Paid off our car

[ladonnarosso]

I just needed to post a little celebratory yay! Because we mailed a check today to pay off our second vehicle! The only debt that we have left is our mortgage and my husbands student loan! I'm so freaking excited because this means that I can contribute everything that was going towards that stupid loan (never going to do that again!) to saving for our next house! Pardon all the exclamation points, I just can't really share this with everyone I know but I figured you all would understand and be excited for me rather than resent us.

[bjl584]

Good job.

Do you have a separate account set up as a "replacement car fund" so when it comes time you can just pay cash?

[ladonnarosso]

Not right now but I'm definitely planning on it. Both of our cars are in good shape right now, and we're planning on buying a new house so I was planning on sending everything towards that for right now and then after we move opening up the car fund. I'm keeping full coverage through our insurance right now so if we had an accident it would be covered.

[JoeP]

Great news!

It might make sense to get an estimate from a different insurer. You might end up saving a couple hundred a year, and that money can go toward your house saving effort, or a car replacement fund.

Once we escaped the endless cycle of car payments, we vowed to never go back. Going forward, all our replacement cars will be purchased with cash we've saved up. It's kind of weird in a way to replace a vehicle and not "feel" anything budget-wise.

[feh]

Once we escaped the endless cycle of car payments, we vowed to never go back. Going forward, all our replacement cars will be purchased with cash we've saved up. It's kind of weird in a way to replace a vehicle and not "feel" anything budget-wise.

We've purchased our last 3 cars with cash ('99, '02 and '11). Being able to do that does change your mindset - the thought of having a car loan now gives me the heebie jeebies.

[Bright]

Congratulations to you!!! Set up a long range plan for the next car purchase asap. I think you will be pleasantly surprised the next time you need to replace one. It is so darn fast and easy with cash

[creditcardfree]

Congratulations! It does feel nice to drive a paid for car. It will be exciting to get that title in the mail, too!!

[MonkeyMama]

Set up a long range plan for the next car purchase asap.

Agreed. Odds are you will end up in another loan if you don't start planning now. We have always paid cash for our cars. Which means we have *always* saved up to replace our cars.

Congrats on the payoff!

[Eagle]

Congrats ladonnarosso! It's a great feeling right?

How long do you plan on saving for a down payment on a house?

[ladonnarosso]

Congrats ladonnarosso! It's a great feeling right?

How long do you plan on saving for a down payment on a house?

It is a great feeling! We plan on spending at least the next year saving. We already have some saved, but I jumped the gun a little bit because I just couldn't stand having that car loan anymore so I used some of our savings to pay it off.

[Drake3287]

Great news! I'm just surprised you still write checks though!

[ladonnarosso]

Great news! I'm just surprised you still write checks though!

Oh Trust me, I tried to avoid it. However, because it was > $5000 they couldn't do it electronically.

[greenskeeper]

where are you allocating your "old car payment" ?

[ladonnarosso]

The amount that we were paying on the car I'm planning to sock away into a "house down payment" account for the next year or so and then it will go towards my husband student loan.

[WillieGearhart]

Hey, congrats for your all payoff, I can understand your excitement. Well done.