Tuesday, March 30, 2010

Monthly and Quarterly Updates

One scary benefit of the new credit card laws is that every monthly statement now shows me how long it will take to pay off that particular card if I just make minimum payments: 22 years; 26 years; 7 years; etc.

NOT a pretty sight.

But I think having this brought home to me each month when I open the envelope will help keep me on track to get rid of my credit card debt.

In March, I reduced my debt by $866.22--not as much as I'd hoped because I pretty much only made minimum payments. My debt snowball added a mere $12 to my lowest credit card.

My quarterly net-worth went down by $1642.72. I'm less worried there, because my retirement funds are up nearly $20,000. What brings the total down is my real property. Houses held onto their value for longer in the Pacific NW than in many other parts of the country, but have started to drop over the last year. According to local reports, I can expect another 5% drop in value by December. However, given that I purchased my two homes in 1975 and 1993, and paid nowhere near their current values, I really can't complain. The rental property was paid off years ago. My current home will be paid off in exactly four years.

So, Grace is solvent. YAY! But I really, really need to reduce the debt. [Have you heard me say that before?]

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Those new credit card statements are great.

Have you thought about charting those numbers on a graph so you can see them going down every month like in Your Money or Your Life? You could stick that chart on your wallet if you make one small enough...

Sharon said...

Only 4 years left on a mortgage? Sounds like a dream to me....PLUS you have a paid for rental property...I'd say you were doing just fine!