Reality Check

As I go through my "Coach Yourself Thin" book (first post on it is here), I think first about whether the topic the authors are addressing applies to how I view weight loss, then I ask myself, "Does this apply to how I try to tackle my finances too?"

When I came across a section that elaborates on how some people set unrealistic goals for getting themselves back to a healthy weight, it suddenly occurred to me that I've never done the math when it comes to our debt. Is it even possible for my husband and me to pay off all of our debt before our daughter starts school?

So, I busted out the calculator and did a quick figure. First of all, it's been a few months since I've seen our total debt, so the best I can do on the fly is guess and base it on the progress we've been able to do in a month's time in the past. At this point, it doesn't look like it. We'd have to make more than $2,000 in payments toward the principal of what we owe to meet that goal.

I'm not willing to just throw it out the window, though. I want to up my efforts to send extra and cut spending, then revisit the plan in a year. Maybe by then, we'll have enough paid down we could see the end a little more clearly.