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« Should You Have More Than One Brokerage Account? | Main | Link to the Money Article »

Paid Off the Second Credit Card Today!

By JLP | March 23, 2006

This is the first time in my adult life that I can say, “I have no credit card debt!” Although it hurts to see the money get sucked out of our bank account to pay the cards off, it is a GREAT FEELING knowing that we no longer owe a credit card company anything. If you have credit card debt, I urge you to get serious about paying it off. YOU WILL BE GLAD YOU DID!

I know what you’re thinking: “he’s a financial planner and he’s just now paying off his credit cards?” The reason we hadn’t paid them off sooner was that our cards have been at 0% for the last 4 years (maybe more). So, there never was an urgency to pay them off. However, I saw the writing on the wall this year and decided now was the time to get them paid off because I felt that the 0% offers were going away.

Next month I want to pay off the car and the month after that, the house, and the month after that…

Topics: Credit, Credit Cards |


11 Responses to “Paid Off the Second Credit Card Today!”

  1. NCN Says:
    March 23rd, 2006 at 5:02 pm

    Hey, hey! Now you’re talking! Great job…
    NCN

  2. Brian Says:
    March 23rd, 2006 at 5:11 pm

    congrats JLP…and yes, that was exactly what I was thinking!

  3. Lisa Says:
    March 23rd, 2006 at 6:53 pm

    It feels AWESOME, doesn’t it??? Now, the trick is keeping them that way. It’s early in the year, start that Christmas savings account if you haven’t already…holidays have a tendency to cause people to “fall off the wagon”. :)

    Great job!

  4. SingleMom Says:
    March 23rd, 2006 at 8:42 pm

    WOOO HOOOO! CONGRATS!!

  5. Jonathan Radande Says:
    March 23rd, 2006 at 9:12 pm

    Good for you JLP. I can’t wait to experience that day myself.

  6. Steve Says:
    March 23rd, 2006 at 9:55 pm

    So did your 0% offers go away or do you just feel like they are going to?

    I’m currently getting offers of 1.9% but feel that it’s because of the somewhat large balance I’m carrying @ 0%. The same thing happened during the last round, but within a month of paying it off I was getting 0% offers again.

  7. JLP Says:
    March 23rd, 2006 at 10:48 pm

    Thanks everyone!

    Steve: I’m sure I could have stretched them out a bit longer at 0% but a lot of the cards had strings attached like minimum monthly purchases and stuff like that. My wife and I didn’t want the hassle and we had the funds to pay them off, so we did. It feels wonderful.

  8. fivecentnickel.com Says:
    March 23rd, 2006 at 11:22 pm

    Weekly Roundup - 03/24/06

    Here’s a quick look at some of this weeks best personal finance articles from the MoneyBlogNetwork and beyond…
    First and foremost, I want to plug the launch of the MBN Forums… Our intention has been to create a place for money blogger…

  9. Jason Youngquist Says:
    March 24th, 2006 at 9:12 am

    JLP,

    Congratulations! Not having debt is a great feeling. The trick is to keep from getting back into debt. Unfortunately, after many years, one gets used to having a credit card balance, so it takes a lot of self discipline to say “no more credit card debt for me, ever.” I just have my house payment to worry about and that’s it.

    –Jason

  10. Jason Says:
    March 24th, 2006 at 11:30 pm

    I had credit card debt for 13 years straight, from 19-32, and at 30, some $13,000 in the plastic hole, I finally decided to be done with it for good. 2 long years later, in September 2005, I paid off the last of it (which felt GOOD), and I haven’t carried a balance since. (sometimes I’ll let a balance hang for a single month, but I always have enough to pay it off).

    I feel about 40 pounds lighter.

  11. » Congrats to JLP at All Things Financial! - Financial Train Wreck Says:
    March 26th, 2006 at 5:53 pm

    [...] JLP at All Things Financial has reported that he has paid off his 2nd credit card and is now carrying Zero credit card debt! [...]