroe[2] 9/1/14 $73655.29 (1/1/14 $80451.89 NE 113)

[Maryland Monroe]

One more try for a table:

Mortgage	63523.11
Loan	9212.18
CC	920.00
Total	73655.29
Chg/Month	-801.36
Chg/Total	6,796.60
% Chg	8.45%

[janie4]

Janie4: 8/8/2014 $7,935 (07/21/14, $8,620)

Debt Name	Initial Balance	Min. Payment	Last Update	Payment	Current Balance	Percent Paid off
CC 15%	$210	$25	$0	$0	$0	100%
CC 2.99%	$531	$25	$414	$21	$393	25.9%
CC 0% until 11/14	$216	$25	$96	$60	$36	83.3%
Student Loan	$7,663	$158	$7,509	$2.76	$7,506	2.04%
Total	$8,620	$223	$8,019	$83.76	$7,935	7.9%

So, I managed to throw another couple of dollars at the student loan (the payment is the principal payment).  Even that little amount makes me feel good.  I'll have the 0% card wiped out on the 29th, and after that I'll be able to focus on the 2.99% card.  I managed to reduce my phone bill by $25 a month, and my utilities were low this month.   Hopefully I'll be able to keep them low this winter (hello, blankets and thick sweaters).  I've been doing better about not spending money, but I have a couple of car repairs that are going to deplete my car emergency fund, so I'm going to have to start saving back into that account (crud).  Still, it's awesome that I'm this close to knocking off another card.  By the end of the month, I should be at $342 on the 2.99% card.  I've got five more months to pay that off before the rate changes, so I should just make it.

[tribeca7]

UPDATE: tribeca7: 9/2/14, $31,430.40 (3/6/13, $45,406.31, NE101)


I'm getting sooooo close to paying off one of these student loans!!!!!!!