Finally Credit Card Debt Free!

[datalink7]

Yay very happy right now

I was good untill Junior year in college (no CC debt) and then I went stupid for some reason. Wracked up close to $20,000.

Just paid the last $764.06 bill. Now I can start working on my school loans and car loans to be totally debt free. If I hadn't been an idiot I'd probably have both of those payed off by now. Live and learn I guess. (25 years old for reference).

 

[zoiks]

Good for you.:thumbsup:

 

[Ns1]

Wow, grats. I paid off 2 cc's last year. 1 more to go (3.99 for life, no hurry), and then 1 loan shark + 1 MASSIVE student loan to payoff

of course, all while taking off this debt I have an insatiable urge for a 2k1 330ci. damn me!

 

[V00DOO]

I finished my car payment 2 months ago and have a $900 CC balance which hopefully can be pay off within the next 2 months. It has been years since I am debt free. Congrat!

 

[child of wonder]

My wife and I still have $13,000 to pay off, however it's all at 3.99% until paid in full. We rolled over our car loan into it and took $6,000 to finish our basement.

Our goal is to have it paid off in 2 years before my wife goes back to school.

 

[Funyuns101]

OP what in the world did you buy for $20,000??
I supposed that I'll never understand "spending outside your means"

 

[MikeyIs4Dcats]

congrats!

 

[kranky]

Congrats! Many people don't wake up until they are decades older than you! We became 100% debt free in October and it's a great feeling.

 

[judasmachine]

congrats, now keep it up man!

 

[amdhunter]

lol, I cleared my cc debt up late last year, and I bought a new car...ugh.

I am happy though. car debt isnt as bad as CC debt. lol

 

[Ns1]

Originally posted by: Funyuns101
OP what in the world did you buy for $20,000??
I supposed that I'll never understand "spending outside your means"

it's fun while it lasts taht's for sure

 

[DrPizza]

Congrats!

Remember, especially with the student loans, being debt free isn't always the best strategy for what to do with your income. You can also start considering investing for retirement. If you earn interest at a higher rate than you're paying on the student loans, you end up coming out ahead. Plus, (IIRC), the interest on those student loans is tax deductible. (definitely double check that; don't take my word for it.) Likewise, interest on a home loan is tax deductable, assuming you can itemize. With the relatively low interest rates on homes and the advantage of being able to deduct the interest on the taxes, sometimes it makes more sense to invest the difference rather than pay off the home loan sooner. (Not that there aren't other considerations to take into affect which may indicate that paying off those loans sooner would be better.)

 

[nakedfrog]

My oldest card hasn't carried balance in over a year... but then it's got the "membership fee" that just hit for $59
I don't want to pay $59 per year just to keep it alive, but it's my oldest account. No luck in getting CS to waive it yet, either.

 

[SandEagle]

Originally posted by: kranky
Congrats! Many people don't wake up until they are decades older than you! We became 100% debt free in October and it's a great feeling.

when you say 100% debt free, do you mean no car or mortgage payments or just no more cc bills?

 

[kranky]

Originally posted by: rrahman1

Originally posted by: kranky
Congrats! Many people don't wake up until they are decades older than you! We became 100% debt free in October and it's a great feeling.

when you say 100% debt free, do you mean no car or mortgage payments or just no more cc bills?

100%. Cars and mortgage paid off.

 

[Mr Pickles]

Originally posted by: Funyuns101
OP what in the world did you buy for $20,000??
I supposed that I'll never understand "spending outside your means"

qft I just don't get it.

 

[lokiju]

I dream about one day being debt free.

The wife and I have paid down a lot in the last two years, but we still have a long ways to go.

 

[kranky]

Originally posted by: Funyuns101
OP what in the world did you buy for $20,000??
I supposed that I'll never understand "spending outside your means"

I'm not speaking for the OP but I can tell you how one of my relatives did it. Taking his family out for $150 dinners frequently, $10 at Starbucks every day, $500 trips to the mall a couple times a month, new cell phones a couple times a year, weekend trips to Florida, buying his kids every single thing they ever asked for, buying prepared foods at the supermarket all the time, and keeping the thermostat at 80 degrees so the kids could still run around in shorts and a T-shirt all winter (because "they don't like sweaters").

And what does he have to show for it? A closet overflowing with clothes and kids' bedrooms crammed with stuff they don't even use. Other than that, nothing.

The difference is this:
I see that lifestyle as one of being in debt.
He sees it as living within his means. How? Because he can afford the payments.

 

[BKLounger]

welcome to the club, pull up a seat and have a fruit roll-up

I was credit card free for about 2 years then i had to get one to buy an engagement ring almost 3 months ago. As long as i pay it off by the end of the month (which I will). Then i don't pay any interest on it.

The key now is to cut up all your credit cards except the one with the lowest interest rate (just keep it for absolute emergencies).

 

[zinfamous]

congrats, now go buy a big-ass stereo to celebrate!

 

[rasczak]

congratulations bud. I remember being there a few years ago. then i bought a dell laptop and it went straight to hell right after that. lol just barely finishing up my debts and i'll be done by the end of the year

 

[oiprocs]

60K in student loans.

But no CC debt! At least I don't have to pay these back until after I graduate. I plan to refuse taking any more out. That means I gotta find another means to getting my tuition paid. Job FTW.

 

[Mxylplyx]

I busted my ass the past 2 years, including taking a 2nd job and working 70hrs a week, to pay off all my debt except my house. It was about 30K between cars and credit cards. Now that I'm debt free, I'm staying that way. If one of my cars dies before I can afford another decent one, I'll be driving whatever POS I can afford. I actually do use credit cards again, for everything, but I pay them off every month. AMEX is about to send me a $600 check for that.