Stretching your dollar... (part 10)

USE A VISUAL

Have you enjoyed my little mini-series?  I hope so!  (If you don't know what I'm talking about, you can go back and read the posts every Monday for the last nine weeks!) This is the last installment for now.  I just have one more tip for you.  

Make sure that you and your spouse (if you have one) are always talking about it, checking in, paying attention, keeping each other accountable, and are always on the same page.  You can keep each other motivated!

Second, use a visual.  I am the one that pays the bills, but I am always telling Michael where things stand.  On top of that, we have made a visual for us to see where we are at.  We started the new year with this simple dry erase board so that we could see our progress.  By seeing our progress every day, it is either going to keep us motivated (if we are doing what we are suppose to) or keep us accountable (if we are not doing what we are suppose to, and falling behind).  We get excited looking at those numbers drop every month.  You don't have to use a dry erase board, but do what works for your family.  Put it somewhere where you can see it all the time.  Ours sits by our kitchen sink.  It is a daily reminder of what the goal is.

Side Notes:

1. See the big white space under "Debts"???  We started the year with 4 and are now down to 2!!

2. It is actually less than this because of payments already made, but I don't update it until we get the statement (because of what's actually paid verses what goes to interest/principal).

3. Both of those debts are my college--you can't consolidate federal with private. 

I plan on checking in every couple of months and sharing with you guys where we are at.  Money was always a secret in my family for some reason, and I find that doing that is nothing but damaging.  I'm not ashamed of where we are at or where we've come from so far.  Plus, you can help keep us accountable as well.  We started our marriage (almost 3 years ago) with $65,000 of debt.  Some of the debt was for our wedding, but we also paid for part of our wedding in advance.  If you put that all together, we will have paid close to $70,000 in three and a half years (if we are debt free by the end of the year).  I'm pretty stinking proud of that. 

NOTE: All donations accepted! :)  (ha ha--just kidding!)

Do you have any money saving tips I missed?