Taking a look at the debt

$392,594.14

is a big number, but not as frightening as it first looks. I'll be honest - the initial reason I had for figuring out this number was just for pure shock value. I wanted to both shock myself into action, and shock anyone who happened to stumble across the title into reading. Shock value is great for spurring action, but can be a bit misleading on the particulars. No, I don't owe $390k on a single loan. Instead, I owe this amount on several loans put together. Those loans are as follows:

1. A house - $176,351.37
2. Student loans for myself - $173,729.85
3. Student loans for my wife - $20,000 (approx.)
4. My car loan - $17,000 (approx.)
5. Past taxes, being paid in an installment agreement - $3950 (approx.)
6. My wife's car loan - $1021 (approx.)

All of these loans are current, and have been in repayment for at least 6 months. Obviously, and I'm sure you can see this issue as well, I have some work to do in figuring out exactly what I owe in some cases, but I do guarantee that where the numbers aren't exact, they are very close to (if not larger than) what the actual remaining balance is. For example, my wife's car has 5 payments remainng, with each payment being approximately $215 (the final payment will be less).

What I'll do over the next several posts is take a look at each debt in turn. As I hit each debt, I will do everything in my power to obtain full payoff quotes, and will state the term and rate on each loan. I'll also include what the monthly payment is on each amount, just for reference. By the time this is finished, I (and you) should have a very clear picture of the mountain I'm getting ready to climb. Until next time!