we're debt free!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
By missybal
@missybal (4490)
United States
April 3, 2009 11:02am CST
Yup in a Recession my husband and I were able to pay off three credit cards and a new car and be debt free! It wasn't easy, we cut back on so many things and pinched every penny... kept a log of every cent we spent so we could look at it an really take notice to when we were making stupid purchases on things not needed. We actually put the whole buying a home on hold because we made up our mind that we want to pay cash. And by my math if we continue to do what we have been doing we should have enough money to pay cash for a home that will suit our needs one year from now.
It is such a relief to know that I do not have to worry about money. Growing up broke and all the bad luck my husband and myself had that took us into debt wasn't easy. But I think we are stronger for it and we pay attention far better to our finances then anyone else I know. It's not easy sacraficing the things I really want when the money is growing in our bank account but I just keep thinking about what that money will mean in the future, meaning we will live better in the long run and we will be truly prepared when the time comes to retire.
Anyone else out there Debt Free here? How does it feel to you? I'm on cloud 9!
1 person likes this
6 responses
@Carolinaqt782 (193)
• United States
3 Apr 09
that's great! i bet the two of you are quite relieved. keep it up.
1 person likes this
@CatsandDogs (13963)
• United States
5 Apr 09
With the exception of our house, we're debt free too, finally. I didn't post it on here because I didn't want to look like I was throwing it my friends faces because so many of them are having a tough time especially in these horrible times now. Don't get me wrong, I'm sooooo NOT trying to pop your bubble!! I'm happy for you but am concerned for others as well and didn't want to make them feel bad, ya know?
@missybal (4490)
• United States
5 Apr 09
I understand what you mean... I thought the same way but then I thought hey if I can do it even during these times then that may help people realize that they can do it too. Honestly I feel sorry that a lot of people are having a hard time too however I see too many people who are just wasting their money on things they don't need or not taking a little more time to shop around and then come crying to me about money trouble. And I look at what they are doing, they have two car loans on brand new vehicles, Every Channel on Dish Network, buy premade foods and prime cut meats and their house is 80 degrees in the winter and 60 degrees in the Summer. More people need to really look at what their spending. Look for bargains. My husband doesn't make much money at all but we found all these ways to live cheap and that's why we are able to be where we are. It's not what you make it's what you save. If you can get by with only one car do it. Buy non brand name foods or shop like I do at Salvage food stores, grow a garden, cut back your tv or cut it out completely... you'll get more done believe me.
Congrats, on being debt free. Keep it up!
@AmbiePam (86018)
• United States
3 Apr 09
That is absolutely wonderful news. No, I'm not debt free. I am on disability, so there are times when I have to use my credit card. But I'm far from being over my head. For a long time I was able to pay off my balance every month. Not anymore, but I pay off way more than the minimum balance they require as payment. If I just paid the minimum, I'd never get out of debt!
@silverglint (2000)
• Philippines
14 Apr 09
Must be a really great feeling to be finally debt free. I am not, we are still in the process of pinching pennies and cutting back on so many things. Sometimes it gets so hard that I feel like giving up and stop resisting the urges to buy stuffs with my cards. We have been in this vicious cycle for so many years now that I am getting soo tired of trying to fight it. Everytime I get to nip a bit of my debt, another overhead comes up like repairs, tuitions and insurance premiums then I had to find ways to pay for them. I wish I can be debt free like you soon...
@clorissa123 (4926)
• United States
5 Apr 09
I am so happy for you, and congratulation on all your effort and sacrificings to do so. I am not debt free yet, and I am still own a lot of money from 2 credit cards, and one personal loan I borrowed a year ago. I am trying to do my best to solidate these debt, and pay them all in once. Hopefully, I could do all these sacrifices to make it debt free just like you.
@faisai (1138)
• Hong Kong
3 Jun 09
I currently have one big loan and that is the mortgage for my flat. I have recently drawn a loan for my new flat at a rather low interest rate. Other than this, I don't owe anybody any money.
I have thought for a while whether I should load such a big amount now. The fact is my job is looking secure at least for the coming months. And I my monthly payment for the loan accounts for less than 25% of my income which even if I had to look for another job will 50% cut in salary, I should still be able to pay the monthly payment without much problems. In addition, I actually have quite a lot of cash in saving account that can support up to a few years of payments.
You may wonder why I loan out so much instead of using my savings for the flat. The thing is the interest rate is so low now that it is next to free money. Keeping more money in the saving account means that I can have money readily available in cases some thing happen.
