A lot’s happened this month! Our house was befallen with strep throat, Beck turned two, Warren had his first sleepover at his grandma’s house, many school events and birthday parties, and lots of running around.
I also got into couponing at CVS and Walgreens and upgraded my extra phone to the new Pixel 9 Pro—it’s really zippy!
Autumnal scenes
I also got through lingering expenses that put me directly on the path to clearing up my credit card debt, and then into saving. It’s going to take some time, but it’s finally here, so my complete financial focus is on resolving this debt so I can save and invest.
I imagine this is how I’ll close out 2024 and ring in 2025. And it that’s the case, I’m thrilled. It’s now Q4. I’m ready to make some progress and get to the New Year!
October 2024 Freedom update
- Link: Track your net worth with Empower Personal Dashboard
- Link: Join Points Hub, the ultimate points, miles, and travel rewards community on Circle!
I have some balance transfer offers with a 3% balance transfer fee on existing credit cards, so I considered them to stop the interest payments on the other cards I want to pay off. To pull $19,000 would cost $570.
I can realistically pay $3,000 per month toward these cards, which puts me at ~6 months of payments. So will the interest be more than ~$600? I can start making the payments as soon as this month.
Fall sunsets are so pretty
It seems to a be a wash—and that the best thing would be to hunker down and spend every cent toward paying it off. That would put me at March 2025 to finish filling up my Roth IRA for 2024 and then build up my savings.
I may pay a little interest, but the faster I go, the less I’ll pay. I actually think that’ll motivate me.
And either way, it feels good to have a plan. March 2025 – no credit debt and rebuilding my savings. A goal within a goal.
This month’s progress
Speaking of goals, my current net worth is at $344,811. Even though I won’t be heavily investing or saving in the near term, that number will go up as I erode the credit debt—and I still have over $300,000 of investments to keep me afloat.
As of now, 10% of my paycheck is set to divert into a regular (5%) and Roth (5%) 401, and I’ll also get a small match, so that’ll be something toward the future. I can increase my contribution later.
The supermoon
This is all a result of sitting down and taking a hard look at the household budget, where we could cut even more, and where we could improve. That’s also what led me to couponing and the $3,000 a month number. After I get the credit cards paid, I’d like to reaise my 401k contribution to 15% and finally rebuild my savings.
To recap the last month, I:
- Took stock of our budget
- Set up a new 401k with 10% contributions to start
- Paid off outstanding charges so I can now focus on eliminating all credit card debt
- Tried to stay as frugal as possible
- Started couponing and actually saved a ton on household basics
Lookit this big kid playing
I also finished the minimum spending on my Capital One Venture card (75,000 miles) and Wyndham biz card (100,000 points). No sooner, I got the U.S. Bank Altitude Reserve and will switch all my spending to meet that minimum spending now. It made sense with the 3X mobile payments category. I use mobile pay for pretty much everything these days, including gas, groceries, coffee, the dollar store, and most other purchases.
Going forward, I’m going to shift and simplify my credit card strategy to U.S. Bank more. Still thinking about how it’ll work, but hoping to cut a few cards in the process—I have nearly 40 now, so I think a trim is in order.
By the numbers
I’m close to my peak net worth (which was $363K) and at nearly 70% of my $500,000 goal.
I’m hoping to hit $350K by next month and $400K in early 2025. Of course, I have no idea what the stock market will do, especially this year with the election coming up. Either way, I’m going to stick to my goals and continue to look forward.
As mentioned, THE order of the day is getting rid of all credit debt. After which, I will finish my 2024 Roth IRA and begin saving until I reach $30,000.
That should take several months—after which, I will reassess. And hopefully, along the way, I’ll hit a couple more milestones, because 70% is really close to the finish line. I am working my little booty off to get it done now that I’m so close!
| Current | Last Month | Change | 2024 Goal | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ASSETS | |||||
| Overall investments | $324,793 | $319,164 | +$5,629 | As much as possible | |
| Roth IRA total | $85,610 | $84,050 | +$1,560 | ||
| Roth IRA 2024 | $2,700 | $2,700 | xx | $7,000 (in new contributions) | |
| Taxable brokerage + UTMAs | $4,136 | $4,082 | +$54 | $25,000 (total invested) | |
| Savings | $70 | $258 | -$188 | $30,000 | |
| Raw land | $40,400 | $40,400 | xx | No goal, just including for completeness 🙂 | |
| LIABILITIES | |||||
| Car loan | $23,578 | $23,578 | xx | ? | |
| Credit card #1 | $8,408 | $8,492 | -$84 | $0 | |
| Credit card #2 (0% APR) | $11,466 | $11,581 | -$115 | As much as possible | |
| Net worth in Empower Personal Dashboard | $344,811 | $335,872 | +$8,939 | $500,000 (overall goal) | Track your net worth with Personal Capital |
Short- and long-term goals include:
- Pay off all credit cards
- Build my savings account again in 2025
- Work up to 15% in 401k contributions at the new job
- Save $7,000 in my Roth IRA (to count toward the 2024 limit)
- Trim our budget as much as possible—no “extras” for a while
October 2024 Freedom update bottom line
- Link: Join Points Hub
Couple of things I want to share. First, the Arc browser. It’s so good! I’ve been using it for a month, and it’s totally replaced Chrome for me—and you can still use all your Chrome extensions with it. Such a beautiful, clean interface. I swear I’m getting more work done because of it, too.
Second, the Morning Brew newsletter. With all the election stuff going on, I can barely touch social media any more. This is my one must-read every day to stay current on news. It’s quick, snappy, and always an enjoyable read.
Third, check out Points Hub—the points, miles, and travel rewards community I built. We have amazing members, lively conversations, and incredible partnerships—and we’re just getting started. The goal is for members to have their best points & miles year ever. Points Hub is really a hub for everything points with the latest transfer offers, best bonuses, and a whole community of guidance all in one spot. I’m currently working on finishing a video course for points beginners. The twice monthly member events have been so low-key and valuable. There are three membership options:
- Pro Monthly – Just $5/month forever with coupon code OUTANDOUT -> Join now.
- Pro Annual – Just $49/year forever with coupon code HALFOFF -> Join now.
- Pro Lifetime – $99 one time → Join now.
And as always, thank you for reading and following my journey. Hope everyone is doing well!
Stay safe and scrappy out there! ✨
-H.
* If you liked this post, consider signing up to receive free blog posts in an RSS reader and you’ll never miss an update!Announcing Points Hub—points, miles, and travel rewards community. Join for just $9/month or $99/year.
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