Re: How does it feel to be debt free?
You know it's sort of funny in a way ... I reached a point in my life where I said I wasn't going to worry about money anymore, but the minute I got deeper in debt I realized that I at least had to be more concerned about it.
One of my dreams was to someday own my own house. Well four years ago, at the age of 40, I finally was able to do that. Even though at the time my credit wasn't as great as I had hoped it would be, I was able to afford a mortgage at a decent rate. I was also fortunate to have found a builder who offered a buy-down program on the mortgage. Then I got lucky enough to be able to refinance the loan at a lower rate and chop off 5 yrs from the 30 yr mortgage because my credit had improved once I became a homeowner and took care of other debts along the way.
I started this year off with approximately $12,500.00 in credit card debt (about $5,000 of that was due to helping my brother replace the engine in his van). Well as of today I've paid off about $7,700.00 of that debt and I hope to have my last large credit card balance paid off by next spring. (My brother on the other hand still owes me the 5 large).
It certainly is a big load off my mind (as well as my credit cards). I'm not anti-credit by any means. But I also have set the goal to only charge what I can afford to pay off at the end of the month (or in rare cases two months).
I've also learned to figure out whether something I have my eye on is a "want" or a "need". If it's a "want" I don't make any impulsive buys. I wait another month or so and then evaluate it again.
Okay, I've ranted on long enough. It feels great to be debt-free or even to be less debt-burdened. My next goals are to establish an emergency fund for the house, then begin investing money for the future.
Good Luck ... it can be done ... and it feels wonderful!
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