USS Redskins Posted August 12, 2013 Share Posted August 12, 2013 Free at last. Damn - its been an ugly few years. $7K in car repairs ($4K for a transmission), $12K in Dental & Medical Bills, Several Furnace/Air conditioner repairs, and it seems every appliance (and plumbing) in our home needing either replacing or repair... plus a million other things - couple all that with big drops in income (from crap economy) everything costing more (gas and food) and the wife moving to part time to care for our son... but we are finally CC debt free! It ballooned up to over 30K at one point.. we had cut everything possible and chipped away at it over the last year. Its a HUGE weight off our shoulders. Made the final payments today. We actually had a bit of good luck lately and came into some extra cash and it was enough to pay off our credit cards. It kept me up nights sometimes, worrying about debt and kids and everything everyone else has to worry about. So, I am cutting up one card and keeping one for an emergency. We have paid off large CC debt twice now and dont plan to do it again. Of course, we need our luck to change a bit, which I know wont happen but for now, it feels great. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bubble Screen Posted August 12, 2013 Share Posted August 12, 2013 I commend you for paying off your debt. Most people in your situation would have taken the easy way out and went bankrupt. A lot of people run up enormous credit card debt and it has nothing to do with repairs or hardship. Some people seem to think CCs are like free money or something. I can sympathize with you on the car thing. Lately I've had to put a lot of money in my car as well. It sucks. I'm not sure if high schools these days make kids take courses on CCs or not, but they should. It should be mandatory. I'm not lumping you in with all the irresponsible people that run up huge debt, just making a general statement. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Evil Genius Posted August 12, 2013 Share Posted August 12, 2013 Bravo to you, USS. Being debt free every month (except for our mortgage) is one of the best feelings in the world. As an aside, cutting up the cc's and closing the accounts are two different things. If you don't pay a yearly fee on the account, I would keep they open just don't use them. I've read that having available credit (even if it's not used) is a major + when it comes to calculating your credit score. I commend you for paying off your debt. Most people in your situation would have taken the easy way out and went bankrupt.A lot of people run up enormous credit card debt and it has nothing to do with repairs or hardship. Some people seem to think CCs are like free money or something.I can sympathize with you on the car thing. Lately I've had to put a lot of money in my car as well. It sucks.I'm not sure if high schools these days make kids take courses on CCs or not, but they should. It should be mandatory. I'm not lumping you in with all the irresponsible people that run up huge debt, just making a general statement. I think a lot of the problems come from credit cards and college. They were everywhere at our student unions when I was in college. Free this and free that if you signed up..plus anyone could qualify for one, it appeared. I know they lured me in and I didn't see the error of my ways until 3-4 years after grad school. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
USS Redskins Posted August 12, 2013 Author Share Posted August 12, 2013 Believe me, we considered bankruptcy but decided to keep fighting - and it was seriously, one step forward, two back. We cut and cut and then made a huge payment one month of over $2000 and then my car starts acting up the very next day and we get the $4K transmission bill. It was like that for years. It seems like there was a black cloud over our house! Another time we were finally making steady progress and we get an $1800 air-conditioner repair bill, wiped out any gains. Last summer our fridge went out. Had a guy come repair it, $700, he turned out to be scam artist! It worked for a week and went bad again. Ended up having to get a new fridge plus the repairs... I wont even go into my son and his health struggles. But... I have to be thankful now. We still have a home and got through it all. My son continues to improve, too. I feel awful for all those families who dont have the means to get support and have gone through tougher times than us... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kosher Ham Posted August 12, 2013 Share Posted August 12, 2013 That's awesome. I used a credit card this morning for the first time in many years, (Left my wallet at home when I took my car to get the oil changed). That 30 bucks will cost me 31 probably if I pay it right now. Congrats. I was in that situation when I was younger where I would "just charge it" thinking ..."it's only 30 bucks a month". Terrible decision when it came time for emergency funds. Now I am sitting on a nice chunk of change and it's mine. It's easy to fix when you discipline yourself. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SkinsHokieFan Posted August 12, 2013 Share Posted August 12, 2013 That's awesome. I used a credit card this morning for the first time in many years, (Left my wallet at home when I took my car to get the oil changed). That 30 bucks will cost me 31 probably if I pay it right now. Congrats. I was in that situation when I was younger where I would "just charge it" thinking ..."it's only 30 bucks a month". Terrible decision when it came time for emergency funds. Now I am sitting on a nice chunk of change and it's mine. It's easy to fix when you discipline yourself. First of all congrats USS And I agree Kosher, I have had a bad habit for years of "oh I can afford this, only 35 dollars a month" type deal and I end up paying far more. It really is about thinking of it as cash. Cutting up one and having one for emergencies is a good idea, that way you still have 2 open accounts with plenty of revolving credit available which helps your credit score Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rictus58 Posted August 12, 2013 Share Posted August 12, 2013 That's awesome. I used a credit card this morning for the first time in many years, (Left my wallet at home when I took my car to get the oil changed). That 30 bucks will cost me 31 probably if I pay it right now. No. it won't. Not until after your statement generates, and then not even for at least another 21 days after that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kosher Ham Posted August 13, 2013 Share Posted August 13, 2013 Tongue in cheek sir. Geez. