I'm still debt free, just in case people are wondering.
I actually have switched to the Capital One Venture card for all my purchases and pay it off every week. I went to Seattle with the gf a couple weeks ago and got the hotel we stayed at for free from all the points I've accumulated ($500 value)
I hope that this thread can be an inspiration to those in a similar dilemma
$17,641 paid off in 34 months (2 months early). And let me tell you....that was a significant portion of our meager income. No matter your circumstances, you too, can pay off credit card debt. This was one of the most meaningful life journeys I've ever taken. Thank you IBJAnky and FW!
My dearest hope is to see more Freedom Checks posted here in the future.
bindercarrie said: In the spirit of the world going' round.....
$17,641 paid off in 34 months (2 months early). And let me tell you....that was a significant portion of our meager income. No matter your circumstances, you too, can pay off credit card debt. This was one of the most meaningful life journeys I've ever taken. Thank you IBJAnky and FW!
My dearest hope is to see more Freedom Checks posted here in the future.
bindercarrie said: In the spirit of the world going' round.....
$17,641 paid off in 34 months (2 months early). And let me tell you....that was a significant portion of our meager income. No matter your circumstances, you too, can pay off credit card debt. This was one of the most meaningful life journeys I've ever taken. Thank you IBJAnky and FW!
My dearest hope is to see more Freedom Checks posted here in the future.
Congrats to those that got inspired by IBJanky. I see that my post of getting out of debt was close to 2 years ago (Dec 1st 2009). I've since paid off the car and built up a good bit of emergency savings, lots of 401k input, but I still do have a pesky second mortgage I need to get rid of. My goal is to try and refinance around February to possibly a 20 year, we'll have to wait and see what's going on with the housing market, HARP, rates, etc. at that time.
bindercarrie said: In the spirit of the world going' round.....
$17,641 paid off in 34 months (2 months early). And let me tell you....that was a significant portion of our meager income. No matter your circumstances, you too, can pay off credit card debt. This was one of the most meaningful life journeys I've ever taken. Thank you IBJAnky and FW!
My dearest hope is to see more Freedom Checks posted here in the future.
IBJanky said: I'm still debt free, just in case people are wondering.
I actually have switched to the Capital One Venture card for all my purchases and pay it off every week. I went to Seattle with the gf a couple weeks ago and got the hotel we stayed at for free from all the points I've accumulated ($500 value)
I hope that this thread can be an inspiration to those in a similar dilemma
mykeHappy anniversary of going debt free! Your journey was an inspiration to me (and others), and one of your legacies is that each year I spend the morning of July 4 working on my cash management strategies for the second half of each year. (I do the first half on Christmas morning.)
i don't have a freedom check to show, but we haven't paid any CC or auto loan interest since jan 1, 2008, feels so much better to "save up" for things, rather than wonder how to pay for them 45 days later.
Yes, not having any consumer loans is extremely liberating. The funny thing is, you never really have to go there in the first place. Teach your children to only buy what they can afford (i.e. what they have saved up cash for), and they will never even know what it feels like to have had any debt (except maybe a home loan or student loan).
At the beginning of 2012, wife and I had $29,500 in debt from $10k family loan to help buy first house, $13k in personal loan to do house renovations, and additional credit card debt. Put ourselves on a plan to pay off debt in 18 months mostly by putting all the wife's income toward debt, tracked it every month. Took a week trip to Florida, a two week trip to South America (miles), and built a deck this year. Going to the bank this afternoon to write the last check to payoff our debt! $30k in 12 months! Now for savings.
Missed my July bump (sorry IBJ, but belated congrats again).
Only makes sense to make my new bump be in Jan.
And a reminder to all... although some of the "means" or strategies used in this "quest" are no longer valid or available, the overall results can be achieved, with enough attention to detail applied.
Frugality (especially cash based) can become an everyday part of life. Step 1 is like they said on Saturday Night Live... “Don’t Buy Stuff You Cannot Afford.”
Would like to post my progress as a contribution to the thread. I started reading the finance forum seriously about 2.5 years ago and getting my ducks in a row.
In mid-2011 I took my first job after my graduate degree. At the time had the following balances:
Change in Net Worth in ~18 mo: $77000 on gross of ~150k before taxes in same time period
Appreciate all the help along the way and reading stories like IBJ's. I will keep on plugging away. 2013 will be big on loan repayment now that CC debts are taken care of and emergency funds are in place.
6.5 years ago graduated MBA school with 58k in loans. (22k at 8%, 36k at 1.6%) Made payments on them of 22k by the time car died 5.5 years ago and bought a new one for 26k at 7%. Refi'd months later to cut rate to 3%. Car paid off end of 2009. Debt free by mid 2011. Current assets = 97k (retirement = 48k, lendingclub = 43k, liquid/other = 6k) Debts = 0.
