Updated Debt Scales with New Auto Debt
With our new Mini Cooper purchase last week, I had a tough time figuring out where to put the debt without screwing up our existing debt scales. The debt is going to be short-lived and includes an auto loan and a 0% credit card balance.
Here’s what I decided to do:
- I relabeled the “Credit Card Debt” scale to “Original Credit Card Debt”. I wanted to keep the fact that we no longer have that original debt.
- I added two scales: one for the Mini auto loan and one for the Mini CC balance
- I added the $19,285 into the current total balance, but left the original starting balance of $112,890 alone
Debt Scales
Total Debt Start: $112,890
$61,414
Original Credit Card Debt Start: $20,000
IT’S ALL GONE!
Mini Cooper Debt Start: $19,285
Auto Loan:
$13,285
Mini Credit Card
$6,000
Student Loan(s) Debt Start: $39,858
$26,129
Auto Loan Debt Start: $53,032
$22,000
We should see that Mini debt gone by January/February, with the bulk of it gone by next month when we pay off the $13,285 auto loan with our savings.
Why the dilemma about where to put the debt? The credit card debt is credit card debt, whether it’s “new” or “old”.
Using this logic, you could just as easily have transferred your “old” credit card debt to a “new” credit card, and called the “old debt” paid off.
Personally I find it more helpful to simply add up all my debt. That way I can’t delude myself about which debt is “real” and which debt “isn’t real because I’m going to pay it off Real Soon Now”.