Saturday, December 10, 2011

Week 56: Hospital

On Saturday night, a friend and I went out to sample some whiskey.  We found one we liked and got a got a bottle of something similar to take back to his house to accompany our viewing of the first part of the Ken Burns Baseball documentary. 

I got sick and slept on the couch.  I've been sick from drinking before, but this was different.  My abdomen was tight and in great pain.  I managed to get a little sleep and woke up feeling a little better.  The next day I was not hungry at all.  I laid in bed trying figure out if I was just hungover, or if something more serious was going on.  My abdomen remained tight and painful.  I tried to get down a small dinner of chicken broth and a bite or two of bread.  That night, the pain returned with a vengeance and Cari and I went to the emergency room.



As I write these words I am about to reintroduce meat to my diet, one of the last steps to recovery.  I lost a lot of weight, and a lot of strength, but I am well enough to fly home to Denver, which I will do tonight.

Thursday, December 1, 2011

Week 55: Whittier

The weekend after Thanksgiving was supposed to be awesome. We had reserved a public use cabin on an island in the middle of Prince William Sound. We had a charter boat to take us out there. We had gear, we had food, we were all set. Then a freak windstorm made the sea too nasty to get out there. This is the video that shows what happened next.



In finance land, I am trying a new thing: start a goat milk soap business. No joke. I'm in meetings this week and next set it up, and we should be making soap in the next couple of weeks. Said soap will be available to you, dear reader, before the general public, I promise. With any luck, it may even be ready in time for the Holidays...

Wednesday, November 23, 2011

Week 54: Cold

There is less and less light in Alaska this time of year. We actually lose 6 minutes each day. So that means you have to get outside when you can or you'll go kinda crazy. So despite the bitterly cold temperatures, this weekend Cari and I went cross country skiing both days. While that is awesome, cross country gear, and winter gear in general is not cheap. Unexpected expenses are not good for paying off loans!

That said, there really needs to be a balance between single-mindedly paying down debt and still living a bit. I'm not sure I've got that balance quite right, but I'm working on it.



LOTS of new client prospects as well as a few business opportunities not related to social media. I may pull this thing off yet, but it is looking like it will be down to the wire.

Thursday, November 17, 2011

Week 53: Seward again

Cari and I spent the weekend down in Seward again, and it is a really great time as the video makes plain.



In other news, I dipped this week down to $940.  I had spent the past three week climbing over $1,000 each week, but fell back some.  Next week doesn't look much better.  I have lots of things on the horizon, and nothing for sure.  That needs to change fast.

Thursday, November 10, 2011

Week 52: Anchorage

I realize I've posted a bunch on the crazy adventures we are having outside of Anchorage, but I haven't shared what life is like in the city.

I drive Cari to work most days, and sit at my desk in the house and work until its time to pick her up with the occasional break to make lunch, or run to a meeting.

We have an incredible community of friends already, most of whom are Cari's fellow clerks like Jacqueline and her boyfriend Marco, who we hosted for dinner and who led a singalong in our living room (particularly awesome night).

Caitlin Hedberg is here, too. She and I went to high school together (LakeWOOD!) and she has been incredibly generous in showing Cari and I around, sharing her friends, and including us in everything. (She and I are also working on starting a business as another strategy to make some extra cash - more on that later).

So the seasons have changed from Fall, with its lovely leaves, bike rides and hiking, to snowy winter with its skiing and snowshoeing. As I write it is snowing hard with no sign of stopping. The walk we shoveled yesterday, now has about 4 more inches of snow. The days are getting so short that it is dark when I drop Cari off and when I pick her up. And Caitlin says we ain't seen nothin' yet.



In financial news, I had three potential new clients emerge last week, one of which already has me doing things, one of which may not come through :( and one I am still waiting to hear from. I made $1290 this week, $710 short of the goal. I'm getting there...