It's all about not ramping up your lifestyle when your income increases and avoiding interest at all costs if possible (*only exception being principal residence if it makes sense or if you're a RE investor). I've lived in the same small apartment for the past seven+ years.
If you carry credit card debt you're a fool-banks make more from people carrying credit card debt than casinos do from gamblers.
kat8mouse said: Just wanted to say thanks to IBJanky for starting this thread. It was a true inspiration to me and I am on my way to being debt free by December 2013.
I read this thread and was inspired. I am suffering from a similar problem but I'm not sure how I can get IBJanky's method to work for me. If anyone could give me advice I would appreciate it.
Credit score: around 670.
Credit cards:
Discover with 13.99% APR and 8k limit. $11k balance Retail Visa with 10.9 % APR and 10k limit. $9k balance.
I have several other credit cards with 10k limits and very high APR % but no balance. Also have a visa with $500 limit but no balance (newest card). I have collected $4k in cash. The reason I haven't used it towards a credit card yet is because I wanted to see if they could lower my interest rates first. I called my credit card companies and told them I was under financial distress. This is what they offered:
Discover: -1% APR for one year Visa: -3.9% APR forever with smaller minimum payments but I have to close my account (this is my oldest card)
Do you think I could do better if I keep asking?
The reason I don't think IBJanky's method will work for me is because 1. I cannot do a cash advance for any card since I'm already over the limit or almost at the limit for both cards. The other cards with no balance have very high APRs so I don't see how it would help and 2. I tried applying for a 0 balance credit card not quite a year ago, but only got a $500 limit (probably because my credit score isn't that great and all my credit cards are either maxxed out or over the limit) amd 3. I've already told my credit card companies I'm in financial distress (but I haven't had any late payments or accepted their offers).
I think you should start a new thread. In that thread, mention what kind of cash advance checks promo offer do the other "several other credit cards" offer? Do they have promo rates of even 3-4% with a 4% fee?
hurro said: I read this thread and was inspired. I am suffering from a similar problem but I'm not sure how I can get IBJanky's method to work for me. If anyone could give me advice I would appreciate it.
Credit score: around 670.
Credit cards:
Discover with 13.99% APR and 8k limit. $11k balance Retail Visa with 10.9 % APR and 10k limit. $9k balance.
Why do you have a 8k limit with Discover, yet have an 11k balance? How did that happen?
IBJanky said: hurro said: I read this thread and was inspired. I am suffering from a similar problem but I'm not sure how I can get IBJanky's method to work for me. If anyone could give me advice I would appreciate it.
Credit score: around 670.
Credit cards:
Discover with 13.99% APR and 8k limit. $11k balance Retail Visa with 10.9 % APR and 10k limit. $9k balance.
Why do you have a 8k limit with Discover, yet have an 11k balance? How did that happen?
Stupid spending when I was younger. It just kept piling on and they don't charge over the limit fees.
Should I enroll in the hardship programs my credit cards offered me (but I don't think I'll be able to get a new balance transfer card in the future)? Or should I get my Discover card just under the limit with the cash I have and try applying for a balance transfer card again? Not sure if this will work because both cards will still be close to the limit and I've already told my credit card companies I'm having financial issues (they could check to see if I opened new lines of credit, not sure if this would matter if I'm not technically enrolled in the hardship programs).
hurro said: I read this thread and was inspired. I am suffering from a similar problem but I'm not sure how I can get IBJanky's method to work for me. If anyone could give me advice I would appreciate it.
Credit score: around 670.
Credit cards:
Discover with 13.99% APR and 8k limit. $11k balance Retail Visa with 10.9 % APR and 10k limit. $9k balance.
I have several other credit cards with 10k limits and very high APR % but no balance. Also have a visa with $500 limit but no balance (newest card). I have collected $4k in cash. The reason I haven't used it towards a credit card yet is because I wanted to see if they could lower my interest rates first. I called my credit card companies and told them I was under financial distress. This is what they offered:
Discover: -1% APR for one year Visa: -3.9% APR forever with smaller minimum payments but I have to close my account (this is my oldest card)
Do you think I could do better if I keep asking?
The reason I don't think IBJanky's method will work for me is because 1. I cannot do a cash advance for any card since I'm already over the limit or almost at the limit for both cards. The other cards with no balance have very high APRs so I don't see how it would help and 2. I tried applying for a 0 balance credit card not quite a year ago, but only got a $500 limit (probably because my credit score isn't that great and all my credit cards are either maxxed out or over the limit) amd 3. I've already told my credit card companies I'm in financial distress (but I haven't had any late payments or accepted their offers).
What to do?
I was in a similar situation when I first started this thread.
The Visa 3.9% offer isn’t that bad. It’s probably a good thing that you have one less credit card at this point, so you won’t be tempted to charge more.
