Debt's paid off

[masraum]

Woo Hoo! The only thing that we have left is our mortgage which is fairly small. I was laid off in 2001. Between 2000 and 2001 we had started building debt because I was making good money, and we thought that it would never end. We've been trying to get out from under debt since I was laid off. Tonight we made the last payment to the last debt. We could have had it paid off a year ago, but 2 years ago, we decided that we needed some savings, just in case.... So we started splitting half to savings and half to debt. We are now have a safety cushion and are debt-free. Our plan is to continue saving (and not getting into debt) and start using our money to make money.

It was a long hard road, but we learned a valuable lesson. It feels good to have learned the lesson and it feels good to have finally dug ourselves out of the hole that we were in. I just wish we'd gotten here 10 years ago.

[BlueSkyJaunte]

Mazel tov!

[sc_rufctr]

Great news Steve. I'm dept free but it took a massive effort to get here.

11 years ago I got divorced and it was very expensive ...

I ended up with the clothes on my back and my 911. I drove a taxi part time for 6 years plus my regular job just to be able to save enough for a decent deposit for a house.

[Outback Porsche]

Congrats Steve, always a good thing.

[Rick V]

Good deal.
Beth and I sold our rental before the bubble burst and payed off most of our debt, last October, I made my last payment and only have the house left, now I am working on trying to save some. I opted to get out of debt before building the savings. It is a good feeling, but a little scary to live check to check for a while.

[Hard-Deck]

Great news, congratulations and welcome to the club.

[widgeon13]

Good for you, wish more folks wanted the feeling of being debt free.

[onewhippedpuppy]

CONGRATULATIONS! It's one of those things where you have to experience the bad before knowing how good it can really feel. We paid off the last of our debt (student loans) in 2010 thanks to a lot of hard work and sacrifice, we got awful tired of summer vacation consisting of a few days in KC. Mortgage is all that's left now, and it's very reasonable.

Do you ever listen to Dave Ramsey? While I think he gets a little hyper conservative, I think most Americans could stand to listen to a few of his shows or read one of his books. Over and misuse of debt is a huge problem, and very few people seem to recognize it.

[widgeon13]

I think they recognize it, they just don't care. They see our govt doing it so figure why not them. Bankruptcy is always on the table for some folks and it doesn't make any difference. That is the way they make debt disappear.

It's like sex, if it feels good they do it. No consideration for the consequences.

[KNS]

Congrats! It is a great feeling. Our house was paid off a couple of years ago and just a tiny bit of debt left.

Dave Ramsey is great but I wish he'd keep the religious stuff out of the conversation.

[Instrument 41]

Well done sir. I have been fortunate to never have any real heavy debt load other than a mortgage. With regard to Dave Ramsey, I like to listen to the horror stories folks call in with. Just the thought of any credit card debt much more some with 50 to 60K in credit card debt?? I couldn't sleep at night.

[Crowbob]

Congratulations!

For the next phase, how do you plan to use your money to make money?

[ckelly78z]

Kuddos on the hard work you accomplished we just have to promise ourselves to never get back to that place and move forward with emergency savings and don't forget about planning for retirement.

I almost had to file bancruptcy about 7 years ago, but we actually owned too much and would have lost everything (tractor, truck, sportscar, half equity in our home). Other idiots are out there filing bancruptcy on all the designer clothes, vacations, electronics, fabulous meals, and generally living the high life. These people rent everything and file every 7 years like clockwork and come out smelling like a rose.

Currently, we have no debt other than 4 years of mortgage payments remaining and kids about to move out, so financially, I am ready to live an easier life.

[GH85Carrera]

Congratulations! It is a great feeling.

When I was single and in my early 30s I was in deep debt. I vowed to be debt free by 40. I did not make it on my 40th birthday but I was debt free when was still 40. I worked a lot of side jobs. I have only been without a job for four working days since 1972, but I mowed yards for decent money as a kid.

When we bought our current house we did a 15 year note but paid it off in 10 years.

[onewhippedpuppy]

Originally Posted by widgeon13

I think they recognize it, they just don't care. They see our govt doing it so figure why not them. Bankruptcy is always on the table for some folks and it doesn't make any difference. That is the way they make debt disappear.

It's like sex, if it feels good they do it. No consideration for the consequences.

I think it's a combination of our ultra superficial society, entitlement mentality, and a total lack of education. I want it, I want it now, and look I can put it on this shiny new credit card and have it TODAY! I think some don't care about the consequences, but many don't even understand what they're signing up for.

Years ago my wife and I were shopping mortgage lenders prior to looking for a house. This was 2007 during the big housing boom when money was easy, and we stopped by Countrywide to see what rates they would offer. They concocted some sort of 0% down 70/30 ARM that was based on my PROJECTED income at the time of purchase and were willing to pre-approve based solely on a suggested number and our excellent credit. Ultimately they were willing to offer approximately double what my wife and I were willing to spend. I asked the lending officer for an amortization schedule as well as the total cost of the mortgage and he was stupefied. Not only was he not sure how to output that information from his computer, but he told us "nobody has ever asked me for that before".

Obviously you should learn financial responsibility at home, which is probably why this problem keeps perpetuating. I've also often thought that a required high school class should be some sort of personal finance, where they teach teens about banking, responsible use of credit, mortgages, investing, and retirement. In our society today, what is more important than the responsible management of your money?

[masraum]

Originally Posted by Crowbob

Congratulations!

For the next phase, how do you plan to use your money to make money?

That's a really good question. We are still trying to figure that out.

[Jim Richards]

Learn engraving and buy a printing press.

[Baz]

Congrats Steve! Thanks for sharing and good luck with your future endeavors whatever they may be!

BTW - Clark Howard is my fav. radio personality wrt consumer advocacy. I know with Dave Ramsey it's a little different angle on finances but Clark is simply amazing IMHO.

[GH85Carrera]

Originally Posted by onewhippedpuppy

I think it's a combination of our ultra superficial society, entitlement mentality, and a total lack of education. I want it, I want it now, and look I can put it on this shiny new credit card and have it TODAY! I think some don't care about the consequences, but many don't even understand what they're signing up for.

Years ago my wife and I were shopping mortgage lenders prior to looking for a house. This was 2007 during the big housing boom when money was easy, and we stopped by Countrywide to see what rates they would offer. They concocted some sort of 0% down 70/30 ARM that was based on my PROJECTED income at the time of purchase and were willing to pre-approve based solely on a suggested number and our excellent credit. Ultimately they were willing to offer approximately double what my wife and I were willing to spend. I asked the lending officer for an amortization schedule as well as the total cost of the mortgage and he was stupefied. Not only was he not sure how to output that information from his computer, but he told us "nobody has ever asked me for that before".

Obviously you should learn financial responsibility at home, which is probably why this problem keeps perpetuating. I've also often thought that a required high school class should be some sort of personal finance, where they teach teens about banking, responsible use of credit, mortgages, investing, and retirement. In our society today, what is more important than the responsible management of your money?

When we talked to our credit union about buying the hose we are now living in they said we qualified for a loan 2.5 times bigger than what we wanted and we did not even need to sell the old house!

We sold the old house within a month of moving and dumped all of that on the new mortgage except a few grand to buy new appliances and furniture. For some reason my wife did not want our old harvest gold refrigerator in our new kitchen

[Crowbob]

I like Clark Howard too. And Ramsey. Basically it boils down to making more money and spending less. Clark gives good advice but as a consumer trying to do what Clark advocates is in itself a full-time job.

My strategery: When in doubt, I keep my money in my pocket. Cash only for EVERYTHING.