Friday, March 23, 2012

Can $25 a Month Make A Difference To Pay Off Large Debts?

A few months before the birth of our 6th child, we made the decision to buy a finance a bigger vehicle so we would have room for our growing family.  We already (unfortunately, impulse purchase) had a car payment on a vehicle that only fit 3 people and was hardly ever used, so we traded that vehicle for a 15 passenger van and a slightly bigger payment.  I am the person in our family who is responsible for paying the bills and keeping the budget.  I decided when I heard the payment amount that I could round it up a few dollars and pay an even amount every month.  Then after we got home I did some studying of our budget and decided I could squeeze $25 out every month and add it to the payment.  Our financing company adjusted the amount of our payment every month lowering the payment every month because of the extra I was paying.  I stayed consistent and kept paying the same amount every month.  After several months, we got our statement saying zero was owed, but I still kept paying the same amount.  The temptation to skip the payment was huge, especially when we had some large unexpected bills come around more than once.  But, we were determined to keep making the payment on the van.  Today, with the help of our tax return and a little extra money we had put away, I paid off the van 18 months early!!  Making that payment lifted a huge weight off of our shoulders and put us one step closer to our goal of becoming debt free!

 So, can an extra $25 help you pay off your debts faster?  Yes, it absolutely can!!  Any amount of money that you can put towards your debts will help to pay them off faster and lower the overall interest that you owe.  One dollar at a time, one debt at a time you can slowly make your way out of owing money.  Make a budget, make a plan, and stay focused.  Now that the van is paid off, next step is paying off a student loan.

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