For those of you following my journey, I'm currently trying to pay off 67k in consumer debt within the next 5 years. For 2023 specifically, my goal is to decrease the outstanding balance by 15k. In the first quarter of 2023, I reduced my balance by $5,320.
To hold myself publicly accountable, I plan to post monthly balance updates and quarterly budget plans. Let's get right into it.
Below is my budget for the previous and subsequent quarters. Over the last quarter, I reduced my utility, transportation, fitness, and subscription expenditures, and I found that my previous quarter's budget amount for groceries was unsustainable. Thus I raised the monthly allotment for groceries for this quarter, but reductions in my discretionary category offset this increase. The amount of money I allocated to my debt snowball was reduced to cover ongoing medical expenses. Still, I will roll with the punches as nothing can reasonably be done about medical costs.
Current Income
I currently earn $63,000 per year and take home $4,200 per month.
Current Expenses
* debt payment
| Expense | Last Quarter | This Quarter |
| Rent | 900 | 900 |
| Utilities | 165 | 160 |
| Transportation | 40 | 25 |
| Insurances | 104 | 107 |
| Groceries | 200 | 300 |
| Cell Phone and Data | 10 | 0 |
| Pet Care | 44 | 44 |
| Fitness | 20 | 11 |
| Subscriptions | 50 | 40 |
| Medical | 89 | 360 |
| Discretionary | 300 | 200 |
| DMP Agreement* | 700 | 700 |
| Personal Loans* | 850 | 850 |
| Debt Snowball* | 728 | 463 |
Based on this plan I have $2,013 available to throw at the debt every month. Based on this figure I should be able to exceed my goals of paying off my total outstanding balance within 5 years and reducing the outstanding balance by 15k by the end of 2023. My current projected debt-free date is May 2026.
Check back on May 1 for my monthly update to see my pay off progress.
