My Total Debt

So that I may be accountable and honest with myself (and all of you)….it is time to share my total debt with you! Luckily I do not have any credit card debt (yay!) and if I ever use a credit card, I pay it off in full. However, my student loans are enough to make me sick when I look at the balances! And I have a car loan….
As stated in a previous post, one of my goals is to pay off my car this year. Then I can attack the student loans. I am taking this approach for two reasons:

1) The interest rate is higher on my car than my student loans. And my smallest student loan is approximately the same as what I owe on my car.
2) I am in enrolled in a loan assumption program for up to $11,000. I am anticipating two payments on my loan from this program in the amount of $4500. I should see these payments applied within the next two months.

So here we go…..
Debt #1: Car Loan
$13, 214.03
Debt #2: Student Loan 1
$12,693.91
Debt #3: Student Loan 2
$14,773.01
Total: $40,680.95!!!!!!!!!!!!

Wow, that was like ripping off a band-aid! I mean, I don’t know if I have ever really added up my total debt and let it sink in my brain!
So, I am taking a quasi-Dave Ramsey approach for my “money makeover”. I am currently using the “debt snowball” method and I am working on my car loan first. I currently have $2,000 in my emergency fund, and while Dave says that $1,000 is sufficient, deep down I don’t feel like that is enough money. I think I would feel better with about $5,000, but we’ll see as my balances get lower and a payoff is in my reach!

Do you really want to know what I am most excited for? I will be so excited to review my progress in December 2010 and see this number reduced by close to $18,000, God permitting. This is very doable as I plan to pay off the car this year, I will continue paying down the student loan, I will receive the loan forgiveness payments and my upcoming marriage will improve my financial situation (more on that later).