I'm debt-free!

[TLDRIDKJKLOLFTW]

Wheeeeeeeeeeeeeew.

Like many people, I got a credit card in college and used it when I ran out of money. In my defense, I often used it for things like groceries and gas because even though I was working 40 hours a week, I'd still come up short, but an admittedly good chunk of that debt was also CD's, video games, and nights out drinking.

I only had about $5K in debt, which I understand is manageable compared to the people that manage to rack up $20K or even $50K in consumer debt, but with my income and lifestyle, this $5K might as well have been $50K for all my ability to pay it off.

I was fine making the monthly payments and everything, but there was no way for me to make an actual dent in the total balance, spread between three cards. I payed minimum balances for almost three years before finally drastically changing my lifestyle (by force) and snowballing the hell out of these cards.

Well, I'm done with that. It's a huge relief. I just keep taking in a big breath and letting it out slowly. It literally feels like a physical burden has been lifted from my shoulders. What a wonderful feeling!

[robardin]

Good boy. Now go out there and get at least one mortgage, the country is depending on you!

[Queen Tonya]

That's awesome! I know exactly what you're talking about, carrying a huge debt load would leave me so anxiety-ridden I wouldn't be able to enjoy whatever the hell I'd bought to begin with.

Congratulations on acheiving a worthy goal.

[Anne Neville]

Congratulations, VCO3!

[Cyros]

Congratulations! I can only imagine how freeing it must be to debt-free. I shall try to keep my jealousy in check!

[ZipperJJ]

Rock on, dude I just paid mine off too. I had 2 cards and was constantly in the red for about $3000 all the time, on two cards. $1800 of that was money I lent my brother too (which he still owes me....grr).

Got a raise at work, got a few extra projects going, paid off my orthodontist and now I'm ready to go buy a mortgage! Yahoo!

[Ottoerotic]

I had the same situation, only it was closer to 14k in debt from college. (Stupid credit cards) And today I paid the last one off. So let me say congratulations I know EXACTLY how you feel. We'll have to check back on each other in a year to see how good we've been at keeping the debt off.

[Wesley Clark]

Nice. A problem that happens with some people is they just pay the minimum balance and it takes them forever. Even an extra $50/month can make a big dent in credit card debts.

http://www.bankrate.com/brm/calc/MinPayment.asp

[sciguy]

Congrats. Now cancel all but one (although I've heard that this can cause a small dip to your credit rating, I think you should get rid of the newer ones to minimize that).

And you may run into the same funny situation I did when I zeroed out my credit cards. I had these three (plus sadly a couple more) that I had used through college, and over the years the banks had "helpfully" edged up the limits on them. Then through mergers and acquisitions, all three cards ended up being owned by the same bank. When I called to cancel two of them, the guy on the phone asked if I just wanted to combine the total credit limits into one card.

So now I have a card with a $20,000 credit limit. I really have no idea why I'd ever need that much money on so short of notice that I couldn't use another option, but it does offer some security. I use it every couple of months just to have some activity on it (I have another card with a better rewards program for regular use), but that's about it.

[whiterabbit]

I've got about $1,600 to go before I'm in the same position. Though I'm going back to school soon, which will probably mean some form of loans, but those aren't as bad.

My car was paid off in May, and that is a HUUUUUGE load off my back. Once the credit card is down, it's going to be party time!

[Ottoerotic]

Watch out, that last five hundred or so was a real bear. I can see how some people never get ahead. I was one paycheck away from being debt free for about 6 months. First my car needed work, then I needed to buy a new wardrobe after I got a promotion, then I had to travel for a funeral. It just seemed like I would never get there.

Again... Good luck hope it works out for ya.

[Joools]

Originally Posted by sciguy

Congrats. Now cancel all but one (although I've heard that this can cause a small dip to your credit rating, I think you should get rid of the newer ones to minimize that).

I'd advise against canceling the cards. It sounds like you (the OP) are in a phase of your life where you might be going out and getting new debt some day -- a car, a mortgage, etc. The better your credit history is, the better terms you're going to get. Why throw that hard-earned credit history and unused credit away?

Cut up your cards, fine. But unless you have an annual fee card, keeping it open costs you nothing, and has big benefits.