07.30.19 Debt = $32,085.46

So tomorrow, tomorrow... my partner & I go pick up a check for $53,000. She refinanced our house and I co-signed. Our mortgage of $180,000 starts over, but we opted for the cash-out refinance because the mortgage rate is way better than our student loan or credit cards rates. So my debt is actually more like $212,000 or at least $122,000 - but I'm going to ignore that for now. The biggest chunk of this "cashback" will be for some renovations the house needs (walls are crumbling) and another big chunk will go to pay down my ladyfriend's student loans. She isn't in the same credit card debt mess that I am, but she owes over $150,000 for three degrees. The highest amount going to her graduate degree for social work - as if social workers will ever be able to pay that off. The higher education system in the United States makes me so, so sad. I wish gap years were mandatory. I wish I could have figured out some life stuff before being thrown into college.

Anyway, there should be a little left over for me to pay down some of this debt. I am hoping to have it under $30K by September 1st. I should be able to do that with or without this extra cash. I want to zap my Chase Freedom ($2,952.43 @ 22.99% apr) so I can then move on to my next smallest debt, my student loan which is just under $2K now. I guess I'm snowballing. Here we go. 

07.18.19 Debt = $32,219.34

You know what is expensive? Hurricanes. The treat of the just-barely-category-1-Barry to New Orleans sent me, my partner, our dog and cat evacuating out of the storm's path to Mobile, Alabama. I am grateful that all was fine in the city, and we actually had a nice time in Mobile (plus a good practice run should this happen again). It was however at least $300 for gas, a pet-friendly hotel, food, and sandbags that I wasn't planning on spending. I put it all these unexpected expenses on the 0% Capital One Venture card, but I need to not let that card get out of hand.

Barry isn't all to blame though for this $782 hike over last post. Most importantly - or least of my worries - was buying two tickets from NYC to Barcelona & back, as well as two tickets round trip to NYC, bookending the trip to Spain. (The Yoga trip I won - see last post) I got two roundtrip flights via Scott's Cheap Flights platform + Capital One Venture rewards for $810.79! That's MSY>LGD>YUL>BCN & MAD>BRU>JFK (one day in NYC) LGD>MSY. That's about what I paid to fly to Paris in 1999. I kinda feel like all the cheap flights are going to disappear - or get regulated, so we should take advantage of them now.

Now, to use the next five weeks of summer to start saving! I have a few dog-sits lined up and I should plan to Door Dash more, find the free things to do and brush up on mi español.