We have some pesky visitors at our house.  One visits us, not every month, but quite often.  The second visitor just NEVER leaves, or so it seems.  They stand in the shadows of the corners of the house; they have a tendency to hide from us because we forget they're there, but they are always there.  Our visitors names are Debt and Late Fee.  Luckily, Late Fee won't be visiting us in February, and Debt is thinking about leaving.

Tonight, we sat down together and used some of our cushion money to pay some bills.  We both accumulated some debt before we got married (college loans, etc.) and a little after, but after today, we are making some progress.  On our two biggest worries/debt concerns, we just paid about half of what was still owed.  Let me tell you, the feeling is AMAZING!  Granted, college loan debt is still going to be around for a while, but we can't wait to get most of it paid off.  We will have so much weight lifted off our shoulders when we get it all paid off.  If we get it paid off, maybe we could actually afford to take a weekend trip somewhere a couple times a year, be able to give more to the groups and organizations we hold dear to our heart, and give back to those who have done so much for us.  Granted using cushion money to pay some debt means there is less savings, but getting debt paid means more cushion later.