Here's a cursory look at our finances at the end of May:

NOTE:   I carry no revolving, interest-bearing credit-card balance. I do, however, use credit cards to my advantage whenever possible. This includes using credit cards to generate rewards from normal, everyday usage, but always paying the balance in full each month. It also includes using low-rate offers to generate profits via arbitrage. At this time, I am holding a balance of roughly $8200 on one card, carried at zero percent interest through November 2005. Those funds are concurrently held in my account at ING Direct, where they earn me 3 percent annually.

Wow. Don't know what I'll do with myself now that my student loan debts are finally gone.

That's right — two days ago I sat down to craft my Spending Plan for the upcoming month of June. In my new spreadsheet, I selected the expense row which contained my monthly payment to Sallie Mae. Never would I have imagined that tapping the DELETE button could feel so wonderful. In the small scheme of things, that's $225 per month I can redirect to other goals. In the bigger scheme, it means that I am now officially debt-free except for my mortgage.

When I began this site back in 2002, I wrote that I wanted to be one of those folks with no debt other than a mortgage. Three years later, I've got paid admission to that group. That's the thing that (happily) I can't get out of my head: Our money now works for no one but us and our future.

Anyway, that now-deceased student loan debt is the primary reason for the large decrease in our liquid assets in May. Additionally, my annual life insurance dues (allocated monthly to my Freedom Account) were paid, as well as an unexpected $243 vet bill.

I didn't pay a lot of attention to cost-cutting in the areas of groceries and dining (ex. lunch), and it shows. Boy, does it show. How much effort I'm willing to put into this right now is debatable.

One thing is certain: The trips to Wal-Mart sure seem to hit $130-$150 pretty easily anymore.

Michael | June 3, 2005

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