We are feeling the pressure now. Once we started getting rid of our debts and are now just down to the line of credit loan and the mortgage, we feel the need to be debt free except for the house NOW. Not three years from now. Definitely not 5 years from now. NOW.
That’s easier said than done. But guess what has happened that has me more excited than the “getting out of debt” plan itself? Pool Boy is now totally on board! When both partners believe in the same philosophy on money, amazing things can happen.
Because of our intensity, we already have a very healthy amount of money that is able to go toward our debt each month. That doesn’t mean we aren’t looking for other sources. Last night we held a very informal money meeting, and here is what we came up with:
- I currently contribute quite a bit to my 401K. I’ll be reducing this down to equal the match that I get.
- Pool Boy has automatic deductions out of his paycheck to go to a mutual fund and each of the boys’ education funds. We will be halting those temporarily.
- Over the next 6 months, we will have several chunks of money coming in (tax rebate, some extra jobs we are doing on the side, Pool Boy’s summer income, etc.) and all of that money will be sent straight to debt.
So while we aren’t going to be debt free except for the house today, it looks like we will reach that goal within the next 9-12 months.
Yes, 9-12 months. I want to share with you something about that timeframe. When we first got started on this journey, we listed all of our debts and matched it up with our income. With the numbers we had, it looked like it was going to be 3-5 years before we were debt free but the house, and 5-7 years before we were totally debt free. Now, if we stay on track as planned, we will hit the first goal in just over 18 months. We are so close we can smell it!