Wednesday, November 2, 2011

Week 51: Social Media

Here's the deal, with 29 weeks to go the math of my game is looking bad.  To pull it off now, I'll have to make enough to PAY $1,600 EACH WEEK on my student loans.  Crazy talk. 

In order to pull that off, and not screw myself come tax season, which is 5 weeks before my deadline, I'll need to bring in $2k each week starting, like, now.  On the one hand, that seems impossible.  On the other hand, I'm making between $50 and $75 an hour for most of my clients, and if I packed a 40 hour work week with billable hours for the next 29 weeks... It could still happen.  And I'm going to play full out until the end.



So as I mentioned in this video, the commercial is live on my new spruced up website.  So if you or anyone you know could use some help, I would be only to happy to take a look and see what I can do.

Week 50: Talkeetna

This video includes lots of fun stuff from week 49 in Houston as well...

Week 48: Marathon

Thursday, September 29, 2011

Week 47: Wedding Planning

Business is picking up!!

I'm still not where I need to be, but I am making progress to be sure!  I'm off to Boston and then to Maine for the 20th running of the Maine Marathon.  As I mention in the video below, if you are so inclined, you can track my progress by signing up for a text alert when I hit the 1/2 mark, and another when I cross the finish line.

Here is the video -



And I'll see you on the other side...

Friday, September 23, 2011

Week 46: Wolverine Peak

Continuing the Alaska Adventure series that has been going on since I got here, last weekend, Cari and I went with a bunch more Alaska Court Law Clerks on a little (steep, 11-mile) hike to Wolverine Peak in Chugach State Park just West of Anchorage.  It was stunningly beautiful and it was a total blast.  Many of the clerks here keep blogs and many posted about this hike, so in addition to the video below, you can read Joe's account, Katherine's observations, and Kimi's comments by clicking on them.

And now, the video:



While all this fun was being had, Citibank sold four of my six student loans to Sallie Mae.  This is not important except that my overall monthly minimum payment jumped $250.  That could suck if I were trying to pay the minimum, but in reality it makes me be less of a slacker on actually making payments - so there.

I'm plugging into the scene in Alaska fairly well and an off to meet with a state senator who may need some social media help :).  My postings on Craig's List have generated nothing so far, and I am plugging away at all of the strategies I laid out last week.  Lots of good things coming, I just need them to get here.  Now.

Until next week!

Wednesday, September 14, 2011

Week 45: Seward, AK

My plans are beginning to work.  I landed a new client and another smaller one may grow this week!  I met a few movers and shakers in Anchorage who will help me meet more movers and shakers, so the plans are working.  Income numbers are up from last week, so I'm calling that a good sign.  I'm not close to done yet, in fact, I've hardly begun :)

In the meantime though, the following is a list of animals Cari, the Clerks and I saw on our trip to Seward, AK this past Saturday:

Puffin
Bald Eagle
Sea Otter
Sea Lion
Harbor Seal
Doll Porpoise
Bear
Moose
Killer Whale (Orca)
HumpBack Whale

Take a gander at the stunning scenery:


The song in this video is Gentle Rain by the Sim Redmon Band.  They are really great, and if you'd like to learn more about them and possibly buy their album, you can do so at http://www.simredmondband.com/

Week 44: Moose Hunt

So welcome to Alaska!  Cari and I are wasting no time at all getting with the program here.  Cari started her clerkship and we went with my friend Caitlin on a Moose Hunt.  For the animal lovers out there, don't worry - we were unsuccessful.



In other news - situation critical has arrived for the 80 till 30 game.  With 36 weeks to go, I am very, very far behind.  Social media consulting is the way I have found to make a living, and I'm going to limit my focus on income-generating activities to gaining new clients.  ERIC is still going strong and is very close to being fund-able, so I will also move forward on that front.  Finally, I'm going to post ads on Craig's List for my various skills here in Anchorage and see if anyone bites.  Details and deadlines are at the "Strategies" tab above.

