Guess what…We don’t have credit card debt anymore!
I couldn’t fall asleep Friday night, so I decided to look at our budget a little more closely. I had postponed the final payment for our credit card debt until early October because we have some other bills this month. However, I realized that I had the due date for those bills about a month too early.
I flipped the amounts around and was able to pay off the last $1,187 of our original $20,000 in credit card debt tonight! Actually, I was talking with a friend and recalled that at one point last year, that debt was closer to $23,000, but I just use $20k as an even number. That debt was dogging me for the last 6+ years, and it’s finally gone.
How do I feel? Eh, tired. Relieved. But I probably won’t celebrate until Citibank notifies me that they have received the payment. That’s when it will hit home. However, it’s now onto our next debt: my student loan.
How did we do it? Perseverance. I made a plan and stuck to it. The end date was motivated by an expiring 0% balance transfer offer on my Citibank card, where I had about $12,000 for a year. I worked backwards from that point to find out how much I needed to pay each month to get rid of the debt in a year.
Granted, we make a decent income to be able to pay over $2,000 extra per month to our debt (first our one car and then the credit cards), but we also live a fairly frugal lifestyle. Our frugal lifestyle doesn’t involve reusing paper towels or taking baths every third day. Rather, we just avoid buying stuff we don’t need, unless we really want to treat ourselves. Our latest two treats were some nice gifts for Stacie’s 30th birthday (much deserved too) and a Nintendo Wii for both of us.
Stacie wears very little makeup. We don’t buy DVDs, we rent them. We don’t go clubbing. We lead a pretty boring lifestyle, but it suits us. We don’t feel like being trend-setters or go-getters. Instead, we wanted to focus on getting our financial house in order, as well as advancing our careers through additional projects (Stacie) or a masters degree (Me). So all in all, we worked at both cutting costs, as well as increasing income through hard work and a little ingenuity (this site and Building Nutrition).
So when you think you can never get out from that mountain of debt, remember these 3 tips:
1. Stop spending so much (and maybe try to develop additional income if you’re able)
2. Create a budget and a goal
3. Stick to the plan
There’s not much more to it! Oh, and be prepared for emergencies, disaster, or Murphy’s Law.
Congratulations on eliminating your credit card debt! I’ve been working on mine too! It’s the little things we do regularly that make the most difference – brown bagging lunch instead of eating out, filling the coffee thermos at home, buying sale items in bulk when appropriate. I’ve passed up a lot of little treats that would have been fun, for a little while, and put the money towards the debt. Every little bit helps!
Congratulations,that is terrific! We are also living the frugal lifestlye. For the past year we have decided to live on half our annual
income. By doing this we have been able to build up our emergency fund, save for retirement (which is around the corner),set up “sinking” funds for recurring expenses, etc.
We also don’t buy anything we don’t need.Our treat this year was a new computer with cable internet and that’s it. (replaced a very old computer with 256K RAM) We don’t have gym memberships, no fancy phones, no netflix or extra cable tv channels. We rarely eat out and have only seen 2 movies this year.
You are so right, make a plan and set a goal. Develop your budget and stick to it and whether you are trying to get out of debt, save for the future or both, you will be able to do it.
I’m sure when the payment posts and you see a zero balance, it will seem much more real. Congratulations on an awesome accomplishment.
Congratulations! I knew they called you Clever Dude for a reason! 😉
Seriously though, you have done a tremendous job, and have helped others in the process. Way to go!
Thanks guys and gals. One thing to note is that Stacie keeps reminding me that we still have credit card debt. However, this is debt that we pay off each month, and is budgeted. The other stuff was debt that we rolled over month-to-month. The current credit card balances are from uses online or for rewards (like gas rebates). We’ve wisened our ways about credit!
Congratulations!
well done.
Can you smell that? That, my friend, is the smell of financial freedom!
Congratulations!!!!
I can’t wait until we hit that mark in a few months.
Congrats! I just finished paying off my credit cards earlier this month also. Unfortunately, I also have to move on to paying off my student loans.
Congratulations! Your story is very inspiring. I’m also glad there’s no talk of closing your open accounts. Keeping your cards for emergencies, or even automating some of your spending/ using them for routine purchases – so long as you can pay the balances off, in full, every month – is vastly preferable to going without credit cards altogether. Just like some people can’t have a beer without having 20, some people probably shouldn’t have credit cards — but that does not describe most people, and it really irritates me when I see so much on the Web encouraging people to cut up their credit cards, and thus, damage their credit rating. You, on the other hand, obviously know what you’re doing. Good luck!
Congratulations!!! That’s totally awesome!
good on you for clearing up your credit card debt, I’ts a great feeling, I cleared mine a month ago (although I’ve gone slight back into the red again).
Congratulations!!
it must be a lovely feeling:)
Congrats! Paying off major debt is such an accomplishment and it’s motivating hearing about it each time a blogger hits a milestone…
Congratulations, Clever Dude (and Dudette). I have been following your progress for a long time, and I know how diligently you worked for this.
You are no longer a slave! Freedom!
Congratulations man!
Congratulations! I am about halfway done with mine and THAT feels good – I can’t even imagine how great you must feel right now! You’re an inspiration.
Our original credit card debt was about $20k as well. It has been paid off for a few year nows. We rarely use credit card now, except for making travel plans or reimbursed business expenses. As some one else mentioned, it does feel like financial freedom!! Congratulations!
Congrats! What an awesome thing!!