2019 was always going to be a challenging year financially
But I am happy to report that the year came to a positive end and I have launched into 2020 by knocking one of my various debts on the head.
One of my first posts on Steemit summarised the amount of debt that I am working to pay off:
- I had $20k in credit card debt
- $25k owing to the tax office
- $90k owing on a business loan
- $12k owing to my accountant
Reading this list now makes me wonder how I maintained my sanity. So I was incredibly pleased to be able to pay off my tax office debt last week. The final payment came with a great sense of relief as I now have an additional $1500 per month to contribute towards my remaining debts. As it currently stands my debts now look like this:
- $1k in credit card debt (this is pretty standard and is cleared every month)
- $0 to the tax office
- $75k on the business loan
- $6k owing to my accountant
All up, my debts now equate to $82k which is an incredible improvement from the original amount of $147k.
Debt free in two years?
Will I be debt free in 2 years, as stated in my first post summarising these debts? I’m not entirely sure. But I will be very close to being debt free.
My main reason for not being sure is that I aim to buy a house at the end of this year. So this may require setting some cash aside to contribute towards that purchase. But this is a good thing. My wife and I don’t enjoy renting, so buying a home to live in will make us much happier. And being happy is more important than being debt free.
On another note, paying off debt has been getting easier. When we first moved back to our home town we had a lot of additional expenses with moving costs, replacing things that we couldn’t transport, and I needed new clothing after not buying anything new for 3 years.
So with these purchases complete for now, I have more money free to pay down debt. And then there’s my recent promotion. I am now earning an additional $30k per year. Which will make clearing debt and saving for a house even easier. And add to this my annual bonus which will be paid in two months time and my finances are looking much, much better than 12 months ago.
So I’m hopeful that I will achieve my goal, or at least come very close to achieving it. And owning a home again really does sound incredible.
It’s nice to not stress about money so much
I discovered the hard way that financial stress is one of the worst kinds of stress to experience. Not knowing how you will afford the groceries or the many bills piling up is an awful thing to experience, and I feel truly sorry for all those struggling business owners out there who are dealing with this type of stress right now. Getting to a point where the financial stress is greatly reduced feels like a real blessing.
I must say that I am really looking forward to 2020 and all the opportunities that it may bring. I have so much planned for this year and I’ll be sure to share this on Steemit where ever possible.
I’ll also provide frequent updates on my progress towards achieving my financial goals, so stay tuned if this interests you.
I hope your 2020 is looking positive as well!