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Impatient!

September 11th, 2014 at 05:06 pm

I have recently begun to completely understand the value of "snowballing" debt payoff vs. "avalanching" it. While I know the avalanche makes more financial sense and that's the plan I have set up, I'm smack in the middle of a five-year plan and am just itching for those payoffs to start!

I did pay off one card in July, a few months early, but it was a low-interest, low-balance, low payment card, so while paying it off felt good, it didn't really pack much punch. A smiley face, rather than a gold star, I guess.

Looking at my payoff schedule, though, I have my first avalanched balance due to be paid off in February 2015. (And that balance should only be around $90 so I will probably just pay the whole thing off in January.) I also have one of my hardship repayments that will be paid off in February, just by doing the minimums. Then I have cards getting paid off in March, April, June, August, and October.

(I may even do some debt consolidation to a lower interest rate, so some of those may be technically paid off even sooner, but I want to make sure I'm doing the logical thing and not the emotional thing, there.)

From there I have a couple more cards and a P2P loan, which will all be done by June 2016. (And then of course I have 401(k) loans and personal loans and real estate loans....)

So I'm far from being anywhere near debt-free, but I am so, so ready to be credit card debt free!!
I can't even explain -- and probably don't need to, really, for most people here -- how exciting it is to see the end of credit card debt in sight, after having it hanging over my head for the last 20 years. I find myself obsessively checking my bank account and Mint to be sure I've credited every penny correctly and the payments are on the right schedule, etc. I'm sure subconsciously I'm hoping I'll check and the balance will miraculously be zero!

Off to sing myself a little Carly Simon song and maybe have a little ketchup.... Wink

Posted in Credit Cards, Debt, Personal Finance | 4 Comments »

4 Responses to “Impatient!”

  1. creditcardfree Says:
    September 11th, 2014 at 05:24 pm 1410456243
    1410456243

    Oh, those of us who have paid off debt know what it is like to be obsessive about checking accounts and hoping for a miracle check in the mail! January 2015 really isn't too far off. I look forward to celebrating with you then.

  2. frugalredhead Says:
    September 11th, 2014 at 06:59 pm 1410461972
    1410461972

    I feel your pain! I started paying off credit card debt in January and just paid off my first card last month. My next won't be paid off until May 2015 (2 of them then), and not until May 2016, December 2016, and February 2017. If I had to find a bright side, it's that the great feeling of paying off that first card makes me even more motivated to get the next done faster! I am hoping for maybe a larger tax refund than I'm expecting, or something to get me there quicker! I've been selling everything I can think of on Ebay.

    Of course, after the credit card debt, is 2 car loans, a camper, student loans, mortgage.... we are FAR from debt free but without the credit card debt it'll be so much easier to get the rest paid off!

  3. snafu Says:
    September 11th, 2014 at 11:59 pm 1410479964
    1410479964

    Wonderful! You've created a plan and are following through. January and February are mere days away when compared with carrying CC balances for the past 20 years. Has the process changed your spending habits? I've found SA keeps me more focussed on identifying, what is a need, what is a want and what I will need to release to keep the volume of stuff the same.

    I saw the commercials for Apple watches and fail to understand their appeal.

  4. KellyB Says:
    September 12th, 2014 at 12:31 am 1410481904
    1410481904

    Great job on the motivation! Don't be surprised when you begin to "find" money in your budget, ways to trim here and there, and the avalanche starts to tumble down the debt. It is truly interesting to see once you start focusing on one debt how you can find ways to throw just a little more and a little more at it and it disappears! Good luck and let us know how it's going!

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