At year end 2025, I posted "total debt under $30,000." Today, one month later, I can post, "total debt under $20,000." That's $19,555, of which $19,500 is the mortgage, and the other $55 is credit card charges that are still pending (charged last night or today which have not yet posted to account.
Tomorrow there will be another mortgage payment, which I will add another $40+ to, so that by Monday, the mortgage balance will be down to $19,000.
It took two plus years of concentrated focus on paying down debt, but finally I'm where I want to be: the only active loan is the mortgage and credit cards to be paid off on a rolling basis each month. I also have a Home Equity Line of Credit, current balance $0, but it is there for when there are home projects to tackle. I might have some electrical work done (I still have some knob and tube wiring in my 1915 house) and replace the exterior doors later this year, plus I need to declutter (which is not a "capital improvement" project, so I won't use the HELOC for that.
Our 1/30 pay check included our annual bonus plus our annual merit increase (4%, less than other years but we have a new corporate owner as of August 2025; bonus was also less generous but not to be sneered at.)
Since all the non-mortgage loans are now paid off, that frees up about $300/month to put towards savings, plus I lowered my 401k contribution to 6%, the minimum to get the full employer match. [This employer might not be as generous with raises, but a maximum 5% employer contribution is a nice improvement. We'll just see if they make a profit sharing contribution as well. The last employer matched less but made both safe harbor and profit sharing contributions.] With the lower 401k contribution, my paycheck is larger, and I'm going to see if I can put away $1,000 per biweekly pay--$850 to long-term savings in my Schwab brokerage account, and $150 in a Cash Plus account at Vanguard, which is where the new employer is moving the 401(k) to in February. I also put $6,500 of my bonus in the Cash Plus account, which I hope will serve as a sinking fund for large annual expected an unexpected expenses. For example, I pay for long-term care insurance with an annual premium that increased to over $4,000 two years ago (but, unlike Genworth, Mass Mutual has only raised premiums once in the 11 years I've had the policy. I have clients with Genworth policies and Genworth raises the premiums more often than not.) Plus that's money for travel and decluttering help and whatever additional home and car expenses come up during the year. Plus, hopefully later this year, to pay initial expenses for new kitties. I'm not entirely sure the $150/pay is the right amount to save here, as one of this year's projects is getting a better handle on my expenses and trimming things like unused subscriptions.
Other miscellaneous notes: With some snafus with the management company, a snowstorm that kept me out of the office much of the week and my schedule, I have yet to actually USE the new workplace gym. I tried last Saturday and the fifth floor access was blocked. I'm heading up there now to try it.
Also did my usual Saturday-morning thing and had breakfast at the little diner I have been frequenting on weekends since COVID. It's the kind of place where you become a "regular" and they know your order. For the first 5 years, Lisa was my usual waitress. This past year, it's been Emily. I learned this morning that today is Emily's last day. She actually owns a restaurant of her own 10 miles away, but a year ago on 2/11, there was a fire in the apartment upstairs and she had to close the restaurant for a year in order to fix smoke damage. She's re-opening this coming week. Ten miles is a ways so I might not see her again, but if I'm ever over by the town where she is located, I'll stop in.
Oh, and Patient Saver, that thought led me to think about Mr Lee's Noodles, where we ate dinner last April. They will finally re-open on February 21st--another case of a restaurant closed for nearly a year because of a fire in a residence in the building.
January 31st, 2026 at 08:17 pm 1769890656
I noticed that you mentioned you have a Schwab account. Do you also have any experience with Vanguard or Fidelity? If so, how do you compare them. Or at least, what is your personal experience with Schwab so far?
January 31st, 2026 at 08:39 pm 1769891996
Most of my assets are at Schwab, since that is both where the firm that I work for primarily custodies assets and because the accounts I inherited from my Mom were at Schwab. I have no complaints about Schwab.
I've also had retirement accounts at Fidelity for the past 18 months. The first firm that acquired us primarily custodies assets there, and the 401k from that firm (that is about to be moved over to Vanguard) has been there.
I've had funds at Vanguard for the longest. When I first opened a brokerage account while I was in grad school, it was there, and that's where I started my IRA and Roth IRA accounts. Now the new firm's 401k is there.
Of the three, Vanguard is the weakest in terms of customer service and ability to do things on the site. But at least there's no additional charge for buying Vanguard funds. When you buy a Vanguard funds at Fidelity or Schwab, there may be a fee. That's less usual these days and I haven't bought any new funds lately, but be aware that it is possible.
Fidelity has the most robust set of things you can do from the advisor perspective. I've never had a regular Fidelity brokerage or IRA account, so I can't address ease of use from the user perspective. They also have the reputation for the best customer service.
Schwab's set of tools is reasonably robust and is a close second to Fidelity. Sometimes from the advisor perspective, I find it a little big difficult to navigate, but as a client with a "retail" (that is, self-managed) account, the set of tools is available to you is robust, and client service is ok. If you currently have an account, just explore all the menus and sub-menus.
[Oh, and that $10k in one month--thank both the fact that I have a beneficiary IRA with an RMD, which I take at the beginning of the year to pay down debt and the annual bonus.]
February 1st, 2026 at 12:04 am 1769904296
They are the only firm I use so I have nothing to compare them to but I find them fantastic.
The website has a lot of information and is easy to navigate and process transactions.
The people I work with on a regular basis and the people who assist on a one time transaction are knowledgable, helpful, patient, kind.
Because I live alone I find I am often a little chatty on the phone and even when I know I’m telling them stuff they don’t need to know, they always act interested.
I highly recommend them.
February 1st, 2026 at 03:33 pm 1769959983