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Delivering on numbers.

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Oh Mylanta! How long have I been doing this? 6 months? A year? I’ve promised numbers updates over my time on this adventure. It’s been a while. Time to make like a pizza driver and deliver.

I started delivering pizzas on September 9, 2014. Per that very first post:

After we went through the discomfort, pain and annoyance of trimming some of that off, we learned that, given current levels of income, we would be out of debt by May 2016, while still 30 years old!

Time on the job since then: 13 mos 2 wks 3 days, or 412 days.

Total Household Debt when I started: ~$34,000 (not counting the mortgage.)

Current Household Debt: $17,430.87 (without a mortgage!)

FYI, the mortgage was about $70,000.

That is $17,569.13 ($87k with the mortgage, with another $1,000 of Ruth’s surgery) paid off over the course of almost 14 months. That’s ~$1,183 per month, average. We sold our home and moved into an affordable rental that is right around the corner from my eldest daughter’s school.

We have to pay off the remaining $17,430.87 before May to reach our goal. Let’s call it May 31. Meredith will be 31, but close enough. Giving ourselves all of November, it’s 7 full months of effort.

Total amount to pay per month to be debt free by June 1, 2016: ~$2,490

I’m sitting here at a lunch break writing this and thinking, “I need to write these number updates more often.” I almost can’t believe it. We have no credit cards. Meredith has no student loan burden left. We’ve destroyed almost $90,000 of our total debt in under 18 months. $18k of that was blood, sweat, tears, pizza and sacrifice. You’re dreaming if you think I’m kidding about the tears. During that same time, we’ve had cars break down, kids get surgery, cars break down again, houses get sold, houses get rented and all manner of “emergency” expenses for which we paid cash. And we’re not done. The Suburban is going to pasture, so we’re saving $2000-$3000 over the next two months to get a new vehicle.

Are you wondering about our sacrifices? I think Amazewife sacrifices control more than anything. She limits herself to a written budget. I do as well, but I spend a fraction of a percentage of the monthly budget. She spends all the money in our family. It’s a statistical fact.  Hers is the real exercise in discipline.

We still budget ‘wants.’ Blow money ($20/ea/month), a restaurant allotment ($40/month avg.) and things along those lines. We consider those mental health must-haves. (Restaurant money is usually eaten up in Little Caesar’s after the kids have tied momma to a stake in the back yard. Or does she tie the kids up in the back yard? Something about desperate times and desperate measures.)

Here’s more interesting data. Remember, the average amount paid down on debt per month has been ~$1,183:

  • Average net monthly income from Pizza Delivery since January: $574.72
    • Average monthly tips: $342.30
    • Average hourly paid out: $232.42
  • Average hours per month: 32.90
    • Average hourly rate: $16.58
  • Average tips earned/shift: $37.68

“But RI,” you might say. “You’ve only averaged $574.72 per month of added income. How are you paying $1,255/month? Where is the extra $580 coming from?”

The only other breadwinner in the house: Meredith.

I have made a few extra dollars in translations, but the largest monthly impact is Meredith. She works extra hours at the Boys Town Hotline when she can. She sells Jamberry Nail Wraps. (If you’re a Jamberry big-wig and you’re seeing this, ask me about Manberries. $1M idea. PM me for details.) And now she’s training to proofread for stenographers. She spends less on gifts. She makes a real and impactful difference in every way. With a slight variance due to my translation work, her total contribution to our $1,255 is more than mine by about $100, and by about a thousand more daily sacrifices and brain cells MDC. (Missing Due to Children.)

So, this roe is still running. The race is still on. To make time like we’d like, we have to bump that $1,255 monthly contribution up to $2,400. We’ve got a plan to do so. I’m thrilled at the prospect. Because you know what is at the end of that rainbow? Freedom. If you are like we are now, it’s something you don’t have. The borrower is slave to the lender. We’re cutting off the chains, and it’s not taking us as long as it feels like it is.

Numbers report delivery: complete. Now it’s time to make like a pizza driver and deliver. Pizzas. For money. For debt. For freedom therefrom. And it’s all just so intense. We’re WINNING!

ROE INTENSE

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