The Discover offer doesn’t really help much. What you really want is a 0% APR offer.
I’d take the 3.9% offer, and just pay the minimum payment on that account. Then I would dump all my available funds to your highest APR card, which is the Discover.
Start cutting your monthly expenses as much as you can. Stop going eating out, no Starbucks, cut your cable bill, stuff like that. You’ll really have to be serious about this if you want to pay off your debts. It will take time, but acquiring all that debt took time too.
Hopefully you’ll get some new 0% APR offers, and if you do, then you would want to transfer the Discover balance onto it, and save yourself the interest.
IBJanky said: hurro said: I read this thread and was inspired. I am suffering from a similar problem but I'm not sure how I can get IBJanky's method to work for me. If anyone could give me advice I would appreciate it.
Credit score: around 670.
Credit cards:
Discover with 13.99% APR and 8k limit. $11k balance Retail Visa with 10.9 % APR and 10k limit. $9k balance.
I have several other credit cards with 10k limits and very high APR % but no balance. Also have a visa with $500 limit but no balance (newest card). I have collected $4k in cash. The reason I haven't used it towards a credit card yet is because I wanted to see if they could lower my interest rates first. I called my credit card companies and told them I was under financial distress. This is what they offered:
Discover: -1% APR for one year Visa: -3.9% APR forever with smaller minimum payments but I have to close my account (this is my oldest card)
Do you think I could do better if I keep asking?
The reason I don't think IBJanky's method will work for me is because 1. I cannot do a cash advance for any card since I'm already over the limit or almost at the limit for both cards. The other cards with no balance have very high APRs so I don't see how it would help and 2. I tried applying for a 0 balance credit card not quite a year ago, but only got a $500 limit (probably because my credit score isn't that great and all my credit cards are either maxxed out or over the limit) amd 3. I've already told my credit card companies I'm in financial distress (but I haven't had any late payments or accepted their offers).
What to do?
I was in a similar situation when I first started this thread.
The Visa 3.9% offer isn’t that bad. It’s probably a good thing that you have one less credit card at this point, so you won’t be tempted to charge more.
The Discover offer doesn’t really help much. What you really want is a 0% APR offer.
I’d take the 3.9% offer, and just pay the minimum payment on that account. Then I would dump all my available funds to your highest APR card, which is the Discover.
Start cutting your monthly expenses as much as you can. Stop going eating out, no Starbucks, cut your cable bill, stuff like that. You’ll really have to be serious about this if you want to pay off your debts. It will take time, but acquiring all that debt took time too.
Hopefully you’ll get some new 0% APR offers, and if you do, then you would want to transfer the Discover balance onto it, and save yourself the interest.
The Visa offer would mean my interest rate would be 7%. Not 3.9%. I don't know if I explained it correctly. It would be 3.9% less than what it is now. Forgive me if you understood that the first time.
I don't know how I could get balance transfer offers in the future if I took this deal, because Visa would close my account. I imagine the best deal would be for me to get a 0 or low APR balance transfer card ASAP. I don't think I'd be very successful in getting one right now because my score is 670 and both my accounts are close to the limit or over the limit. Even if I used my $5k in cash to pay them off, they would still be close to the limit ($6k out of $8k on discover, $9k out of $10k on visa).
The discover card deal isn't that good at all but it basically has no downside. They don't close the account, report it to anyone, etc. It's all internal.
Any advice on what to do moving forward? I have already cut spending and I even got a 2nd part-time job for additional income. Before, I could barely pay the minimum payments and would still be charging to the card. I have not used the cards for months now and starting this month can put $1100 towards the cards every month.
Hurro, you mentioned having a number of cards that have no balance currently. As was asked above, do you get any balance transfer or promo check offers on these? If so, what are the terms offered?
And how much older is the "Retail Visa" than your other accounts? While it's understandable that someone that doesn't carry a balance would never willingly close their oldest account, in your circumstances I would think there would need to be a very compelling reason to keep it open at the expense of 3.9% in extra interest costs.
dbond79 said: Hurro, you mentioned having a number of cards that have no balance currently. As was asked above, do you get any balance transfer or promo check offers on these? If so, what are the terms offered?
And how much older is the "Retail Visa" than your other accounts? While it's understandable that someone that doesn't carry a balance would never willingly close their oldest account, in your circumstances I would think there would need to be a very compelling reason to keep it open at the expense of 3.9% in extra interest costs.
No, I don't. They're retail cards with a visa or AMEX logo.
The retail visa which has a balance is my oldest card is 8 years old. The rest of the cards were opened 3-4 years ago and one card was opened less than a year ago.
The problem with the offer Visa gave me (-3.9% APR reduction) is that it would be a special hardship program, account would be closed, and I would be on a payment plan. Not sure if accepting this plan would not allow me to transfer this balance to a 0% APR card in the future.
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