Hello there! Let’s jump right into my balances:
Car Loan: $0
Student Loan: $12,761.96
What’s that I said? Oh yeah, MY CAR LOAN IS PAID OFF! Actually that happened back in March, which is why my student loan balance is now so low.
How did I do it? Well, I cheated a bit. R. told me that he wanted me to wait to get my braces on until the end of May and that it was extremely important to him. So instead of continuing to build up savings for my braces, I threw all that money at my car. And then I drained all my other non-essential savings accounts (i.e. clothing, running fund, ect.) and put that on my car loan. And then I went nuts; I wanted that loan balance to DIE. So I raided my Car Maintenance fund even thought it’s slightly essential. I still had about $183 dollars to go on my car, so I borrowed it from my emergency savings. I know – it’s not Dave Ramsey kosher, but I knew I could pay myself back with my next paycheck, which is exactly what I did. I regret nothing:)
FYI: It is awesome not having a car payment! I highly recommend it. There is something that happens to your confidence when you drive a car you own. Also, I realized that I never need to have a car payment again. If I just keep doing what I’m doing, there is no reason why I wouldn’t be able to pay cash for a “new-to-me” car once it comes time to replace mine. When you don’t have loan payments, it’s amazing how quickly you can come up with a pile of cash!
In other news: I’m engaged! Yes, R. popped the question and (of course) said YES! The ring is beautiful and it’s exactly what I wanted. He proposed to me right before a 20 mile trail race, which is a perfect setting for two runners like us. I can’t wait to share my life with someone I truly love with all my heart and is my best friend.
Everything is falling into place. After the engagement, I got my braces put on, which were approximately $3600 (my teeth were throwing gang signs, so I wanted to get them fixed for the wedding). This may sound torturous to some, but I excitedly wrote a check for the whole damn thing! Like I said above, after I paid off my car, it made it so much easier to save money for the braces. The best part is, since I paid cash, I’m done. I’ll never have to make another payment again. It makes life simple.
Speaking of simple, what have you done lately to make your finances easier on you? Feel free to comment below!
Running Out of Debt 
To make money easier I schedule 20 equal payments on my apartments website so that I could pay half my rent every payday and not have to wait for the check to clear.
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Great idea! I used to do that too prior to moving in with the fiancé. I find it helps to split up big bills between two checks. You don’t feel it as much. Thanks for sharing!
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I’m on bs3 with my husband. Married in june, so I still remember that,excitement when I saw my engagement ring. Congrats!
I started a household binder to keep all of my envelops organized and my life in one place. 🙂
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Thank you! Definitely an exciting time. The binder is a great idea…and congrats on Baby Step 3! I can’t wait until I get there!
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