Thanks all for the congrats and words of encouragement. This was step one, more we can hopefully start accruing money. I'm looking forward to this next part.

Congratulations man - being basically debt free is a wonderful feeling.

We have been basically that since about 2005 or so. We have a small amount of revolving credit debt (basically we put our monthly expenses on a credit card and pay it off prior to interest accruing - it's a management strategy) and haven't had car payments until just this month.

We decided that 0% financing on a great deal on a Mazda was okay to do. So instead of paying cash for the car as we would normally we will put that to the debt we do have which is also recent. We have a HELOC and recently used it for some landscaping - that was probably the biggest hit outside of our mortgage we've ever taken. So now we have to scrimp a bit to make sure we pay that off in a timely fashion. It doesn't help though that our lenders keep giving us carrots which are fantastic interest rates, fixed rates at that (even on the HELOC) or as I mentioned on the car - no interest at all. So now we aren't debt free but we should be again in 3-5 years and with what we did while we were from an investment and saving strategy I feel that we are in a very good position and could afford another car payment if we decided to execute on our plans next year to get me a new car too.

Money management is a lot like IP address management. Do it right, summarize where you can and document it as completely as you can. You're probably the one of the only folks on this board who'll get that too.

Start thinking about the how and why of the next step now: Get smart about what a reasonable return on any investment is given risk, exposure, etc., is depending on where you opt to invest: Stocks, rental property, simple interest, etc.

Learn the basics of investment management, create in your mind what an ideal portfolio looks like now. How much for a rainy day fund, low risk investments, college (if you have kids), tax implications (401's/529 Plan) and the like.

Also think about what you and your wife want to do as an investment team. Any investment outside your financial comfort parameters is likely to cause issues: Are you guys slow and steady, risk adverse, risk happy, etc.?

Again, well done.

Lastly, never think financial people are smarter than you: If they were you wouldn't be talking to them, they'd be anywhere else.

the next step might well be to take on some debt, since the rates are so low right now

I love paying off all my debt - so much so that I have done it a few times.

I can only imagine how great it feels. Fulfilling financial obligations sets you apart from the many. Congratulations!

Congratulations! I am a bit older, but when we became debt free, the hardest thing was to resist the temptation to splurge and spend all that extra money you now have in your jeans on more stuff.

We did a few months of that and when we figured out that we actually were having trouble paying the bills even without a mortgage payment, we got some sense and went back to our old lifestyle and just had the equivalent to the mortgage payment automatically transferred to our investment account.

Thanks to that, work is now optional for me....and yes, I still have a healthy car budget to spend on my toys....

Enjoy!

Dennis

This is a great idea.
I have most of my old mortgage payment automatically withdrawn twice a month. It was at first a holiday and special purchase account and now has a decent chunk of change in it after being debt free for 5 years... (and not spending much money)
My investments have kind of sucked in the last while but it is comforting to know that I don't owe anyone anything.

Congrats!!!!

Congrats. It's a monumental accomplishement. Think of the extremely small percentage of the population you're a part of now. It's also good to hear others here who are also debt free. I've been debt free since the later '90s and wouldn't have it any other way. I'm not tempted to take on any kind of dept at all after living that way for so long. We're far from well off, but live happily having to pay out zero except for normal living expenses, premiums, etc. To me it's a way of life that insulates me from the craziness happening out there. I'm like Rick. I'm wired to honor my debts and promises, and if I owed on a mortgage, I couldn't walk away. What are people thinking???

Congratulations! We too are debt free, not even a mortgage. I never felt "investing" money I owed to someone else was wise irrespective of what the markets/inflation was doing. I think growing up listening to all of the stories about how bad the "Great Depression" (Weimar Republic) was on both sides of the Atlantic was a significant influence.

Congrats to all the folks free from Debt! We are debt free after paying out 30 year note off in year 8 last year. Now we are trying to figure out where we can get passive revenue streams from our investment capital.

Did you ever see the bumper sticker "I owe, I owe...it's off to work I go"? There is a lot of truth to this. Debt fuels our economy and makes people hard working. I think if too many people live without debt, our GDP will take a huge hit. I know being debt free makes me work a little less hard.

Man, I don't want to work less hard, I want to keep hammering away to improve our situation for later in life. Of course an even better option would be to figure out how to make more money for less work.

Congrats - it must feel fantastic!

Our goal was to be there too (excepting the mortgage) by the end of this year but unfortunately my income tanked so it may take 1-2 more years. We re-fi'ed the mortgage and actually went from a 20 to 30yr (and obviously a great rate) to free up as much cash flow as possible to pour onto the last 2 remaining non-mortgage debts. Our son will be college age in 6 years, which I know will fly by, and we are planning for zero aid and zero debt for that.

fixed it for you and had to comment, easy credit is like IPv6, there's no effin' limit!

Almost forgot, Congrats to mas on the pay off!!

Congratulations!! Wife and I are working that way its hard work.

My wife and I only owe on the house we bought 3 years ago and my truck. The truck I have " play money " to pay it off and will after the holidays. We have worked hard to get to this point. In the 3 years we have owned this house we have made double mortgage payments every month and have really knocked down the balance. Any credit card debt is paid in full every month. She retired a little over a year ago and I plan to do so in 5-6 years. I hope to have the house paid off in that time or be very close. I put 20% of my pay into a 401K each week that my employer adds 3.5% as a match plus we have other savings. We are fortunate that we both had/have good paying jobs for 20 + years but it was also just good hard work and staying within our means. I have plenty of toys for my retirement that are all paid for so as long as we stay healthy we will stick to our plan.........it seems to be working. :D