We started off this year by choosing Hustle as our theme for the year so we’ve been doing just that. Last summer I used to log about 60 hours of work per month, and in January I logged closer to 200 hours. Amanda has been very helpful and supportive of me working so many extra hours.
This month we had planned on paying off the Household category which represents what we owe our mortgage company. Our mortgage was sold to another servicer in December, so there was a 21 day limbo while we waited for the account to be available with the new servicer. When I called to make a payment the company let me know that they would not accept partial payments and we had to either bring the account current, or at least one month behind. We didn’t have the cash to bring it current in January, but we will be able to do that in February thanks to an end of month sale that brought in a huge surge of sales revenue.
So this payment waiting game means that we have a surplus of $3,000 that does not reflect in the current Debt Snowball numbers.
Technically doing the Debt Snowball means paying off the smallest amount first then moving up the list. If you’re wondering why we haven’t paid off the $650 credit card there are two reasons. First is that we realized we really needed to take care of the mortgage deficit because the house is one of the “Four Walls” and is pretty damn important. The second reason is that I called the collector that purchased the account and they were very rude and didn’t want to negotiate. I felt like they could wait another month to be paid off.
Current Debt Numbers
Our current debt as of February 1, 2013 is $62,296.06. Which is an increase since last month of $842.00. Even though this is an increase we are still excited about knocking out two categories during February (Household and Credit Card).
| Credit Card | $650 | 1.04% |
| Family | $3,900 | 6.26% |
| Household | $6,000 | 9.64% |
| Medical | $4,847.48 | 7.78% |
| Tax | $17,716 | 28.44% |
| Student Loan | $29,182.58 | 46.84% |
| Total | $61,454.06 |
Changes This Month
As of February 1st I’m out of my probation period and am an an official employee at WooThemes. This brings a little bump in salary that will be effective in February.
We will have some unusual expenses this month: I will be taking a work trip in March and we may need to take our one car into the shop. We’ll be cash flowing both of these expenses this month.
Plan of Attack
Our plan is for me to continue stoking the engine of the product train. It’s tempting to take on a client job or two to try to bring in some extra money, but I keep reminding myself that doesn’t always turn out well for me.
All of my current products are selling better than I could have expected, so it’s time to get some more out there.
You guys are doing awesome! The hustle will pay off!
I LOVE completely knocking out specific debts. This month, we knock out debt #5 of 14 — so nice to cross it off the list!
And March 1 marks our 1 year anniversary starting the snowball — we hope to end February with $25K+ paid down! Woo-hoo!
I agree, there’s nothing better than wiping out a category and having that part of your brain back. Great job on your progress, we’re excited for you!