Dealing with Credit Card Debt

Here we go — Round Two of this Credit Card Debt Repayment Journey —

Last month I started documenting my progress toward paying off the credit card debt we’ve accumulated over the past couple of years.

The point was to understand exactly where our debt is, and gain structure around what we can pay off each month.

While it hasn’t been an exact science, at least it has been a starting point. And then there’s the whole accountability thing.

If I’m putting this all out there for the world to see (albeit anonymously), at least this makes it a bit more real.

So here is our current progress, building off of what was documented previously.

This page includes affiliate links — which means I may receive some sort of compensation (at no cost to you) if you sign up or make a purchase through these links.

My son went shopping yesterday for a new bathing suit.

He came home with a new Speedo, and a department store credit card.

First, let me clarify that the Speedo is a pair of swim trunks, and not the piece of stretchy material that is typically imagined when one thinks of a Speedo.

Now that we have that particular visual addressed, I’ll get back to the issue at hand — his first credit card.

My son is a recent college graduate. He’s 22 years old, so clearly an adult who can make his own choices.

And yet, I feel extremely protective (and frankly, a little miffed) that the store associate “pushed” this offer onto him.

I’m sure it didn’t take very much convincing. He just started his very first “real job”, with a new paycheck burning a hole in his pocket. But the prospect of getting 30% off of this purchase was too much to pass up.

He came home with a huge grin on his face, at making this grown up decision. Not only had he found exactly what he was looking for, in the SALE rack no less — but at an even bigger savings!

Enter Mom, the resident buzz kill.

Debt Repayment Documentation

This is the first *official* post documenting my family’s debt journey.

Who’s excited?? Haha

Through this, I’m trying to get a grasp on and form some structure around:

–  What we’re paying out each month

–  How much of that is actually reducing the balance

–  What amount of debt is remaining

First off, I’m finding the amounts are not balancing out perfectly.

But I’m hoping this will all make more sense & be a little easier going forward.

And really, the bottom line is to make sure the balance is going down and not up.

Because if I’m doing this experiment so that others can learn from it, I better be darn sure my numbers are going in the right direction! (Downward!)