My son's 1st bday will be my wife's last day at work

[mindaugas]

Feb 24th 2013 will be my wife's last day. To get there we have $20k to pay off. We probably won't pay all of that off, but at least half. Right now we could afford everything on my income and still pay down debt, but it would take a lot longer. So her salary goes to the debt crisis. Here is how the $20k breaks down.

$5300 in high interest credit card debt (17.8%)
$5300 in a high interest auto loan (19%, 1.5 years left)
$10k in a moderate interest auto loan (8.49% 2.5 years left)

I've already paid off two other credit cards (about $2k) and a small student loan ($500 left) in the last month and a half. I should have the car paid off by xmas and the credit card by the time she quits. That will lower our monthly bills enough that we can still push a significant amount each month to paying down debt. There is about $183k looming in the background in the form of student loans and a mortgage, but that is all low interest.

[Another Reader]

The only thing I would do in addition is to sell stuff.  Pare everything down and put the proceeds toward the debt and get there a little bit faster.

Are you keeping both cars?

[mindaugas]

Thanks, I'm going to be posting some stuff on craigslist this weekend and I've gotten rid of a lot of my gadget addiction as well. For now we are keeping both cars and discussing selling one after she quits.

[Melissa]

Congrats on your wife's upcoming new role as SAHM!  We have lived on one income for 13 years and have found that it has often made it easier to save money.  And it has allowed my husband to focus on his career, since I am able to handle sick kids and holiday breaks.  He said he finds coming home to be relaxing and then he is able to focus on spending some quality time with the kids.

I wish you both the best of luck! 

Question?  Would you be able to sell one of the cars and use the proceeds to buy something cheaper?  I know that people are going to suggest that you sell one of them, but I can't help but wonder if this would be a good intermediate step

[Tradies wife]

Wishing your wife a lovely time caring for her little one.
And yes, Feb 24th, your son's birthday is a very good day to start that journey. I'm completely unbiased about that of course as it just happens to be my birthday too :)
$20K to pay off IS a lot, but small chunks between now and then should mean that you are very close to achieving your goal. I'd suggest putting ALL her wage from now until Feb into the repayments. After all, it would be a valuable experience before heading off into one income territory, as well as giving you the best base possible to do that from.