As of today I have paid off all debt with the exception of my college loans. I paid off a lump sum of about $3,000. in debt to Capital One (who contrary to what they claimed in their ads a couple of years ago) are a huge hassle. I also paid off about $700. in debt to Mastercard. While I was on track with Capital One and would have been finished paying off my debt by next year had I continued to pay $200./month at 9% interest, it is my Mastercard that stressed me out. This is a revolving account, my first credit card which I signed up for in front of the dining hall in college. Though I paid on time and always paid at least 5X more than the minimum, I had not seen a zero balance on this card in almost 4 years. The highest it ever reached was around $2300. in 2005 and finally last summer it was looking like it would be paid off by August. But low and behold I charged a couple more things on it and I could not get out of the $500. balance range for the last several months. Finally about 3 weeks ago I decided to pay them everything I owed which was $694.86. I am not a homeowner so I have no idea what having 6 figure debt feels like but this was stressful enough. My biggest challenge now is should I shred the Mastercard or not because I still feel like I may feel like I "need" to use it during my next trip to the gas station. When I called Mastercard today and heard the automated service say the words I have been longing to hear for so long "your balance is zero dollars" I also noticed they added $1,000. to my line of credit. Thanks for the temptation.
And in one last final financial victory, though I normally do not pay coupons any mind, I received one in the mail last week for a free sandwich at Potbelly and I put it to use today. One veggie sandwich on the house. I feel so liberated.
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