I needed this. I wasn’t supposed to reach this milestone this month but I needed this, so I made it happen.
“I made it happen,” is the TLDR version. In reality, this was made possible by the fact that I will be essentially working evenings/nights at a summer camp this month, which provides $500.00 in a “personal” stipend in addition to occasional meals. What this means is that I expect to spend far less on gas, meals, and miscellaneous spending, which in addition to being offset by the personal stipend, allowed me to steal a couple of bucks from my “food, dining, gas, and miscellaneous” budget line item. I also borrowed a few more bucks ($475.00 to be exact) from my sinking fund account. Given that I have a four-month emergency fund ($5,000.00), I figure I should be okay. Especially since the sinking fund still has a couple of hundred dollars in it.
I needed this because I am feeling a bit lost and frustrated and it is my hope that making it under the $70,000.00 mark will get me that debt repayment “high” and help me refocus and stop being reckless. I’ll let you know how that goes…
As always, thank you all for joining me on the journey. You don’t know it but you all serve as a mental check whenever I contemplate financial decisions. At some point, “What would (insert: C, Ellen, Avery, Eva, Paula, or any of the other Pennyfolk) think if I did this?” always crosses my mind. You all are appreciated.
Ms. Afro Penny 
For some reason I heard Tupac Shakur in those last few lines. 🥳. Having folks as a sound board is so, so helpful!
LikeLike
Bwhahaha <3. That last line definitely has a "Dear Mama" vibe. Thank you so much Blissful for always being so encouraging.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Congratulations! That number looks SO much smaller than when it was in the $70,000s. You really do make things happen, and it’s impressive. Awesome job AP!
LikeLike
Thank you so much, Ellen. It’s definitely a trick of the mind…I wanted to get this far by mid-year because once my part-time job ends this month, I know my payments will get cut in half… Having made it to $69,XXX by June, even with my significantly reduced payments, I should be able to make it under $60,000K by the end of the year without a significant stretch. I think seeing that first number be “5” would make me giddy.
LikeLike
It’s so funny to me how much *smaller* that number looks! I hope you feel great 🙂
LikeLike
There is definitely something psychological about seeing that first number drop a value lower. I needed that win this month. As always, thank you for your company, C.
LikeLike
Omg! You’re such an inspiration! Congratulations on the progress! I love your posts!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Awe, thank you, Ashley. I remember reading DDSW’s post a couple of years ago and being encouraged by her and feeling a bit less lonely on my journey. If anyone feels that way about my blog then I am extremely gratified.
LikeLike
Congratulations!!! That is an awesome milestone you achieved!
LikeLike
Thank you so much, Eva 🙂
LikeLike
Yesss!!! Huge congrats!!! 🎉 I’m still in awe with how fast you’re taking this debt down each month! It felt like only such a short time ago you were making under $100k your goal. And look at you today! You’re now on the edge of getting into the $50k’s!
LikeLike
Thanks, Avery! As tired (and stressed) as I have been these past few months between my full-time job and my part-time job, my continued part-time role at University B is really what has made the speed of payoff possible. June is my last month at University B so I’ll have one more girthy payoff on July 1st and a slight bump in August due to the last paycheck…I realize putting my goals out there helps push me so later today I might write about what I decided to do about a new goal…
LikeLike