Tuesday, September 6, 2011

Weeks 33 - 43 Catch Up


Forgive me readers for I have sinned.  It has been 8 weeks since my last video.  I have been filming and I have failed to edit – until now.  In the remainder of this post, I make up for lost time.  

I begin by keeping my promise from the last video.  Before leaving Boston, I had the opportunity to travel to Denver to hang out with the fam in the Mountains of Colorado.

Back in Boston, time has grown VERY short, and with Cari already in California to study for the Bar Exam, I am left to my own eccentricities.

With Boston now behind me, Cari and I get to stay in a house ON Venice Beach, courtesy of our good friends, and my clients at Happy Owl Studio.  Venice beach is known for its weirdness, and I am right at home J.  If you want to play a real-life game of Where’s Waldo – try your luck.


Marathon training continues.  I have been very fortunate to find many a beautiful place to run.  A quick look at my long runs over the past few months clearly shows some nice progress made.  At the time of writing, I am preparing for my longest training run, 20 miles, this weekend.



After CA, Cari and I traveled back to Denver and Westcliffe for two final weeks before our move to Alaska.  When we got there, I had a surprise in store.  As many of you already heard, Cari accepted my proposal for marriage and we are now engaged.  This video is a bit of a long one, but I documented much of my process in getting the ring over the past few months.  Also, here are some photos from August 12th, the day of the engagement: www.haveypro.com/engage and here is a reenactment of the proposal: www.haveypro.com/engage2.


OK – so that brings you up to speed.  I am recommitting to getting a video out each week through the 20th of May, 2012, when, God willing, I will be a debt free dude.  In the meantime however, my weekly contribution as ballooned to $1350 if I am going to make the goal, bringing my weekly income goal to $2,000.  Next week I am going to get into how exactly I could make that happen…

Wednesday, July 6, 2011

Week 32: American History

Hello! I've got a fun big video for you this week. So here it is:


The Chive video I mentioned is here.  Also - the running 10 miles and then working an event and then biking 15 miles made my left ankle VERY mad at me.  I was hobbling around for a few days and finally got back into running shape today.

As I mentioned last week.  I am saving the extra $ I am making now for moving expenses etc, so hopefully after we arrive in AK, I will have spent less than I thought and can make a huge payment.  If I do all the work I have been approved for now, it will be another $1500 next week, so that will help! 

Wednesday, June 29, 2011

Week 31: Exit Strategy

There are frighteningly few days left in Boston, and I am deep into planning the exit strategy.  I went to the store today and asked myself if I would use it in time before I bought anything.  I'm kind crazy like that.  There is furniture to sell, boxes to pack, and travel to plan.  It is going to get crazy up in here.



Here is the blog laying out the ERIC strategy.  Please sign up for emails if you want to be in the loop on that: http://joineric.org/node/44

Wednesday, June 15, 2011

Week 29: Context

This week, I didn't have much for video. It would have just been me at my desk working. I had a setback this week. One of my clients fell on some cashflow hard times, and needed to cut me back significantly. I totally understand of course, but my income graph is going in the wrong direction.

On the bright side, I have two new small clients who are starting now, and another big one who is ready for a proposal. If that comes through soon, I'll be in great shape!

I did want to share an info graphic that my sister flagged for me. It really paints the picture for how many people are in deep student loan debt. That is here:

Wednesday, June 8, 2011

Week 28 Prohibition

I'm giving up paying for alcohol.

The Rules: No buying booze.  No problem drinking, but someone else has to buy.

Consequences: Drastic decrease of alcohol consumption.  Improved focus.  More money to pay off student loans.  Compliments that I'm hotter (thanks Noah) (could be marathon training too).

Wednesday, June 1, 2011

Triple Feature

So it took a week longer than I anticipated to cut all of this footage together, so here are week 27, 28, and 29.  I hope you enjoy.

