May 2021 Debt Snowball Update
Budget Update
May was not a great month for our debt snowball.
We were very close to going over our Groceries and Restaurant categories this month due to poor planning, but we made it work with about $1.90 leftover in each of those categories.
In May, we had a total of $110 that we didn’t spend from our budget. I ended up adding that money to our debt snowball for June. Check out the June Budget With Me for more on that.
Debt Snowball Update
We were able to add $271.03 to our debt snowball category this month, and now we have a total of $1686.95.
As usual, the mortgage was $1212, and we paid an additional $75 towards the principal. The remaining amount of our mortgage is $185,717.10.
Now for the disappointing part. We had to take on new debt in May. It sucks, but it was the right decision for us.
My husband and I both have a couple of expensive medical tests that we have to get done each year. Depending on where we are with our deductible, we may or may not have to pay out of pocket.
My husband had his tests done this month, and we decided to use our Care Credit card.
If you’re not familiar with Care Credit, it is a credit card that you can use to pay for out-of-pocket healthcare expenses.
It is subject to credit approval, but many health care providers offer promotional financing options when you use it.
After insurance, we were responsible for $1342.02 out of pocket for the testing. Care Credit gave us an offer for no interest until April 2022, so we did that.
We have already made a $300 payment, so we still owe $1,042.02 towards this bill. We should have it paid before the promotion is up.
2021 Savings Goals
Our first goal is to save money for a new car. In May, we added $54.40 to this category for a total of $3,139.16. I think this goal is going pretty well. We’re not in a rush, so we’re just adding money there for whenever we need a car.
The next goal is our home maintenance and repair category. We added $422 to this category. We paid our pest control bill, and it came to $185, so now we have a total of $2,246.66 in that category.
We’re making a little bit of progress there, and I can’t wait until we read our goal.
So far this year, we have paid off $11,177.08. Our 2021 goal for debt payoff is $25,000. That means, as of May, we have paid down 44% of our goal for the year.
The Bottom Line
I know I’ve expressed frustration for the past two updates, but sometimes this is a debt-free journey. I’m sure we’re going to get back to the uplifting updates soon.
Now I want to hear from you. Let me know how your debt-free journey is going and if you ran into any roadblocks in May.
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