Paying Down Debt

Unrepresented · #1 10-10-2009, 02:06 PM

Does anyone else get satisfaction from seeing their balances get lower? I've been making a real effort for the past couple years to get back to scratch with what had been more credit card debt than I (ideally) should've had.

I'm not there yet, but every month that I see my balances get lower I'm happy to see how much progress I've made and how the end gets closer and closer in sight.

For me, the credit cards (revolving debt) are much more satisfying than loans to pay down because they've got significantly higher APR and because my student loans can only go lower with time (assuming I pay them).

Am I weird here? Is anyone else looking forward to being debt-free?

Zombbg4 · #2 10-10-2009, 02:23 PM

You'd be crazy not to enjoy paying off your debt! I made a tough decision to sell some gear to knock out my credit bill, and while it sucked losing some things, seeing the balance go from 600 to 25 bucks was totally worth it. Even though I'd heard it a millions times I thought "I can handle a credit card!". Purchase after purchase always thinking "I'll pay this off soon..." Next thing you know your deep in the whole. Even worse is I was being hit with 9 dollar interest a month, and with a minimum payment of 15 bucks, only 6 dollars was actually being paid. I'll never get another credit card again, and if I do I only hope someone slaps me across the face and cuts it in half.

anyonefortennis · #3 10-10-2009, 02:26 PM

I'm on the exact same boat and I'm on pace to be CC debt free by EOY. Great feeling. The wife's student loans is another story...

Steve · #4 10-10-2009, 02:37 PM

Paid off house
Paid off car
Paid off credit cards...

There is nothing and I mean NOTHING better than being 100% debt free.

tplyons · #5 10-10-2009, 02:48 PM

I'm the same way you are.

Every month when I pay off my credit card in full, I feel great.

I happened to have an extra $500 this month, so I threw it at my motorcycle loan to try to get THAT paid off ASAP.

I pay things off early... in April 2007 I bought my motorcycle on credit (even borrowed the amount so I could pay the taxes) with a 60 month loan. I'm hoping to have it paid off by the end of the year, or 32 months. A little over half. But then again, this will free up a few hundred a month so when my student loans come due in December, money's not as tight.

Once the bike is paid off, extra cash will get thrown at my car payments. Of course, this is after I'm sure that I'm not carrying a balance on my credit cards. I'm proud to say that I've only carried a balance for six months between being laid off in December and paying my way through my last semester of college. I never carried a balance before that, and haven't since.

How often do you check your credit reports? At least you guys that are anal about credit. I signed up for freecreditreport.com a while ago, and I've been checking my credit about every two weeks. It's nice to see that number go up as others go down.

DigMe · #6 10-10-2009, 02:56 PM

We went through Dave Ramsey's program a few years ago and used his debt payment method to pay off all of our debt. Now we don't use credit cards. Google "debt snowball" and you might find the method we used. Our friends did the same and paid off over $70,000 of debt in under 2 years.

bc

DigMe · #7 10-10-2009, 02:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Steve

Paid off house
Paid off car
Paid off credit cards...

There is nothing and I mean NOTHING better than being 100% debt free.

Except in the reverse order in the philosophy that I followed.

bc

shadowtippy · #8 10-10-2009, 04:57 PM

I'm not quite debt free, but I am down to one car note that is no problem to pay and I wouldn't even have that one, except I really wanted a Pontiac Solstice. It's an expensive toy, but I'm worth it (to me anyway). I do use credit cards, but they are paid in full each month. No worries about carrying too much cash or getting approval on a check when I want to make a purchase.

michael_atw · #9 10-10-2009, 10:38 PM

I actually hate seeing balances go down. Worst feeling ever for a greedy materialistic American capitalist.

Tim Cole · #10 10-11-2009, 12:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zombbg4

seeing the balance go from 600 to 25 bucks was totally worth it. I'll never get another credit card again, and if I do I only hope someone slaps me across the face and cuts it in half.

Be thankful your lesson was learned at that price point. Most you can add a zero or two on the end of that. You should take a look at a mortgage amortization table sometime if you really want to get sick. I'd planned on trying to pay off my home in the first 4-5 years, but decided going sprint car racing was a better idea. Meh....

scottice · #11 10-11-2009, 12:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DigMe

We went through Dave Ramsey's program a few years ago and used his debt payment method to pay off all of our debt. Now we don't use credit cards. Google "debt snowball" and you might find the method we used. Our friends did the same and paid off over $70,000 of debt in under 2 years.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Debt-snowball_method

Very interesting! I may give that a try.

Jimmy Bones · #12 10-11-2009, 01:58 AM

I likes being out of the red. Just haven' been there in a while.

Jazz Ad · #13 10-11-2009, 02:18 AM

It is extremelly satisfying. I used the snowball method last to get debt free.
Only to be clean so I could get a 27 year mortgage on the house.

Indiana Mike · #14 10-11-2009, 06:14 AM

I just paid off my attorney friday!
All I have left is the mortgage on my house . I won't have it paid off anytime soon but who cares. I have to have a place to live whether I rent or buy.
I got divorced last year and didn't have many debts, but that incident created new ones as well as losing some cash / investments. I slammed the bills every month for the past year and they are gone!

I may not have a bunch of cool stuff ATM or be able to go out spontaneously and buy/do stuff , but I have money in savings , going into retirement and pay cash when I do purchase something.

Debt free rules!

HailCorduroy · #15 10-11-2009, 07:21 AM

After being really stupid with debt in my 20s and then going through a divorce where she got the stuff and I got the debt, I've been trying to dig out of a big hole. I've been sacrificing like crazy, but it's paying off. I bought my car a year and a half ago and I've paid off 40% of the loan. At the rate I'm paying things off, I will be debt free, except mortgage (which is quite low), in a little less than 2 years.

Dr. Cheese · #16 10-11-2009, 08:41 AM

The debt snowball makes a whole lot of sense. I think I will use it to get some of my own bills knocked out more quickly. I know that I have to get rid of some debt myself. I am not getting any younger, and sure don't want to go into retirement being Mastercard's B*tch!

TrooperFarva · #17 10-11-2009, 08:58 AM

I've never held a credit card balance, I've always paid it off at the end of each month. I used this really simple strategy of not buying anything I couldn't afford. Strange, I know.

Credit cards are just a tool. If you use them wisely, they're great.

Jazz Ad · #18 10-11-2009, 09:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TrooperFarva

I used this really simple strategy of not buying anything I couldn't afford. Strange, I know.

Credit cards are just a tool. If you use them wisely, they're great.

Your strategy works fine until there are things you NEED to buy. YOu can live without a wide screen or Apple's last gadget.
It's hard to do without a car to commute to work, health problems to take care of or a fridge.
It becomes increasingly difficult if you have kids or job issues.

Dr. Cheese · #19 10-11-2009, 09:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jazz Ad

Your strategy works fine until there are things you NEED to buy. YOu can live without a wide screen or Apple's last gadget.
It's hard to do without a car to commute to work, health problems to take care of or a fridge.
It becomes increasingly difficult if you have kids or job issues.

+1, life has a way of messing up the best of plans. In all honesty, what happened to me was buying one or two things I wanted, then all of a sudden, needing to use the CC.

The best thing to do is to start an emergency fund which can significantly reduce the need to resort to the plastic.

scottice · #20 10-11-2009, 10:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jazz Ad

YOu can live without a wide screen or Apple's last gadget.

Never!