Friday, May 20, 2011

The One-Year Mark

I am sitting in a darkened room in an apartment in Buenos Aires, Argentina. It is 3AM and I am now 29 years old. That means that I have exactly one year to pay off the rest of my loans in order to meet my goal. My parents agreed to contribute to my goal as their gift to me this year, so that is some unexpected extra income right off the bat. My weekly average payment needs to be $1,067.00. That is a sobering statistic.

Of late my blog has been less about paying debt, and more about just what fun stuff I am doing each week. That is all fine and good, but if I am going to make this happen, I MUST get serious about raising my weekly income to a level that will sustain those payments.

I'll have lots to share from Argentina when I get back to my video editing software, but for now, thanks to all for the birthday well-wishes, and I'll see you each week, as the 52 - week countdown begins.

Tuesday, May 10, 2011

Week 26 Mothers Day

Running out the door.  Relevant link.  And the video:



Also there is this video I did with a cool treatment for the invisible wounds of war.

Wednesday, May 4, 2011

Week 25: Pig N Brew

As alluded to in week 24's video, I got to go to an amazing event this week at the HQ for the Essex County Greenbelt Association.  It was the perfect day.  Such an amazing group of people were there!  The event featured a pig that was raised as sustainably as a pig can be raised and prepared expertly by the women of Chive.  They served a 6 course meal, 5 of which were different parts of the pig and the last was a dessert by Lauren Bell, another of the incredible people I am honored to associate with.

The video here that looks way better than my usual stuff was shot by Aaron Whitman (Thanks Aaron)

Jesse and his band Qwill can be found here.  The video for which he did music is here.

Chive is one of a new breed of businesses that internalize their externalities.  That is to say, they account for every possible bit of the impact they have on the world.  As Jen says in the video, they are a zero-waste company.  Everything they use is either recyclable or compostable.  They take excellent care of their workers, and all of their design elements are reused and reusable.  They are on the cutting edge of the way the world needs to operate - and we all should follow their lead.

Monday, May 2, 2011

Week 24: The Movie

A very light week in terms of content, (largely due to me deleting a ton of footage :(.  But here is what I got.  Be sure to check out the video below this too :)



A friend and former coworker from DC made this for a film class.  I was so flattered!! In her email, she mentioned that the professor brought in the producers of a couple major television programs to give notes on the trailers and meet the students.  My friend told me that thier reaction to this trailer was: "I'd see that movie."

Hmm....

Wednesday, April 20, 2011

Week 23: Yukon Ho!

An announcement, with the song that I hope describes the 9/1/11 - 9/1/12 part of my life.



I want to share one of the video projects I completed last week.  I have some good friends at the Colorado PTA who were my first political connections in high school.  They trained me and opened many doors for me, so when they asked if I would help them put together a fund raising video, I was thrilled to help.  We shot interviews for an afternoon, and this is the first of what I think will be 3 videos for the PTA.  Enjoy!

Also, I mentioned the film shoot in LA in the week 16-20 video. This is the fruit of that labor (or at least two of them for now :)

Wednesday, April 13, 2011

Wednesday, April 6, 2011

Week 21 L'Chaim!

Thanks for all the 'attaboys' from the post last week!

Take a look at the graph over on the stats tab, and you'll see a huge jump in the red line representing what I am paying. Not close to huge enough, but still!



A few links to the things I mention in this video. Here is the Jewish A Capella group. And this is Relay Rides. As I'm writing this, I realize that the lead singer in the a capella group and the CEO of Relay Rides look strikingly similar.

And here for those who are ready to have a life changing experience, is a good introduction to Martin Sexton.

Wednesday, March 30, 2011

Weeks 16 - 20 Runnin'

It has been 4 weeks since my last post, and I am committed to posting every week.  The impact of my delinquency has been that I made not one student loan payment since the last time I posted.  The whole reason I set up this blog and this game was to give myself a structure so that I would stay in action and achieve my result.  My not posting has cost me valuable time.  The impact on you is that you had no fun content for a month, I didn't let you into my world, and for some of you, I even caused you concern that I was not well!

