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Welcome to our April 2020 debt free journey update!
Even though there was not a whole lot of actual debt paid off this month (thanks Corona), I do still have quite a bit to share with you!
In April we worked…A LOT.
Our clinic hours had to be reduced, so my husband and I each got part time jobs at an Amazon warehouse.
Let me tell you, that work is HARD WORK! We are exhausted, but it has been worth it.
Not only did we not have to touch our $1000 starter emergency fund, but we have been able to cover our monthly expenses AND SAVE extra (which will eventually go to debt).
We are also working at DoorDash doing food deliveries, and we really enjoy that! It’s really flexible, and you can make some really good cash depending on tips.
I’m so glad that we were proactive, and decided to get jobs. It’s been such a blessing in this difficult time.
We will continue to pause our debt snowball and save as much as possible through August 31st.
We decided to halt our debt payoff until the end of August because we figure by that time our business should be back to full capacity, and we will have moved in to our new office.
I know there will be unexpected costs associated with the move, and I don’t want to be caught without cash, causing unnecessary stress to what will already likely be a daunting process.
Our small business was able to take advantage of several parts of the CARES Act that I think are going to really help us through this!
I’m just so grateful that we started our debt free journey when we did, because if this had happened a couple of years ago, we would have been so unorganized and not able to turn lemons into lemonade as easily as we are right now.
Keep reading to find out more about our April 2020 budget and debt pay off!
Want to go back to the beginning? Start here.
Don’t forget to check out our debt free journey on YouTube as well. I’d love to see you over there!
How much debt did we pay off in April?
Debt Payoff Total for March: $611.28
Total Debt Paid to Date: $67,603.93
I was able to defer almost all of our debt payments for the month of April, but we still made a few minimum payments on some smaller debts (mostly because I had trouble getting a hold of the credit card, or the payments were very small).
As part of the CARES Act, the Small Business Association (SBA) is making payments on 2 of our largest debts in our business for 6 months. This is crazy, but it’s happening! This will help reduce these debts, and hopefully when things return to “normal”, we can knock them out quickly!
Here is how we were able to pay off $67,603.93 in 10 months.
After cutting out our car payments, downsizing our home, and getting on a super tight budget, we are able to live on well under $4,000/month. Which is more helpful than ever in these difficult financial times.
More on our Debt Free Journey:
These are our basic “necessary” expenses that do not change (much) each month:
Rent: $1,325
Water: $113
Electricity: $134
Home Security: $44
Internet: $68
Cell Phone (Tello Mobile): $10
TV: $54 (We now use YouTube TV and love it!)
Netflix: $14
Groceries: $400
Gym: $22
Giving: $250
Dan Fun Money: $100
Shannon Fun Money: $100
Child Care: $320
Contact Subscription (Hubble Free Trial): $36
Health Care: (Health Sharing Ministry) $135
Auto Insurance: $102
Renter’s Insurance: $17
Identity Theft Protection: $13
Total “Bare Bones” Monthly Expenses: $3247
Due to the Corona virus we decided to go in to “no spend” mode, and so we did our budget on about $3500.
I deferred our student loan payment, so the only expenses we had were the ones listed above, and we continued paying the small minimum payments on my Wells Fargo student loan and a credit card that we have.
We use our income that we bring home to pay off our “personal” debts, and then we also have debts at our medical practice.
The ability to live on less than $50,000/year gives me security, knowing that even if our medical practice closed tomorrow, we could quickly find work to support our family.
Which wouldn’t you know….IS ACTUALLY HAPPENING RIGHT NOW!
Where does the money to Pay Debt come from?!
We own our own business and pay ourselves an income from the monthly business budget.
After taxes we bring home about $6000/month, sometimes more with our side hustles, and sometimes less.
We try to keep our miscellaneous expenses low, in order to pay more debt!
We always plan how we spend extra money…EXACTLY…down to the penny.
Related: How to do a Zero Based Budget
In April, we did not spend any money on miscellaneous spending or fun money. We were in TOTAL survival mode!
We will continue to pile up any extra money we make until the Corona virus lock down settles.
Our medical practice has suffered as well, but we are doing everything we can to keep it afloat. Including not paying ourselves an income, and living off of what we make at Amazon and DoorDash.
Since it’s a medical practice, the expenses are very high, and we struggle to figure out the best way to budget the super inconsistent income.
The plus side, is that we have a 4 year history of practice financials to go by, so I look at our worst income month, and have reduced our office spending to be about equal to that.
This means that if we have a great month, ALL of that extra money is available to go to debt!
We do one giant debt snowball, that includes our home and business debt all together, but I’m considering changing this and tackling the business debt first.
April Debt Pay Off
Total minimum debt payments April: $611.28
Total extra debt paid April: We did not pay off any debt in April, but we were able to meet all of our expenses for home and office, and even saved a little over $2,000 despite all the Corona madness!
Debt Payoff Total for April: $ 611.28
Total Debt Paid to Date: $67,603.93
May Goals:
- Continue to Pause the debt snowball and save money due to COVID-19!!!
- Make $4,000 at our side hustles (DoorDash and Amazon)
Side Hustle Income Sources
My blog is making money! You can read more about that here.
After working for almost 3 years on building my online business, it’s finally starting to make a profit!
I am now able to contribute $500-600/month consistently to our monthly budget, and that will grow as my blog continues to grow.
Check out my first blogging income report here, if that’s something that interests you!
I have a lot of ideas to grow my blog, and help others pay off debt! I’m so excited to see what God has in store for my blog and our finances in 2020!
We also added DoorDash and working at an Amazon warehouse to our portfolio of side hustles since Corona virus hit!
Related: How to start a blog, How to Make Money Blogging
Are we on track with our Debt Payoff Goals?!
This might seem like a lot of debt to pay off in such a short time, but don’t forget how much we started with.
Our plan is to be debt free in by Summer 2022, which means we will need to pay off closer to $17,000/month!
COVID-19 will undoubtedly slow down our progress, but I’m hoping that we will be able to make enough money in order to prevent us from creating further financial damage.
It might slow us down, but it definitely won’t stop us!
With the combination of controlling our spending, and increasing our income I am still confident we will do this faster than three years.
See you next month!
- March 2020 DFJ Update
- February 2020 DFJ Update
- January 2020 DFJ Update
- December Debt Free Journey Update
- November Debt Free Journey Update
- October Debt Free Journey Update
hi! I'm shannon
I’m a wife, mom of three, doctor, and blogger! In 2018, I decided to turn my mom blog, into a personal finance blog so others could follow along on our journey to pay off over HALF a MILLION dollars in student loan and practice start up debt. I hope you enjoy following along, and maybe even find some inspiration along the way.
