On my way to FREEDOM

[Steeldrifter 0]

Between selling the drag car last week, and the crazy busy time this year has been with rod orders, I started doing something I have been wanting to do for a number of years now. Get myself debt free by getting out from underneath credit card debt. So just the other day I actually paid off the entire balance of one of my three credit cards. Not going to use it ever again unless its an emergency. I also have plans to get the 2nd of the three cards paid off fully by November as well. So that will only leave me with the one card which I can then double up payments on since I will have extra cash from paying the other ones off.

Living under 27% interest has been like flushing money down the drain for the past few years. But to be able to pay the one off already, and have the 2n paid off in a few months, is a huge feeling of relief 😎

[Bryon Anderson 0]

Solid plan Steve! Good for you. Debt is such a drag -- literally. I went through a long period in my life where I lived under the yoke of those insane interest rates. When my wife and I had been dating for a while, she gently asked if she could help me with managing my finances a little better, and I gratefully let her take the wheel. Now married 10 years and counting, we have miniscule unsecured debt (which will be paid off by the end of this year) and we both have excellent credit ratings. Not a moment too soon, either, as my twin sons head off to college in a few weeks. Being able to do my part to see them through college such that they won't come out with crushing student loan debt means more to me than I can tell you. 

 

[Poopdeck 0]

Cash is king as they say. I've lived a cash existence my entire life. Outside of my home mortgage (paid off), if I don't have the cash to pay for something then I don't need that something. If I need a car, I pay cash, unless they want to give me 0% financing for three years then I will finance the entire nut. A roof, cash. kids college education, cash. I'm able to do this because I don't spend more then what needs to be spent on the things I do require. In other words, I don't buy 500 dollar rods when a 150 does just fine. 

Happiness is money in the bank Steve. Great job paying down your debt and an even better job of prioritizing what's really important. Don't forget to control your spending which is a big part of saving up a pile of CASH. 

[skeet3t 0]

Story- two TV reporters checked into the 0% deal when it first hit the dealerships. They split up, priced the same car and found it was cheaper to finance with an interest rate loan. That interest is in there somewhere.

[MuskyFlyGuy 0]

Great job Steve!

[Mark Knapp 0]

Good for you, the American Dream is still alive and well.(and they come true)

[Poopdeck 0]

9 hours ago, skeet3t said:

Story- two TV reporters checked into the 0% deal when it first hit the dealerships. They split up, priced the same car and found it was cheaper to finance with an interest rate loan. That interest is in there somewhere.

True dat! I will also at times take the manufacture  financing to get the best price and then pay it off as soon as it is possible, usually no more than 60 to 90 days. Finance is a game we regular folks cannot compete in and the giants get their price in one way or the other but we can still get a little break with nothing but a little knowledge, a calculator and CASH? When you have perfect credit finance rates are also negotiable. When you have cash your options are wide open. With patience you can usually get it your way but you have to wait for the salesman to call you back because he needs another sale. If you go in and walk out with a car on the same day you will get hosed every time. Cash is king even when applied to financing. 

[mikechell 0]

Congratulations on the one card, Steve.  Good luck and keep etching away at the other ones.  Wife and I have been debt free for quite a while.  I can't say how long, since she's the finance officer and I don't have to do anything connected with it.  

When the chance to get the workshop built came up ... she pushed for it.  She basically said, "We can afford it, so why not get it built?"  That's one of the times I just sat back and thank my lucky stars that she's mine.

[skeet3t 0]

1 hour ago, Poopdeck said:

True dat! I will also at times take the manufacture  financing to get the best price and then pay it off as soon as it is possible, usually no more than 60 to 90 days. Finance is a game we regular folks cannot compete in and the giants get their price in one way or the other but we can still get a little break with nothing but a little knowledge, a calculator and CASH? When you have perfect credit finance rates are also negotiable. When you have cash your options are wide open. With patience you can usually get it your way but you have to wait for the salesman to call you back because he needs another sale. If you go in and walk out with a car on the same day you will get hosed every time. Cash is king even when applied to financing. 

My daughter-in-law bought a new Honda van over the phone. She called 3 or 4 dealers and priced the chosen van without trade. She had them bidding against each other as they knew what she was doing. She did have the courtesy to call the losers.

[Poopdeck 0]

Yep. Email works just as good. 

[cphubert 0]

4 hours ago, mikechell said:

When the chance to get the workshop built came up ... she pushed for it.  She basically said, "We can afford it, so why not get it built?"  That's one of the times I just sat back and thank my lucky stars that she's mine

Smart Lady, wish I had finished the large project I wanted to complete before I retired, just didn't see it coming until COVID downsizing accelerated our plans.

[Poopdeck 0]

You never know what tomorrow will bring. Another reason why  cash is king and credit blows.