Please know that you can count on me to at least post a note here every week, even when I don't have time to make a video.  That said - here's the video!



As I got back in action here, I saw that I was $12,586 behind in my game!  Thanks to a tax refund, and my having been frugal while traveling, I am going to make a $3,000 payment this week.  That will being me back under $10,000 behind - this week . . .

I want to give a shot by shot background of what the hell is going on the video, because I know it is not clear.  From the top:

My Mom and Cari standing in the back yard at my parent's house in Westcliffe on the morning we left to go to LA.

A fast-forward account of riding to 450 feet on the free, tethered hot air balloon in Orange County.  Cari's parents took us there when we got to LA.

Huntington Beach, and surfers riding some decent waves below the pier you can see in the background of the beach shot.

A sound stage on the lot of the Jim Henson Company in Los Angeles, where I spent a day filming a series of commercials with my friends at Happy Owl Studio.  During wardrobe changes, the crew (myself included) found some epic angles and played around a bit.

The 'tower' is a random 8ish-story wooden structure rising from the middle of an apartment complex on the shore of the channel connecting Marina Del Ray to the Pacific Ocean.  Kris Cuaresma-Primm took Cari and I up there to talk about changing the world (our favorite topic).

Tanker in the sun was shot from the plane landing at JFK.  I thought it was gorgeous, and this shot is sped up about 5 times.

And finally, the farmer's market is in Union Square, Manhattan, and my tour guide was my good friend, and established NY food writer Jessica Claire (who just got into the Gastronomy program at BU!!)

Seriously, thanks to all of you who read this regularly.  Heather and Natalie, that also for the kick in the butt!

Wednesday, February 23, 2011

Week 15: Domesticity

Back from the West Coast and returning to the daily routine. As I work from home now, I have flexibility to work in most of the domestic chores for Cari and I. Usually these are accomplished very quickly while I'm running to something and I think this video captures it very well.



As I mention in the video, (and as you can see on the statistics tab) the good news is that my weekly income is now up to $950 before taxes, and more leads are coming in all the time.  The bad news is that I am about $8,400 behind on my target payments.  I'm going to have to get to, and then surpass my target weekly payment soon . . .

Wednesday, February 16, 2011

Week 14: ERIC

First-off, sorry for the relatively rough edit on the video this week. I am running out of memory on my computer, so I had to make a cut without the benefit of rendering to see how I did before printing the video.

That said, I think you'll enjoy!



ERIC has a Facebook page here, and a mailing list here. Here is our lovely website. Please join us!

For now though, here is what we aim to do:

The Environmental Research and Innovation Center (ERIC) is a growing collaboration of experts, visionaries, inventors, and entrepreneurs dedicated to creating a model for economic and environmental sustainability that can be adapted to cultures worldwide. By taking responsibility for the process that created a product, policy or practice, individuals as well as companies and governments can use their economic power and social interaction to ensure the rights of people and the health of the natural world.

ERIC is currently causing this change through five projects:

The App
Giving consumers the information to choose products based on their environmental and human rights records empowers them to use their economic leverage consciously. With the click of a button or a quick barcode scan, the app will instantly compile this information and put it in the consumers hand before they put a product in their shopping cart.

The Map
Local economies are healthy economies. Helping consumers to see and support the rich network of local businesses in their area contributes to the health of their community. These interactive maps will be built and maintained by local partners, and will be pushed through ERIC and it's partners to ensure that wherever you are, you can find and support the local economy.

The Wiki
Finding transparent, verifiable information on product sustainability is difficult. Using the open, crowd-sourced model that powers Wikipedia to collect sustainability information on companies and , and subject it to oversight by anyone including the companies themselves, is a much-needed vehicle to see the forest of a company's record from any particular tree.

The Store
Some companies and products take sustainability so seriously that their products are on par with ones ERIC seeks to develop. For these companies and products, ERIC will offer its endorsement and a platform for sustainability-minded consumers to purchase products with the full confidence that they a using their economic power in the best way possible.

