Brushes & Budgets

If you haven’t had a chance to catch up on things, please go here for 2019 and here for 2020 regarding my debt payoff, before reading this post. This is a long read so be sure to grab a snack. If you’re a skimmer, the bold areas highlight the month, year, starting, and ending balance. There’s something for everyone on Brushes & Budgets.

2020 was quite the ride right?! COVID, a paralyzed sister and visit to help for a month, I bought a house, I got a breast reduction, I was headed down the right path to get my life back on track. It was like a financial telanovela. Again with the jokes…I can’t make any promises that I won’t make a bad one again. LOL! Lets see what 2021 held.

January 2021 – Starting Balance $39,303.01 – Ending Balance $38,233.68

I paid a total of $1,267.42 towards debt this month

I’m getting back on track this month! Things were swimming along and I not upset about continuing paying things down. I was getting the breast reduction knocked out and hoping I could pay it down before the end of the year.

February 2021 – Starting Balance $38,233.68 – Ending Balance $36,573.82

I paid a total of $1,842.42 towards debt this month

This month, I got a 6% raise! Woo hoo!!!! I try not to let lifestyle creep affect me but put the extra money towards either debt or savings. At the end of this month, I went a bit backwards because I was in a lot of pain after helping my friend move. I went to grab some plates out of a cabinet and it caused more harm than good. You’ll see how that impacted March and the later months.

March 2021 – Starting Balance $36,573.82 – Ending Balance $35,991.70

I paid a total of $1,592.42 towards debt this month

This month sucked. I felt terrible and I started seeing an acupuncturist because absolutely nothing was working. The catch…it cost A LOT. I think I paid around $3,000 for everything but the difference it made was very exceptional. I was balancing between this and my Care Credit credit card because I put it on my Discover Card and that interest was obscene.

April 2021 – Starting Balance $35,991.70 – Ending Balance $35,588.45

I paid a total of $1,406.88 towards debt this month

Still paying on the bill for acupuncture, but I was really feeling a lot better. By this point, I had paid a substantial amount towards Care Credit and was less than halfway done with paying it down.

May 2021 – Starting Balance $35,588.45 – Ending Balance $35,188.92

I paid a total of $1,556.96 towards debt this month

The hardest part about this time, was throwing a lot at debt and the balance technically only dropping by a few hundred dollars. I was still balancing between paying down the acupuncture charges and paying towards Care Credit. Care Credit started at $8,400 with a 15.90% interest rate, it was at $3,097.65 at this point! Strides were being made. It just didn’t feel like much was happening. I did hop on a plane for the first time since November 2019 so it was nice to travel again. I went to a yacht party. It was in Chicago and it was FREEZING the day of. That’s how Chicago does sometimes…

June 2021 – Starting Balance $35,188.92 – Ending Balance $32,953.21

I paid a total of $2,483.78 towards debt this month

And just like that! A breakthrough! I paid a bunch towards my two highest debts and this month really showed the progress.

July 2021 – Starting Balance $32,953.21 – Ending Balance $31,664.00

I paid a total of $2,221.55 towards debt this month

I believe I was using some of my savings to pay down the balance for acupuncture this month and that’s why the paid down amount was so high. It will go back down but I got the acupuncture bill paid off! The reason the balance isn’t lower…is because I had to buy new tires for my car. I’m not immune to small emergencies. I also visited my family for a week. I got the tires and drove to Missouri.

August 2021- Starting Balance $31,664.00 – Ending Balance $30,803.53

I paid a total of $979.42 towards debt this month

I didn’t hit debt as hard, more than likely because I was having a hard time adjusting to all credit card spending. My Care Credit balance was $1,114.59 and I could see the finish line! No one could repo my new boobs! .

September 2021 – Starting Balance $30,803.53 – Ending Balance $29,982.35

I paid a total of $931.42 towards debt this month

I was still trying to do this transition to spending using my credit card for rewards but I was not controlling my spending at all. Not to mention inflation was starting to get the best of us. No excuses…I needed to do better.

October 2021 – Starting Balance $29,982.35 – Ending Balance $29,100.11

I paid a total of $983.42 towards debt this month

Still struggling controlling my spending using credit cards, I should’ve just given up but I obviously like to torture myself.

November 2021 – Starting Balance $29,100.11 – Ending Balance $30,900.30

I paid a total of $1,354.61 towards debt this month

This next year just shows a pattern of ridiculous decisions I made. To help everyone understand what was going on. I put a lot of my expenses on autopay on one credit card but I didn’t budget for them effectively. I also was doing all my variable spending on credit cards. It was a cluster. This month I did a balance transfer to a credit card that I didn’t have a balance on. While the balance transfer was inexpensive, it allowed me to be a little too laxed with my finances. However, I paid off my boobs! I was trying to keep my synchrony home account open so I purchased a new bedroom set because my new home doesn’t have a walk in and I have a ton of clothes. The bedroom set came up to $1002.14 and was interest free for 6 months.

December 2021 – Starting Balance $30,900.30 – Ending Balance $30,792.91

I paid a total of $1,225.56 towards debt this month

Another month and another balance transfer. I was still struggling with all credit cards usage. I failed to mention…I had the money available in my savings for these balance transfers I conducted. But you live, you learn, and you prolong your debt payoff.

I made $17,845.86 of payments for 2021. Of those payments $1,667.25 went to interest. Will 2022 be better? Will I be able to get my spending under control or keep doing a balance transfer to get things back on track? We’ll see when I do the review for 2022.