Paid off $5500+ in debt this year! Woohoo!

This is a celebration post!

I was feeling really down about my financials lately. I've switched jobs several times this year, moved, had to make major purchases, etc. With Christmas here I was feeling especially bad about overspending on gifts and wanted to take stock of my financials to get back on track– well, I was pleasantly surprised!

I started the year off with no job and $1000 in the bank. I had hoped to build back up to $5000 in savings by the end of the year while also beginning to pay off some loans. I won't hit my savings goal before the end of the year (I'm not too far off), but I realized I paid off just about $5,500 in debt this year!! That's almost 1/6 of my gross income!

I did MAJOR calculations on how to best pay off my loans– comparing interest accrual over time, different payment ratios, etc. I chocked up a whole excel spreadsheet and charted out 3 years of payments to see what it'd look like for each scenario. Then I committed to a plan and consistently made it a priority to make payments every month!

I've been through the wringer, and had some really tight financial moments this year, but I'm glad to say I brought things around 😊

Just a reminder to take a moment and look at where you started, because sometimes you lose sight of how far you've come.