Welcome to the most exciting page on Debt Free in Sunny CA! Every month I put a call out to the #debtfreecommunity on Instagram to see how much we've paid off and saved during the month. Community members enthusiastically comment their amounts and share how the month went. After 7 days, I add up the totals with my Excel skills and announce the amazing progress the community has made.
We'd love to have you participate each month. You can find instructions on how to add your numbers below. If you don't feel comfortable commenting your numbers on Instagram, you can send me a direct message on Instagram or email and I'll comment your numbers anonymously.
#DEBTFREECOMMUNITY
by the numbers
Debt paid off YTD
Saved YTD
- 2019
- 2018
- 2017
Month
Debt Paid
Saved
Entries
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec
Total
$1,245,229
$1,327,174
$1,436,970
$1,064,956
$881,358
$865,498
$606,514
$933,192
$763,213
$585,294
-
-
$9,749,398
$313,888
$360,241
$516,965
$411,407
$325,008
$248,306
$243,293
$210,494
$221,407
$261,097
-
-
$2,680,205
461|181
354|177
328|161
332|156
241 | 139
240 | 123
208 | 119
186 | 102
201 | 99
224 | 179
Month
Debt Paid
Saved
Entries
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec
Total
$976,803
$1,722,433
$1,535,203
$901,762
$1,047,013
$1,159,936
$1,096,157
$1,017,357
$1,277,934
$1,040,718
$922,044
$767,296
$13,464,656
-
$323,694
$221,788
$129,645
$246,388
$181,485
$183,753
$268,638
$326,994
$345,441
$298,564
$226,565
$2,762,405
365
461|159
360|109
310|83
326|107
315|106
379|138
305|115
345|171
337|157
345|149
-
Month
Debt Paid
Saved
Entries
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec
Total
$134,655
$206,645
$278,252
$464,625
$1,084,187
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
135
Instructions
So you want to get in on the #debtfreecommunity numbers each month? Well, here's how you do it!
1. Follow @debtfreeinsunnyca on Instagram and be on the lookout for the posts on the first of each month. The posts go live 8am PST on the 1st of each month. If you don't feel comfortable commenting your numbers, please message them to me and I can comment anonymously. You can turn on post notifications as well to make sure you don't it miss the posts.
2. Get your numbers ready. Figure out how much debt you paid off during the month and how much money you saved up.
Confused about what should be counted as debt paid off or money saved? Use the quick guide below.
In baby step 1?
Count all money saved towards your $1,000 starter emergency fund. You can also count your minimums paid towards debt as debt paid for the month.
In baby step 2?
Count all baby step 2 minimum payments and extra payments towards debt.
In baby step 3 or above?
Count all amounts saved. Emergency fund, investments, general savings, HSAs, it all counts!
3. Now here's the part most people get mixed up on. In oder to make it easy for me to add up all these numbers each month, I request that a certain format is used when commenting your numbers on the posts. The formula is as follows:Put the amount of debt paid off/money saved with a dollar sign $$1,284
THEN, if you want to leave a comment, put a % after the number and before your comment$1,284 % February was amazing
If you just want to just leave a comment with no debt totals, put a % before your comment
% Murphy stopped by. No debt payments this month
Full example: $1,000,000 % I murdered my debt this month!! 🔪💣💀
The $ and % are very important as it's what allows me to filter out everything except the number needed. Otherwise I would have to go line by line and remove the text and other numbers to get the total needed. I so appreciate those who use the correct formula!
4. After the posts have been up for one week, I use Excel to calculate the monthly totals for each category. Then I announce them to the #debtfreecommunity to show how we did that month!
5. If you missed the deadline for that month, no worries! Just add your numbers to the next month.
I hope this explains the WHY behind my crazy formula. I'm excited to see these numbers grow over the years as the community gets out of debt and builds wealth.