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elessar78 Posted August 13, 2013 Share Posted August 13, 2013 Awesome job, man! I feel like we've been fighting the good fight as well lately and seem to be under dark cloud territory these days. I haven't used a credit card in about 5 years and I have about $2700 left to pay off. Been playing the 0% game and transferring the balance to a new 0% card every 18 months. We've managed to build up some savings but a good chunk of it went to fund my wife's maternity leave. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chipwhich Posted August 13, 2013 Share Posted August 13, 2013 Congrats. Being debt free was the best day in my life. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rictus58 Posted August 13, 2013 Share Posted August 13, 2013 Tongue in cheek sir. Geez. Sorry. my sarcasm was broken yesterday. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skinsmarydu Posted August 13, 2013 Share Posted August 13, 2013 Congrats! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mursilis Posted August 13, 2013 Share Posted August 13, 2013 I'm not sure if high schools these days make kids take courses on CCs or not, but they should. It should be mandatory. I'm not lumping you in with all the irresponsible people that run up huge debt, just making a general statement. Does there really have to be a high school course on this? Adults really have to be taught that credit cards are loans (at ridiculous interest rates), and loans have to be paid back? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rictus58 Posted August 13, 2013 Share Posted August 13, 2013 I'm not sure if high schools these days make kids take courses on CCs or not, but they should. It should be mandatory. I'm not lumping you in with all the irresponsible people that run up huge debt, just making a general statement. Does there really have to be a high school course on this? Adults really have to be taught that credit cards are loans (at ridiculous interest rates), and loans have to be paid back? Sadly, yes. I worked 4.5 years for a credit card company. Most people have very little idea how they work. Even fewer have any idea how to make a C/C work for them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Predicto Posted August 13, 2013 Share Posted August 13, 2013 That is fantastic! Congrats! Now that you are in the black and have developed such good fiscal habits, I think that you will find things getting a little bit easier. Generally speaking, those in the red naturally tend to go deeper in the red, those in the black naturally tend to go deeper in the black. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PleaseBlitz Posted August 13, 2013 Share Posted August 13, 2013 A few random points. #1, obviously congrats. #2, I agree with the sentiment that their should be a HS class on personal finance, not just credit cards. I remember my school system made me take "home economics" but it was ****ing sewing and cooking. Learning the basics of personal finance at a young age (meaning, before college) would save a lot of people a lot of headache. #3, remember that eliminating all of your revolving debt will lower your credit score. Its not a huge deal, but you may want to carry a small balance on your remaining credit card from month to month (and never miss a payment). Or you may not, its really up to you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popeman38 Posted August 13, 2013 Share Posted August 13, 2013 My HS had a class my senior year where you drew a job out of a hat. From min wage all the way up to CEO. Each week was a month. You then chose the vehicle you wanted and could afford, the living arrangements you wanted and could afford, and as the year progressed you accelerated through life. You met a significant other. You got married. You had a kid (you had to carry around a bag of flour as your kid all day at school; you and your significant other alternated periods). You moved away from town to get a nicer place but a longer drive. You had to balance your checkbook every week. The teacher would then drop "emergencies" on you randomly (A/C broke, car broke down, death in the family, car accident, loss of job) and what you had earmarked for savings had to support you for a predetermined number of weeks while you job searched. This class had a significant impact on my outlook financially. It is because of this class that I carry no debt that I can't write a check to cover (exception being a home). The culture of saving spreads. You build a nice nest egg, and then you try your damnedest to never touch it. Me and my wife saved for years to survive on my salary when we had a kid. We knew that going from being DINKs to a sole provider was going to be painful, and in NOVA it was going to be very difficult to never withdraw from the nest egg. For the most part, we have been successful in our day to day lives. We do have to dip in occasionally to cover vacations. OK, that was my long winded endorsement of a financial planning class being required for all HS graduates. And of course, congrats to the OP on the freedom from debt! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
USS Redskins Posted August 14, 2013 Author Share Posted August 14, 2013 thanks for allof the nice thoughts... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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