It’s time for the next monthly update on how we’re doing with our 2013 financial plan. In case you missed it, here’s where I laid out all of our financial goals for the year. So let’s talk about how we did in February!
Debt Payoff
Pay off our car loan- Done! We accomplished this in January.Pay off the smallest student loan we have- Done! This was our major accomplishment in February. We have so much student loan debt, that it feels amazing just to strike off one of the accounts from the list.- Pay off all of my student loans - No real change here (just paid the minimum due).
Savings
- Fully fund our general savings account for our current adventure - We contributed a significant amount to this fund in February. We’re just about 1/3 of the way done funding it. This is the goal we’re currently focusing on and we hope to have this done by June. And in case you missed it, here’s “our current adventure” that we’re saving for!
- Get our emergency fund up to two months worth of income - No real change here (just deposited the standard amount we do every month).
- Set up a retirement account - Haven’t done this yet.
Other Financial Goals
- Live off of one income - After paying off our car and one of our student loans, we’re getting closer to this! But we’re not there yet.
- Buy life insurance - Haven’t done this yet.
- Create wills - Haven’t done this yet.
- Close three credit accounts we never use and that have no balance - Haven’t done this yet, but we’ll likely complete this in March.
So, as you can see, the highlights of February were paying off the small student loan and contributing a large amount to our general savings account. God continues to bless us recently (always!) with more than what we need, and we feel more than ever that our goals are aligned with His heart for our family. March is going to be a tight month for us. We’ll be filing our taxes and with that comes a hefty tax bill (the negative side of being self-employed), so we don’t anticipate being able to make much headway on any of the debt payoff or savings goals in March. But we’re planning on getting at least one of those smaller, administrative goals done, just so we have something to cross off our list!
So tell me – did you accomplish any of your financial goals in February?
About Lisa Morosky
Lisa ,
Before you pick up the phone and close your account, make sure it’s not going to affect your credit score in a negative way.
My advice would be to keep them open , and close them one at a time (one a year ) after you are sure you have a credit score of over 800 . Because you car insurance is tied into your credit score and if you want to borrow money in the future ,your credit score is a big factor how much your interest rate will be. . The lower your credit score the more your insurance premiums will be. Of course you may already know all this .
Hi Jacob! Thanks for your concern (by the way, I clicked over to your site and it looks like it’s been hacked
).
All three of these accounts have tiny credit limits, so we’re not losing a big chunk of our available credit. Plus, we still have three other credit card accounts open (for emergencies, travel, and big purchases that when put on a credit card we earn a large discount – and we never use those, or if we make a purchase we pay it off immediately) and that we intend to keep open.
But really, my feeling on credit scores and such is that I don’t really care what happens to our scores as a result of paying off debt and closing accounts. The end-game is to live a cash life (as in, pay cash for everything and avoid all debt – eventually we’ll probably have a mortgage, but not anytime in the foreseeable future, we’ll bring lots of cash to the table, and we still have a credit history with our other credit card accounts, student loans, paid off accounts, etc). If accomplishing a long-term goal in the right direction (paying off debt and closing accounts) means a ding to a score we don’t intend to use much in the future, I’m OK with that. We’ll take whatever consequences come from living a radical life. We’re not trying to play by the conventional rules.
Hi Lisa!
I’d just like to tell you that you have a great site running here.
I would also like to thank you for opening up my eyes. Planning out your finances as a couple is a real inspiration. I’ve been married for four years now and this is the first time (maybe I was just not paying attention) I met this. Our finances come and go as they want (very bad stewards..). The good thing is that this month we got all our debs paid out. But when I get home from work today, me and my wife will have a long talk about how we should manage the blessings that are flowing in our lives. We could build a dam or something 
Thanks for the compliment, Marco!
Yes, I totally encourage you to make a plan as a couple. Not only so both of you are informed of the actual state of the finances (a lot of times one partner doesn’t even know what’s going on), but because accomplishing goals together no doubt brings you closer (something about working as a team!).
Blessings to you both!