Island Conference Center
Located on an island a mile off the coast of Washington, 80 miles North of Seattle, is the future site of ERIC’s sustainability research and conference facility. The facility is being designed by a team comprised of the top minds in sustainability from a wide range of disciplines. The island itself will be a showroom of sustainable technologies and practices, both cutting edge and rediscovered, as well as a collaborative workshop to foster breakthrough innovation.

The Center will focus on sustainability in the following three fields:

1 Environmental

o Energy: Powering the island exclusively from renewable sources
o Agriculture/Micro Farming: Producing food for the guests and staff

Developing partnerships with local sustainable food growers & producers

o Water: Utilizing wells and rainfall to meet water needs
o Shelter: Designing and building housing that will provide for modern convenience while remaining true to the mission
o Waste Management: Reuse all waste
o Land Management: Assimilate the facility into the existing ecosystem



2 Economic

The Center for Economic Studies will focus on establishing and promoting macro and micro economic theory as well as business models for practical implementation of sustainable economics.

o Conscious Capitalism: Working with businesses to adopt the triple bottom line (profit, people, planet)
o Consumer Driven Change: The power of the consumer to determine the means of production
o Sustainability Metrics: Examine the adequacy of current methods of assessing sustainability



3 Social

The Center for Human Potential will focus on the balance between mind, body and spirit.

o Philosophy: Applying value theory to environment and economy
o Spirituality: Belief systems. Awakening of consciousness

Meditation Center

o Creative Expression: Arts, Literature, Music

Resident Artist, Writer & Musician programs

Recording Studio, Sculpture Garden

o Active recreation: Yoga, kayaking, hiking, etc.

Again - I need your help. Please join us.

Wednesday, February 9, 2011

Week 13: Off of Unemployment

Big step this week.  Thanks to my friends at Happy Owl Studio, I am now making enough to come off of unemployment.  As you'll see from the video this week, I want to be clear how glad I am that unemployment insurance was there for me, and how important it is to keep it around.

For more on Jonathan Kim, check out his movie reviews on his site.  I have many favorites, like Twelve Angry Men, and Wall-E.



If you'd like to enter the Happy Owl Studio poetry competition, you can do that here or here.  They really have a great product and (hopefully) a clever and smart social media presence :) .   Keep up on Facebook and Twitter.

I am out of the gate early and out on a limb (as a happy owl should be) with my first press release on the Valentines Day Poetry Competition.  There is a line somewhere, and I don't know if this is over it . . .


WIN A PAIR OF iPAD CASES FOR A SONG (OR POEM)
Happy Owl Studio Launches Valentines Day social media contest

2/09/2011
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Venice, CA – Happy Owl Studio is running a promotion
And we seek your help in creating commotion.
Two iPad cases will be given away
To the best poet this Valentines Day.

“Find us on Facebook or go onto our blog,
and clear from your mind the webs made of cob.
Submissions are made in comments section,
And on the 14th of Feb we will make a selection.”

Says Amy Olivera, HOS’s Co-founder.
She also advises, to make sure you don’t flounder,
“We accept all poems, no matter how crappy,
but extra points will be given if they include: ‘Think Happy’”

To the poet who wins, who has written so much,
Goes a wallet in black and nice new red clutch.
Within these cases, iPads can be nicely secluded,
But in this contest, no iPad’s included.

If you think that poetry is sort of a curse,
Find the contest rules here, without all the verse
If you are intrigued, and would like more information,
Please reach out to our new contact, Nathan.

Monday, January 31, 2011

Week 12: Siblings

Ladies and gentlemen,

My sister Alysha:



It is no small thing to have a relationship with your sister that you can be proud of.  My sister and I have one.  We didn't always, but our moments of tension are more and more rare.  Instead we behave like a team and enjoy banter in person, over the phone, and thank goodness, G-Chat.

