Dragon Journal (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
dragonjournal) wrote2020-08-25 12:48 pm
dragonjournal) wrote2020-08-25 12:48 pm
Getting out of debt is knowing your interest rates.
So, a big thing about getting out of debt is knowing what type of interest you're paying, be it on credit cards, loans, student loans, or car/mortgage payments. Now, I obviously don't have a mortgage. I pay rent. (No, I am not wasting money - I have a safe place to live, a comfortable apartment, and it's reasonable enough rate that I can afford it. I do not consider this a "waste".) I do, however, have credit cards, a car loan, and student loans.
So, I stated before what those amounts are, but just for fun, let's talk about what those totals are.
Mattress: $1005.29 Now, I'm putting this at the top, because this is the thing I need to pay off first, because if it's paid off by May, then no interest charges! Which is awesome. And the best thing for us.
Student loans: $2542.69 This total is deceptive. Because most of my loans are in forbearance, this is the only loan I have to pay. It's got an interest rate of 5% since it's a Federal Perkins Loan. That, I'm trying to pay about $90 a month on. So, without interest would take me 28 months to pay off. The reason I say it's deceptive is that I have about $50,000 in forbearance. Yeah, that figure is not wrong.
Visa: $458.32 This is CapitalOne. The interest rate is 19.99%. It also has the lowest credit limit at $500. I'm paying $30 per month on this. At least right now. I'm going to be throwing the most money at this one. Why? Because I want it gone.
Car: $10,775.02 Also through CapitalOne, with an interest rate of 14.62%. It's not horrible but it is quite a hit in the budget each month, with that $285 per month. I will be paying that for a long time. Even if I refinance, I'll continue paying that amount to get it taken care of.
Visa: $1324.44 This is Elan. So, the interest rate on this one is 22.99%. So, that's expensive, and this was my second card. It has a credit limit of $1400. This one also needs to be paid off, but I'll be busting my ass to do such a thing.
Discover: $1476.56 Oh, Discover. My very first credit card. The interest rate is 19.99%. It has a limit of $1500. This one will probably be paid down after Elan, just because the interest rate is lower.
Apple: $1137.19 This card I got because I wanted a Mac and no one was going to tell me no. I don't regret it, but... the interest rate is 26.74% so it really needs to be probably the first one I pay off.
Aspire: $1569.98 This card has a credit limit of $1529 and 34.5% is the interest rate. So, this one is really high. I need to knock this one down fast.
Paypal: $1233.21 Paypal has credit. This was dangerous for me. The limit is $1247, and the interest rate is 24.99%.
So, the order in which they need to be paid off:
Mattress
Aspire
Apple
Paypal
Visa
Visa
Student Loans
Car
Now, the reason car is last is because it's got the highest amount owed. And I know that according to everything, I should tackle the loans last, but eh. This is more important to hit first.
So, this is the plan. Hopefully it works.
Now, my September 4th paycheck looks something like this:
Paypal: 40
Duke: 125
Net: 21
PF: 11
Sprint: 259
Mattress: 170
Aspire: 84
Car: 285
Groceries: 200
-------------
Total: 1195
This is a bit different than it was before, but that's because bills came in, and I was able to adjust according to those bills.
So, this is good!
It means a little more money for the washer and dryer. Hopefully, I can figure this out. Hopefully, it all works out. Now to go do something fun, since I just got done working 12 hours....
So, I stated before what those amounts are, but just for fun, let's talk about what those totals are.
Mattress: $1005.29 Now, I'm putting this at the top, because this is the thing I need to pay off first, because if it's paid off by May, then no interest charges! Which is awesome. And the best thing for us.
Student loans: $2542.69 This total is deceptive. Because most of my loans are in forbearance, this is the only loan I have to pay. It's got an interest rate of 5% since it's a Federal Perkins Loan. That, I'm trying to pay about $90 a month on. So, without interest would take me 28 months to pay off. The reason I say it's deceptive is that I have about $50,000 in forbearance. Yeah, that figure is not wrong.
Visa: $458.32 This is CapitalOne. The interest rate is 19.99%. It also has the lowest credit limit at $500. I'm paying $30 per month on this. At least right now. I'm going to be throwing the most money at this one. Why? Because I want it gone.
Car: $10,775.02 Also through CapitalOne, with an interest rate of 14.62%. It's not horrible but it is quite a hit in the budget each month, with that $285 per month. I will be paying that for a long time. Even if I refinance, I'll continue paying that amount to get it taken care of.
Visa: $1324.44 This is Elan. So, the interest rate on this one is 22.99%. So, that's expensive, and this was my second card. It has a credit limit of $1400. This one also needs to be paid off, but I'll be busting my ass to do such a thing.
Discover: $1476.56 Oh, Discover. My very first credit card. The interest rate is 19.99%. It has a limit of $1500. This one will probably be paid down after Elan, just because the interest rate is lower.
Apple: $1137.19 This card I got because I wanted a Mac and no one was going to tell me no. I don't regret it, but... the interest rate is 26.74% so it really needs to be probably the first one I pay off.
Aspire: $1569.98 This card has a credit limit of $1529 and 34.5% is the interest rate. So, this one is really high. I need to knock this one down fast.
Paypal: $1233.21 Paypal has credit. This was dangerous for me. The limit is $1247, and the interest rate is 24.99%.
So, the order in which they need to be paid off:
Mattress
Aspire
Apple
Paypal
Visa
Visa
Student Loans
Car
Now, the reason car is last is because it's got the highest amount owed. And I know that according to everything, I should tackle the loans last, but eh. This is more important to hit first.
So, this is the plan. Hopefully it works.
Now, my September 4th paycheck looks something like this:
Paypal: 40
Duke: 125
Net: 21
PF: 11
Sprint: 259
Mattress: 170
Aspire: 84
Car: 285
Groceries: 200
-------------
Total: 1195
This is a bit different than it was before, but that's because bills came in, and I was able to adjust according to those bills.
So, this is good!
It means a little more money for the washer and dryer. Hopefully, I can figure this out. Hopefully, it all works out. Now to go do something fun, since I just got done working 12 hours....
no subject
So do I. More, even, as I had mine in forbearance for so long as I didn't have a job after my dad died. I now am on the income-based payment plan. I doubt I will ever pay it off. I also doubt I will ever get a job in my field. It's been 10 1/2 years since I graduated. I don't regret giving up my career to move home and take care of my dad (not that I had a career at that point), but bloody h*. If I had put off school for another year or so, I would have found out about his diagnosis before going, and I wouldn't now have the most expensive piece of paper ever sitting in his safe.
I probably shouldn't post when it's hot and humid, and a long work day/week. :)