Today’s the day – our first progress update post! August has been a pretty good month for us financially. We had some unexpected veterinary expenses arise for our beloved dog. Luckily I was very quick to lodge both of our income tax returns in early July, which saw some nice refunds come

through that bolstered our position for the month.

Here is a snapshot of our forecast position:

Projected Aug Car Loan $ 18,321.50 Consolidation Loan $ 12,813.27 Personal Loan $ 5,207.93 Credit Card A $ 2,216.81 Credit Card B $ 6,366.20 Credit Card C $ 6,262.20 Total $ 51,187.91

And our actual position at the end of August:

Actual Aug Car Loan $ 17,866.22 Consolidation Loan $ 12,946.43 Personal Loan $ 5,233.45 Credit Card A $ 1,778.81 Credit Card B $ 6,423.09 Credit Card C $ 6,262.00 Total $ 50,510.00

I am proud to report we are ahead of target by $677.91 – even if that is a result of our refunds. When you have as much consumer debt as we do, you have to enjoy the small wins. In fact when I constructed our plan I deliberately left out small expected windfalls from the plan for two reasons. Firstly, there was a component of relative uncertainty regarding the amounts and timing. Secondly, I think one of the main drivers of success in a financial plan, and any plan really over the long term is your mental state. Setting goals that are difficult, but achievable, then meeting or exceeding them is very satisfying, and helps keep you motivated and committed to the plan. For those interested, have a look at goal theory.

For those with a keen eye, you may ask what has driven some of the variability between each forecast and the actual result – it comes down to the timing of payments, and some other niggling factors like payment handling fees.

Looking forward to September, we have a total liability target of $48,579.69. I am very confident we can beat given our great starting position. September will also be an expensive month for us with car registration and insurance coming up towards the end of the month amounting to around $1,200. Luckily, I will also be receiving a one off bonus payment of around $3,900 in September, which should net me about $2,100 after taxes. I will use this amount to close out Credit Card A, and we will move our focus to Credit Card C, which is the next logical choice for us considering its interest free period lapses before Credit Card B.

What are your goals and how do you keep on track?

Thanks for reading.