First of all, thank you all so much for your love and support. It’s been really encouraging when I’ve felt like a huge failure or a sucky friend. Seriously. You all rock.

A quick side note before I jump on in: The hubs gets most of his paycheck (maybe 3/4 of it?) on the 10th so our months run a little differently. Instead of a 1st – 30th month, ours runs from the 10th – 9th. So my Total Savings ring in a little bit after everyone else’s. But no biggie, right? Everybody’s situation is different and nobody judges anyone for it. Gotta love that freedom with the And Then We Saved plan. :)

Are you guys ready for this? Are you ready to hear how much I saved in May and June?  $2,559.70! What?! Are you frickin’ kidding me? My jaw about hit the floor when I realized it. I was quasi-proud and quasi-ashamed. Proud that I did a killer one-two punch toward this debt beast. Ashamed that I had wasted that much beforehand on God knows what. Ugh. I know, I know; I’m a work in progress. Maybe by next month, I’ll just be proud. :) Anyway, 2.5 grand. Whoa. With that, I happily paid off one of my credit cards. Bye-bye, sucka! Such an amazing feeling when you pay online and you check the “total amount” box versus “minimum payment.” I can’t wait for each and every one of you to get that conquering, “I can do anything!” feeling.

In case you’re like me, the “numbers person” who likes to see the change, here’s what’s going on so far:

Credit Cards/Personal: $3,170.23 (down from $4,998.93)
Medical: $4,036.51 (down from $4,521.62)
Student Loans: $25,754.61 (down from $26,000.56)

Once I saw all of that, it hit me that I could get all my credit cards, personal debt, and medical debt paid off by Christmas. You guys. Seriously? That would be an AH-MAZING Christmas! $7,204.74 in 5 months, though. That’s a nice goal. Especially since I have some shifting going on with my jobs. I’m not worried too much about it, but I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t a little concerned. I might pick up a little something-something on the side (temporarily) to help out. I don’t know yet. I need to think over that one.

So what have I been doing to knock out this massive beast? The short version is I’ve been getting more creative around the house. Sometimes, I cook dinner for my family and it’s like an episode of “Chopped.” I open my fridge and my cabinets and use whatever I have available. Ted Allen would be proud of some of the delicious concoctions I’ve come up with. Probably not Scott Conant, but then again, I doubt he’s ever proud. :) I also canceled my magazine subscriptions and I politely asked for a refund (especially after I learned I could read them FOR FREE at work or at the library! What?!). So that’s an extra $24.48 I’m throwing at it! Yay! Remember — every little bit counts! I’ve been taking my girls to the parks and the aforementioned awesome library. Several months ago, I bought them some vouchers for a local playground that has bouncy castles galore. It’s been perfect when it’s hotter than Satan’s buttcrack outside because they need to get out of the house and be kids, ya know? Also, when I run errands, I do my best to get them all done at once. Saves me time, gas, and money versus making several trips throughout the week. Anyway, little things like that really are helping. I’d love to hear your suggestions as well. :)

Thanks again for all your support. I’m excited to see what next month brings!

To see all of Sarah’s Spending Fast journey posts click on her name at the top of the post, and to follow all of the Spending Fasters click here.

P.S. Ready to get out of debt ASAP? Check out the Spending Fast Bootcamp!