I've been working on this post for a long time. I had been in debt since I boarded the plane to college at 18. Senor Dog had been in debt since he financed his old Honda at 16. Now, in our late twenties, we don't owe anyone a dime. We've been debt free since November 08, so eight months now.
I knew the power debt has over your life when I consolidated my loans after grad school. Suddenly, I could log in and see that giant number staring at me. I checked it every day. It consumed me. I was worth more dead than alive.
After I paid off Sallie, there were the cars, oh and the 0% credit cards I just shifted form Sallie Mae.
When you're in debt, you're always working to catch up. When you live with payments, you're just trying to fill up the hole you dug little by little. It feels like you are going nowhere.
The Dave Ramsey-isms are something like the grass feels better when you pay off your house, or your car drives better when it isn't hauling a payment book. I didn't really feel that. It was really kind of anti-climactic when it was over. I remember writing right before I was debt free, expecting that magical feeling like when the people call in to yell with Dave Ramsey. It never really showed up though.
I wasn't ready for how it would feel a few months later. Suddenly, our money was ours. It went in the same account. There were no choices of which debt to pay or whether we should save more in an e-fund. No hard choices! We just save money because there are no debts to pay! We're making progress. We have a PILE OF CASH. We are free! That's when I saw the freedom.
Sunday, August 2, 2009
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
9 comments:
I totally agree. I just wrote a similiar post last night. It is great having money that is yours and not obligated to something else. Cash is king, baby.
GI Jane
I kept seeing Ducktails in my head when reading your post - that big huge vault of gold they'd always go swimming in! :)
Enjoy your pile of money, even if you don't go swimming in it!
I cannot even imagine how good that feels, but hopefully one day I will. On a smaller scale, we felt the same when we finally paid off one of my huge loans. However, we are nowhere near debt free, but working on it.
Kudos to you and Senor Dog!
Nice recap. I also felt a little anti-climactic after I killed off my mortgage, but the truth is that being debt-free freaking ROCKS.
It doesn't matter WHEN the feeling kicks in, no debt is still no debt and that is so dang liberating!! Keeping it that way even while unemployed is admirable. (Though having a Senor Dog is somewhat of a cheat--any chance you'll lend him--or maybe just his bank account--out?
Sometimes it takes a while for reality to sink in and hit you with that great feeling!
Fabulous, dog. Absolutely fabulous.
Way to go. I'm so looking forward to being able to say DEBT FREE
Congrats!
Post a Comment