We’re in the home stretch of our debt payoff, as I’ve been documenting along with our yearly Financial Goals. We’re so close, I can taste it. We’re finally under $10,000 on our final debt, my husband’s school loan. We’re on track to pay it off by July 31st, just like we planned.

So why am I surprised that all heck has broken loose?

Yesterday I took my van for an oil change, what I thought would be a quick and relatively inexpensive visit. $400 later, I’ve moved the van from my local mechanic to the dealership to see if they’ll fix the larger problem ($1500) under our warranty since the van only has 29,500 miles on it. I got this great call this afternoon from the dealer: “Well, it would be covered under the warranty, but the warranty says 36,000 miles or 36 months, and your 36 months was up last November.” Two different mechanics (ours and the one at the dealership) both say that this thing that’s broken should not be broken in a car this “young.” I’ve left a message with the manager to see if there’s anything they can do. Between that, the two new tires we need, and a transmission fluid problem, it’s gotten very expensive.

My husband says, So we’ll be a month late on the payoff.” But I don’t want to be a month late. I want to be done! We’ve worked so hard for so long. I’m getting so burnt out on all the extra things I’ve been doing to bring in extra income, but I’m doing it because we’re so close to the end.

Sorry that I’m venting. I’m very frustrated.

Time for an update on our 2013 Financial Goals. I’ve had my head down, working hard at a bunch of side hustles to bring in extra money, and I’m struggling a little bit to keep up with it all. But it’s worth it! We are so close to being debt-free except for our mortgage.

Here’s our list of 2013 Financial Goals and the progress we’ve made on each one:

1. Pay off student loan debt by the end of July. ON OUR WAY!
   I’ve been working so, so hard on this, doing everything I can to keep us on budget and earn extra money wherever I can–doing childcare, mystery shopping, selling on Craigslist and my neighborhood FB group–and we’re still on track to get this done. Very exciting!
2. Fully fund our emergency fund with 3 months of salary by the end of December. WAITING FOR #1
   Once we make the last debt payment in July, we’ll start piling that money and anything extra I can earn into our savings so we have a fully-funded emergency fund.
3. Learn about our retirement options by the end of March. DONE!
   This was put on the list because we’ve been procrastinating, so setting the goal really made a difference. We educated ourselves on how much we’re depositing now through my husband’s job and how we’ll proceed after we’ve accomplished goals 1 & 2. It feels good to have that figured out.
4. Set and utilize budgets for four quarterly expenses: new tires, a new couch, a beach trip, and Christmas (we are traveling this year). CHANGED
   Somehow I didn’t realize how dumb this goal was–where do we get the money for these things when every cent is budgeted and going towards debt payoff? I had to buy the new tires, so that’s done, but the couch will wait until after we get the emergency fund established (#2). The beach trip is happening for less than we thought and as a celebration of accomplishing #1. Christmas will have to be planned for, but I can’t save for it until #1 is done.
5. Meet more often to go over monthly expenditures and quarterly/yearly progress. ONGOING
   So far, so good. Last year, we were lazy about having regular conversations about monthly expenses and changes (like insurance costs going up, etc.). We’re talking more regularly and remembering to celebrate progress–like when our student loan (#1) went under $15k and when I won a grocery gift card from a raffle. That means another $50 can go toward the debt!

How are you doing on your 2013 Financial Goals?

 Image from Calsidyrose at Flickr

Are you Tough enough?

It’s normal to feel beaten down once in a while. Occasionally negative thoughts, fatigue, stress, or financial worries get the best of us. Sometimes, it feels like one thing after another happens–an appliance breaks, the car needs repair, or unexpected medical bills occur. Instead of being surprised, know that it’s going to happen (I’m sorry!). It’s life.

Tough Times Don’t Last

The good news is, these tough times don’t last. They cause stress–emotional, physical, and financial stress–but they don’t last. It’s hard to feel like you’ll ever get ahead when your hard-earned money gets sucked up by the next tough time. It feels like those little things you do to save, to sock money away, or to stretch may not be worth it. You want to throw in the towel.

Get Tough

Be ready for tough times so you’ll be ready to fight:

• Take good care of yourself, physically and mentally. Get enough rest. Feeling good physically helps you handle any kind of stress that comes your way.
• Create a support system. Keep up relationships with family, friends and neighbors so that you’ll have the support you need during tough times, and be sure and reciprocate when tough times inevitably come their way.
• Make a financial plan–get control of your debt and get it paid off. By putting your money back in your own hands, you’ll be better prepared for any expense that comes your way.

When you feel Tough, you feel empowered. You are strong. You can move forward.

Today–figure out what you need to get Tough.

Tell us in the Comments below or send me an email at gina@moneywisemoms.com. I want to be on your team.

Image courtesy of AugustPark on Etsy

While we were very happy with the progress we made on last year’s Financial Goals, we didn’t get all our debt paid off last year. That’s our number one goal for our 2013 Financial Goals, and barring major idiocy by the government, we should do it. We spent all of 2010 dilly-dallying with our savings because we didn’t know if my husband would be furloughed (he’s a government employee). This year, we’re cautious but are planning to go full steam ahead on our goals. We’re living beneath our means and will have a huge leg up once the debt is gone, so we want to get there!

Feeling overwhelmed thinking about the whole year’s finances? GoodHousekeeping.com has 12 mini-resolutions, one for each month, so you can focus on one habit at a time. I’m quoted in there a few times. Whee!! Read 12 Money Goals You Can Actually Keep.

Are you thinking about how you’ll pay for your children’s college educations? Or do you have kids already in college, dealing with student loans and financing? I invite you to check out the Wells Fargo Community to get your questions answered and participate in discussions about saving for college, options for student loans, scholarships, and more. This great resource was created by Wells Fargo to help high school students, college students, their parents and grandparents deal with education financial planning.

Even though my kids are still young, my husband and I already talk about how we’ll pay for three in college at the same time. We lament some of the mistakes we’ve made with repayment of our own student loans (as in, we’re still paying for them, 20 years after graduating!) and how we’ll tackle this financial hurdle. Neither of us had parental help paying for college, instead balancing student loans with scholarships and multiple jobs. It was tough! Thankfully we’re in a position to help our kids, but with the high cost of college, it is very daunting. I’m already learning a lot from parents with older children who are participating in these discussions.

You don’t need to be a Wells Fargo customer to participate, and you don’t even need to sign up to browse and learn. But if you’d like to post your own questions and answers, it’s free to sign up and join the Wells Fargo Community. You’ll find specialists and financial counselors to answer your questions. With participants from different backgrounds and experiences–including family finance bloggers like myself–you’ll get a variety of perspectives. You can even help others by sharing your own experiences and creative solutions.

Eventually, the Wells Fargo Community will branch out and cover other topics, but education planning and student loans is a great one to start with–it’s on so many parents’ minds no matter the age of their child(ren.)

Where are you in terms of educational planning?

For more information about the Wells Fargo Community, please visit Wells Fargo Community’s site. I was selected for this opportunity as a member of Clever Girls Collective, and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own. #WFCommunity #spon