I know we still have a ways to go until we are debt free. And it is most likely that we will need to incur debt in the next few years because we will need to buy a car, and save for a down payment and hopefully have a mortgage within the next five years.
And at $22,061.79 left, my student loans are no joke. But before I get depressed about how much debt still remains….Today, we celebrate that we are credit card debt free!
We are credit card debt free!
I made the last payment to our Citi Card today! All we have left to pay off are my student loans!
And what better way to celebrate tonight than with a FREE semi-fancy dinner out, courtesy of a mystery shop? Love me a free date night!
I have updated our debt numbers. In less than a year, we have paid off $9,523.17! How amazing is that?
I wish I would have calculated our total debt when we had just gotten married. Because these numbers do not reflect the $5,000 in credit cards we paid off within the first 8 months of marriage. But I hadn’t completely jumped aboard the let’s-pay-off-our-debt wagon quite yet.
Since then, we’ve paid off my car and we’ve paid off our credit cards as of today! Man, that feels so good!
The next stop is coming up with a student loan payment plan. Now that we’re living in a bigger place and our rent is higher, we can’t save or pay off as much as we have been this past year.
We plan on doing the snowball method to pay off my student loans, from smallest to biggest, and we hope to have them paid off by the end of 2015, which gives us 3.5 years.
We’re taking a slower approach to paying off the student loans because there are some other things we want to do that we’ve put off, like finally going on a honeymoon!
Our plan to pay off my student loans includes:
- Making double payments each month from our regular take-home income
- Contributing the extra payment toward the smallest loan first
- Contributing anything over $500 from my extra money toward student loan debt
Now excuse me while I go do a little happy dance….
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37 comments
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A Super Girl
March 19, 2012 at 9:55 am (UTC -7) Link to this comment
Wooo! You’re my budgeting hero!
frugalportland
March 12, 2012 at 11:29 am (UTC -7) Link to this comment
Congratulations! Good luck with the rest!
Jordann
March 12, 2012 at 9:23 am (UTC -7) Link to this comment
Congrats! Glad to see your hard work paying off.
Carrie Smith
March 12, 2012 at 7:54 am (UTC -7) Link to this comment
Congratulations guys! That’s an awesome accomplishment and definitely worth celebrating. For me, my credit card debt was the “heaviest weight” on my shoulders. For some reason I was WAY more excited to get rid of that debt than anything else. Good luck in the future
Ashley
March 12, 2012 at 6:48 am (UTC -7) Link to this comment
Congratulations! That is no joke! Way to go!
Tushar@StartInvestingMoney
March 12, 2012 at 5:19 am (UTC -7) Link to this comment
Feels good, doesn’t it? Congrats and hope you get to go to your honeymoon very soon
Hannah
March 11, 2012 at 6:18 pm (UTC -7) Link to this comment
I did one of those “WOO HOOs” when I read the title of this post. Congrats – you so deserve the date night!
Jessica @ Budget For Health
March 11, 2012 at 5:12 pm (UTC -7) Link to this comment
congrats! I am doing a happy dance with you since we just paid off our student loans! I like your approach to doubling up payments- keep chipping away at those loans and you’ll be done before you know it!
Serendipity
March 11, 2012 at 1:35 pm (UTC -7) Link to this comment
Congrats!
Lisa
March 11, 2012 at 12:23 pm (UTC -7) Link to this comment
Wow, congratulations! You guys are doing amazing at getting rid of your debt and seem to have a very reasonable and well thought out plan. I’m impressed!
Jackie
March 11, 2012 at 9:49 am (UTC -7) Link to this comment
Congrats on getting your credit cards paid off! That’s awesome
SB @ One Cent At A Time
March 11, 2012 at 7:49 am (UTC -7) Link to this comment
Congratulation on awesome achievement
Bach
March 10, 2012 at 11:30 pm (UTC -7) Link to this comment
Congrats! We have also paid off $4000 or so of wedding debt (went over budget: also not great trackers) in the last year and it feels great! Hoping to get to the same level of momentum that you have reached! It is celebrating and recognizing each and every small and large step along the way that counts! Revel in it!
Kay Lynn @ Bucksome Boomer
March 10, 2012 at 3:49 pm (UTC -7) Link to this comment
Well done! I’m so happy for you I’ll dance too.
Marissa @ Thirty Six Months
March 10, 2012 at 11:38 am (UTC -7) Link to this comment
Congrats!!! Wooohoo that is amazing!
Leah @ The Miracle Journal
March 10, 2012 at 8:47 am (UTC -7) Link to this comment
WOOOOOOOOHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!
shannon
March 10, 2012 at 7:54 am (UTC -7) Link to this comment
Yay!! Good for you!! that is awesome
Laura
March 9, 2012 at 7:55 pm (UTC -7) Link to this comment
Congrats! That’s awesome how much you paid off in such a short time.
Jess @JessCantCook
March 9, 2012 at 6:29 pm (UTC -7) Link to this comment
Congratulations! That’s definitely something to celebrate
One Frugal Girl
March 9, 2012 at 5:53 pm (UTC -7) Link to this comment
Congratulations! I’m so happy for you!
Teacher Girl
March 9, 2012 at 5:40 pm (UTC -7) Link to this comment
Congrats!!! That is awesome! =)
jolie
March 9, 2012 at 4:14 pm (UTC -7) Link to this comment
congratulations! how exciting for you two.
Well Heeled Blog
March 9, 2012 at 3:20 pm (UTC -7) Link to this comment
Congratulations!! This is fantastics news!
Well Heeled Blog
March 9, 2012 at 3:20 pm (UTC -7) Link to this comment
Congratulations!! This is fantastic news.
Jeff
March 9, 2012 at 2:40 pm (UTC -7) Link to this comment
being credit card debt free is a big step. I applaud you for it.
Jeff @ Sustainable Life Blog
March 9, 2012 at 2:00 pm (UTC -7) Link to this comment
That is awesome! When I paid mine off completely for the first time in about 8 years 2 years ago, I really felt like I could start breathing easier!
Rosie
March 9, 2012 at 1:39 pm (UTC -7) Link to this comment
We paid off our credit card too this month! Isn’t it a great feeling? I’m hoping we never have to use it ever again. I’m so excited to start saving (is that lame? It sounds lame).
Well done
Lindy Mint
March 9, 2012 at 1:20 pm (UTC -7) Link to this comment
Yay! Congratulations!!! I know what a great feeling that must be.
Enjoy your celebration!
DCSquared
March 9, 2012 at 1:04 pm (UTC -7) Link to this comment
WOOOO HOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!! We are as well!!!!!!!! It feels sooo good!!!!!!! And my credit score jumped like 50 pts!!! WOOSAH!!
)
ps- But now we are using it for 5% cash back. We have Discover and paying it off every week. we made $29.47 last month alone!!!
shopping2saving
March 9, 2012 at 1:03 pm (UTC -7) Link to this comment
CONGRATS E!!!!! That’s fantastic news!
I still remember when I paid off my credit card (from consumer debt 
) and it was the best day of my life to finally feel free from those chains of Citibank. Congrats once again, I know it is a HUGE accomplishment!
Melissa
March 9, 2012 at 12:34 pm (UTC -7) Link to this comment
Congratulations!! We paid off our cc’s last month. It felt amazing!
Margie
March 9, 2012 at 12:23 pm (UTC -7) Link to this comment
Congratulations!! A very proud moment that was the result of lots of hardwork!
Angie
March 9, 2012 at 12:22 pm (UTC -7) Link to this comment
Contrats! I just rescheduled a big snowball amount towards our Best Buy card to Monday, can’t wait to see that number drop!
Adrienne
March 9, 2012 at 11:57 am (UTC -7) Link to this comment
Ah! Congratulations! Your hard work paid off! Great job!
The Happy Homeowner
March 9, 2012 at 11:52 am (UTC -7) Link to this comment
This is fantastic news; congrats!!! Time for a bit of a celebration
Michelle
March 9, 2012 at 11:51 am (UTC -7) Link to this comment
Congrats! What a great feeling!
tabitha
March 9, 2012 at 11:49 am (UTC -7) Link to this comment
Woohoo, good job thats awesome. SO happy for you!!!
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