I'm finally out of debt!!!!

[fermicat]

:joy:

I reached a huge milestone today when I hand-delivered the very last check that paid off my credit card debt.

Two years ago, I started the payoff process when I left my ex-husband (that was when I got control over my finances and was able to work on it without having to subsidize a deficit spender that I could not control). At that time, I had carried credit card debt of varying amounts for eight years straight, and the total amount I owed was more than half of my annual salary. It was a scary, scary amount :eek3: and weighed very heavily on my mind.

I slashed my household budget to the bone and started an aggressive payoff plan and forced myself to be disciplined (well, mostly -- I still had a few bouts of weakness, usually around the time that a new Farscape DVD was released :) ). About a year ago, I transferred the remaining debt to a home equity line of credit at an absurdly low interest rate and the balance really started dropping fast. Every bit of extra cash went towards paying off the debt - tax refund, last year's holiday bonus, last year's raise, etc..

Now I'm sittin' pretty, with a fairly low mortgage payment, a budget that requires less than half my take home pay to finance, and NO DEBT!!!!!! Now I feel like the divorce is final. There is nothing left of the bad stuff I had to clean up. I was in a huge hole and now I am looking at level ground. Sweet! Now I get to actually start saving money and can get on with my life. I am so relieved.

This is a big, big day for me. It's been a long time coming.....

[Judith]

Fermicat,

Congratulations.

[NYPinTA]

Congratulations! :aok:

It sucks when you owe people money.
I got into trouble with credit cards. They just kept sending them to me and I kept using them. Took me a few years to pay them all off and not use them again.
That hologram in the corner... it's a subliminal message to buy buy buy! :rollin:

[Jellyfish]

Well done fermicat its must feel gooooood.http://users.pandora.be/eforum/emoticons4u/happy/1356.gif

[grinner]

Congratulations, Wonderful news.

Did you use the Debt-snowball plan?

[mgraylorn]

Frermicat, that's quite an achievement, you have a right to be proud. Congrats.

On the other hand, you are being downright unAmerican. Don't you know we are all supposed to be in debt up to our eyebrows? ;-)

[grinner]

I am totally out of debt except for my house payment. It is so nice not to have alot of debt weighing on your heart and psyche

[stellar]

Originally posted by fermicat
I got control over my finances and was able to work on it without having to subsidize a deficit spender that I could not control

I look forward to that too... in 2004. ;)

Seriously, congrats... that's a big deal. I don't have that much credit card debt, but my wife an I are well-educated and have the student loans to prove it. I'll post a debt free message in 2011. :)

[atlantagirl]

Good for you, fermicat!!! What an accomplishment! :signbravo

[JadedLegend3]

Congratulations, fermicat!!! Your story is an inspiration to me, as I will soon have lots and lots of debt (I graduate from college in May with about $30,000 worth of loans! :eek4: ). I am already stressing about it, but it's good to read about someone's success story!
My sincerest congratulations again!!!


Jacqui :love:

[Lord Loser]

Cool! You know what I'd do if I were you? Take out a big loan and pay for all of us to come up there and have a great big party to celebrate!

[I-am-so-Johns-girl]

Wow....congrats! :beer:

[fermicat]

Originally posted by grinner
Did you use the Debt-snowball plan?

Not sure. Is that when you pay the minimum on everything except the card with the highest interest until it is paid off and then switch to paying the most you can on the next highest, and so forth? If so, then yes. That is what I did the first year, then I got a HELOC to consolidate the remaining debt and greatly lower my interest (the first year the rate was prime-1 with no floor). That saved me several hundred dollars a month when I first did it. This last interest payment was less than $10.

[fermicat]

Originally posted by Lord Loser
Cool! You know what I'd do if I were you? Take out a big loan and pay for all of us to come up there and have a great big party to celebrate!

Ummm, I'm willing to buy a few bags of chips, put on my Farscape DVDs, and have a BYOB party. Come on up!

[studentsteve]

Congrats great to be out of debt. I am a student in my final year and will be up to my tits in debt till about the same time as stellar.

[grinner]

yeah... the debt-snowball is when you take the smallest debt and pay it off, then use that money to pay of the next one... and so on until your debt is gone. It is the most sensible way to get out of debt... that and cutting up your plastic.

[fermicat]

I took great pleasure in canceling each card as it was paid off. My letters were very clear about how unhappy I was with the companies -- most of which employed tactics like raising my interest rates because "I owed high balances on other cards" and crap like that. I never had a late payment, ever. I was a good customer who never gave them any trouble and they did everything they could to piss me off. Good riddance. I felt a lot better paying interest to my credit union when I got the HELOC because they treat their customers well.

/rant

[grinner]

Do you use a debit card? I use one as a credit card and I will not have any other plastic in my wallet. Not when the companies raise their rates to 27% or more... that is usery

[fermicat]

I have a debit card (that doubles as my ATM card), but I tend not to use it for anything but gas and groceries because it does not have the same protections that a credit card has. I kept my credit card from my credit union to use for business travel and online purchases, etc.. It has a reasonable credit limit and the interest is a permanent 9.9%, although I pay off those charges each month and do not pay any interest as a result. They were the best credit grantor so they got to keep my business. The rest of 'em can go to hell.

[grinner]

Which credit union? If I may ask.

[fermicat]

Southbridge Credit Union.

It is a small, local (four branches) credit union serving Southbridge, Sturbridge and surrounding Massachusetts towns. Dealing with them is usually quite pleasant, so I have a checking account, savings account, credit card, mortgage, and HELOC with them. Over the past ten years I had two vehicle loans there also.

My interest rates are competitive and I don't pay anything for my checking account.

[Jaxa Logan]

fermicat- you're my hero! Yes! Now I know it CAN be done!
Jax

[grinner]

Now, some might not like his religious overtones... but you should listen to Dave Ramsey. He makes a lot of sense.

[Johnsgirl727]

Also Mary Hunt. She writes very good books.

[fermicat]

The book I found most helpful was "How to Get Out of Debt, Stay Out of Debt & Live Prosperously" by Jerrold Mundis. I'll link to a description below. This book was very readable, encouraging, and contained practical, realistic advice of how to get a grip on your finances. He practices what he preaches, using his own debt situation as an example. He also discusses other real-world cases. There's no magic to it - the process is actually quite simple, and it works.


http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0553382020/qid=1068912088/sr=8-2/ref=sr_8_2/103-7865814-7507817?v=glance&n=507846