My sister is working for a group called the IDP foundation and frequently travels abroad to look at education policy solutions that really make a difference in developing communities.  Her focus has been Ghana, and she has traveled there regularly over the past 9 months or so.  We like to pitch in as a family, so take a look at the video my sis put together with the help of the team at Havey Productions.

Cool stuff huh?

In other news, I just finished work on my new video for my amazing friends at ChiveEvents in Boston.  These are three women who are redefining what it means to have a responsible business.  I absolutely love what they do and am so happy to be able to help them.  This video will debut at an event in Boston tomorrow, but for those who not only check in on 80 till 30 from time to time, but also read to the end of the blog posts, you can see it now.

Wednesday, January 26, 2011

Week 11: My Time

In the truest sense, it is your time.  You decide how to spend every precious moment of it.

I think I've know this at different levels for a while, but since separating from my job, I have found a wonderful freedom to determine my own schedule and make time for things I never had before.  The ten-step commute from my bedroom to my office helps :).


Friday, January 21, 2011

Saturday, January 8, 2011

Week 8: Interest Rates


There are several different 'strategies' to paying off debt.  Mathematically, the most efficient way to pay off of debt is, to quote Get Rich Slowly, (a blog that several of my readers have recommended to me):
  1. Order your debts from highest interest rate to lowest interest rate.
  2. Designate a certain amount of money to pay toward debts each month.
  3. Pay the minimum payment on all debts except the one with the highest interest rate.
  4. Throw every other penny at the debt with the highest interest rate.
  5. When that debt is gone, do not alter the monthly amount used to pay debts, but throw all you can at the debt with the next-highest interest rate.

While that approach is widely recommended, it assumes that you will have the discipline to stay on track.  But if your highest interest rate debt also has a high balance, it may take months or years to pay it off.  In the meantime, it can get frustration to be chipping away at a mountain of debt, and not feeling like you are making much progress (ahem).

There is the additional issue that your highest interest rate debt may not be the debt that is accruing the most interest each month.  For example, a high interest rate, low balance debt, would actually accrue less interest than a mid or low-interest rate debt with a high balance.

Allow me to illustrate with my own debt.  I have 6 student loans at various interest rates.  The highest interest rate (thank God) is 6.55%.  I actually have two loans at that rate and their balances are at $6228.18, and $4268.35 respectively.  I also have two more loans at 3.25% interest, but the balances on those are $15449.31, and $15997.43 respectively.  As such, the lower interest, high balance loans are actually higher in real-dollar interest than the loans at the higher rate with the lover balance.

Allow me to illustrate.  In the graphs below, I show the balance remaining to be paid, the interest rate, and the dollar amount that would be added to the loans in a year of interest accrual at their current balance and rate.  The highest interest rate is in yellow, and the most expensive interest is in red.


If I paid the highest interest first, I would not be attacking the loans that are racking up interest fastest.  I assume a financial adviser would have me pay them off in this order instead:


However, at my target rate of repayment, it would take me until this time next year at the soonest to knock out those big-balance loans, and at the rate I am actually paying right now, it will be two years.  That is a lot of time to be vigilant without checking a loan off the list . . .

Hence the snowball method.  Again quoting Get Rick Slowly:

The Debt Snowball method is similar to the traditional approach except that instead of attacking high-interest rate debts first, you attack low-balance debts first. Why? Because you’ll get the psychological lift of pinging debts off in rapid succession. And if you’re like me, this makes all the difference. The Debt Snowball approach is:
  1. Order your debts from lowest balance to highest balance.
  2. Designate a certain amount of money to pay toward debts each month.
  3. Pay the minimum payment on all debts except the one with the lowest balance.
  4. Throw every other penny at the debt with the lowest balance.
  5. When that debt is gone, do not alter the monthly amount used to pay debts, but throw all you can at the debt with the next-lowest balance.

What that would look like for me is interesting as it would actually have me pay off my highest interest (and lowest balance) loans first anyway:


So, I'm going to split the difference, give myself some early gratification, and get 'r done like this: