Author Topic: Paid off my car this month and am now debt-free!  (Read 4627 times)

darkshark16

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Paid off my car this month and am now debt-free!
« on: August 29, 2015, 10:35:32 PM »
This month I completed a 6 month project of paying off my car. Here's some things I did that helped me do it!

Cut costs:
Limiting myself to $25 a week of fun money on a Google debit card
Roommate: Texting all my close friends to set me up with a roommate to cut my rent in half making it a very low bill
USAA: I got my family to sign up with USAA's auto insurance, which then allowed me to sign up and save hundreds on auto insurance after I applied all the discounts that they offer

Earned more:
Some things I recently sold online in the last 6 months: iMac, old Bike, PS3, N64, TV, video games old collectors toys—all the earnings went towards my debt
Chase Sapphire: I took a trip for my brother's wedding in Arizona and applied some credit card hacking by opening a Chase Sapphire card that gave me $400 extra bonus points that I was able to use towards paying my next 6-month auto insurance term and freeing more money for paying off my debt.
I took a retail job with Apple for almost 5 months and poured all the earnings into paying off my debt. (of course with the exception of 6% going into my 401k at a 75% match)

Compared to my brother and his sports car that's going to take 6 years to payoff, I feel pretty good about having a 2014 Sonata paid off in full and still covered for 8.5 years under Hyundai's warranty. Even throwing as much as I did at my debt, I'm surprised to say that I was still saving more through my main job's pension and the Apple 401k, than what the average American is saving, but now I plan on bumping this up even more so now that my car is paid off and I have a higher cashflow!

Also I left the Apple job this week and am back to working my normal 40 hours a week with weekends off. So much less stress than working 65 hours a week with now off days and I have so much more time to pursue all the wonderful things that make life worth living! Maybe I'll even go outside and get a tan.

However, I'm in my mid 20s and now it's kinda awkward to hangout with all friends that are complaining about all their debt . . .

Some things I did to help stay the course:
Small splurges - purchased the entry-level Apple Watch for half-off with discount for $175, I bought it as a halfway goal-completion treat, but I'm considering selling it later for closer to $300 and making some money off of it. (it retails for $350)
Social life - hanging out/talking with my best friend (who's also an accountant and fellow mustachian) for encouragement and hanging out with others and doing frugal things like hosting game nights.
Reminding myself of why I’m doing it and what the benefits of being debt-free are
Holding a carrot of a PS4/Brazilian steakhouse in front of me for when I finish. However, I've yet to reward myself with either of these though and am just ecstatic to have my free time back after leaving the 2nd job.
« Last Edit: August 29, 2015, 10:41:32 PM by darkshark16 »

N

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Re: Paid off my car this month and am now debt-free!
« Reply #1 on: August 29, 2015, 11:56:20 PM »
congrats! your hard work paid off (pun intended)
now set a new goal to work for! stay motivated :)

Killerbrandt

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Re: Paid off my car this month and am now debt-free!
« Reply #2 on: August 30, 2015, 08:53:05 AM »
Yay!!! Congrats!!!

Kimchi Bleu

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Re: Paid off my car this month and am now debt-free!
« Reply #3 on: September 02, 2015, 06:34:07 AM »
Nice!  What's your new goal that you are working towards?

Rosy

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Re: Paid off my car this month and am now debt-free!
« Reply #4 on: September 02, 2015, 07:28:51 AM »
Wow - love it when a plan comes together! Sweet deal on that apple watch - I'm envious:)

So what's the next goal - the 401K alone isn't exciting enough:) for you I'd wager.

CashFlowDiaries

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Re: Paid off my car this month and am now debt-free!
« Reply #5 on: September 02, 2015, 01:03:55 PM »
That is awesome! Congrats.  What are you going to do with that extra money now?

tarheeldan

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Re: Paid off my car this month and am now debt-free!
« Reply #6 on: September 02, 2015, 01:09:50 PM »
Congratulations!!

Lady Fordragon

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Re: Paid off my car this month and am now debt-free!
« Reply #7 on: September 02, 2015, 01:27:27 PM »
Congrats!  It's such an awesome feeling when the debts hanging over one's head are paid off. 

PFHC

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Re: Paid off my car this month and am now debt-free!
« Reply #8 on: September 03, 2015, 01:02:39 AM »
Congrats! Keep at it. Started paying off my debt two years ago, finished ALL the wasteful debt in 18 months. Only debt left is my mortgage which I am hoping to have killed by mid-2017.

All that awesomeness quickly snow-balled into aiming to be FI in 7 years. This stuff is powerful!

Wilson Hall

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Re: Paid off my car this month and am now debt-free!
« Reply #9 on: September 03, 2015, 11:39:04 AM »
Congrats!

CU Tiger

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Re: Paid off my car this month and am now debt-free!
« Reply #10 on: September 03, 2015, 08:32:10 PM »
Congrats, it's the bomb, isn't it? When we became debt free we could not believe how quick the money started piling up.

Dicey

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Re: Paid off my car this month and am now debt-free!
« Reply #11 on: September 04, 2015, 12:37:13 PM »
Just gotta say I love that so far, no one's said, "Good, now sell it and buy a beater instead." Don't worry, I'm not that person. Just take good care of it so it lasts a long, long time.

RetiredAt63

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Re: Paid off my car this month and am now debt-free!
« Reply #12 on: September 10, 2015, 09:12:01 AM »
Isn't it great?!? I paid off my car last spring, and that extra money is nice to have.  Just because my car is a 2010 with 189,000 km doesn't mean I need a newer one, it will do me another 5 years.

MissStache

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Re: Paid off my car this month and am now debt-free!
« Reply #13 on: September 10, 2015, 09:22:48 AM »
Wow, I was expecting to leave just a "good for you!" comment but instead I am going to leave a "HOLY SHIT YOU'RE AWESOME" comment!  I am super impressed by how hard you work and how creative you got!  Getting a roommate and a second job are both huge, challenging improvements and you did BOTH.

Kudos on your drive and dedication.  Enjoy your weekends back!
« Last Edit: September 10, 2015, 09:25:03 AM by MissStache »

FunkyStickman

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Re: Paid off my car this month and am now debt-free!
« Reply #14 on: September 10, 2015, 09:24:28 AM »
Rock on!

burkevalocks

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Re: Paid off my car this month and am now debt-free!
« Reply #15 on: September 17, 2015, 03:46:19 PM »
nicely done I am sure it feels great to be debt free. Not having to worry about things like relieves so much stress off of life.