I have finally paid off my credit card

[Chillie]

You may remember last year that I had a line in my sig along the lines of:

"A fully paid off credit card? NOT THIS YEAR!"

Well, I was inline to have it fully paid off by the end of May this year untill I bought my Canon 450D back in February this year. Then I bought some accessories for it so the credit card was almost maxed out at one stage.

Having received a large, unexpected inheritance at the end of October I was able to buy a new (to me) car and pay most of my credit card off.

Today, I finally paid the rest of the credit card off meaning for the first time in years, I am now debt FREE!http://www.iceinspace.com.au/forum/../vbiis/images/smilies/party05.gif http://www.iceinspace.com.au/forum/../vbiis/images/smilies/party05.gif http://www.iceinspace.com.au/forum/../vbiis/images/smilies/party05.gif http://www.iceinspace.com.au/forum/../vbiis/images/smilies/party05.gif http://www.iceinspace.com.au/forum/../vbiis/images/smilies/party05.gif

Yep! I celebrated by eating a whole chocolate mud cake in one go washed down with 2 600ml cartons of banana flavored milk,and I'm quarter way through a bottle of Claytons.

This new found freedom won't last though because I will be getting my car serviced and getting a cruise control fitted next month.

I hope you share my excitement.

[leon]

Good on ya Henry, but I cant say how that would feel, never owned a card of any description, always physically attend the bank for cash, and I too am debt free, everything i have i own, nice feeling it is too.

Leon

[Screwdriverone]

Hi Henry,

NICE WORK!

Cant say the same myself.

I was thinking though.......

There seems to be a few items on the signature, namely....Argo Navis (on the wish list) | Telrad (on the wish list

Tempted??? :wink2:
Cheers

Chris

[Chillie]

Thanks Leon. I also have a high interest Store Card but that is fully paid off and has been since last year.

My telescope is fully paid off now along with all my other stuff.:)

[Chillie]

Not at the moment Chris. Taking the car in to the workshop next month could set me back up to $2,000. They charge ~$93 per hour for labour.

[Esseth]

As a debt collector, I can say good idea :D

[erick]

Well done! Took me about 20 years to get the balance of my several cards back to zero. Hope all you bank shareholders have enjoyed the dividend returns from your shareholdings - please thank me!


BTW - two morgages still going strong!

[Chillie]

I've never paid the minimum amount. I always pay more usually $400 - $500 per month. And I'm on a pension.

[jjjnettie]

Congratulations Henry.
It must be a massive load off your shoulders.

[Miaplacidus]

Well done, Henry! Enjoy the freedom, even if it seems you will soon embrace the debt-bogey again.

Alan, you're a brave man, fessing that up in this thread.

Yes, Eric, I specially asked the bank to directly charge my dividends to your credit card account. Much appreciated. :drink:

[Chillie]

Thanks Jeanette. Imagine getting a letter from a Law Firm you've never heard of before containing a large cheque on a Friday with the rego on your current bomb expiring in 8 days. That is what happened to me. With all that money, I didn't want to re-register the old bomb. I found my new car quickly. Paid for it plus paid $4,000 off my credit card in one day. That took the balance of my credit card to below $100. But with interest it climbed to a bit over $100 which I paid today.

Two bank employees (including the teller) asked me if I wanted to close my credit card account because the balance is $0.00. I said no.

[jenchris]

Well done Chillie - it's a great feeling innit?
I've got 4 credit cards, they're all zero - like my mortgage.
I have enough credit to buy a 5 series BMW.
But I'm a bit frugal - I'm unwilling to go into debt - I own my life, why let a bank have it?

[Jen]

:eyepop: woohooo good on ya buddy :thumbsup:

Now lets take Jen shopping and we can fill it up again :lol: mine is maxed out :rofl::rofl::P

[Analog6]

I got into awful strife with them 15 years or so ago and now only have debit card. If I ain't got the money I don't buy.

[multiweb]

Good for you! I make a point to clear mine at the end of each month and never go over $1k down unless absolute necessary. CC is real handy because you do need money in case of an emergency regardless if you have it at hand or not. Banks are not the best at making it easy or fast and convenient to use your own money. See a trend there? ;) A lot of online shop and commercial services will require one too so unfortunately there's no easy way around not having one. It is easy to go overboard though. It all adds up and sneaks up on you. :P

[jenchris]

Can't hire a car without a credit card.

[Barrykgerdes]

I find a CC very usefull and do almost all purchases (up to $10000) on it. Oh and by the way if the company you wish to purchase from regularly wants direct debit, find another supplier. It will cost you much less in the end.

The secret is to run a proper monthly/yearly budget with all your reccuring expenses listed at least up to two years ahead. A spread sheet can do this. I use a 1985 version of Symphony that has recorded all my transactions since. Yes I get reward points which I convert into gift cards to use as Xmas presents at Xmas time.

I keep a daily record of income/expenditure and bank balance. I enter each purchase in an appropriate column and check it against my CC statement each month and ALWAYS PAY THE FULL AMOUNT BY THE DUE DATE.

If you look at my remarks on impulse buying you will see that I have bought more junk than most could afford on a similar income to me (AOP +super). This because of careful money management.

Barry

[Barrykgerdes]

You can't get Etags either. I don't use tollways.

That reminds me of an experience a friend had in New York in the 1960's. He wanted to rent a car and in those days C/Cards were things like Diners or Amex. Hardly even known in OZ. After going through his wallet I think he produced a NRMA membership card in the end. This was accepted and he got his rental car!

That same friend also had a lucky escape on that trip. He had to fly somewhere and flying was like a bus trip you got in the queue and the plane loaded. When full it took off. He was about 6 places behind the last passenger. That plane never made it to its destination no survivors.

Barry

[ZeroID]

I got made redundant march this year. Payout cleared my mortgage. The next day I started work for the IT company that my ex company brought in as an outsource, .... doing the same job in the same place.

It ain't all beer and skittles, lost some income but no mortgage more than made the difference. Now I'm just bored instead. Limited by the contractual arrangements as to what I can do.

So I built a 10" telescope .......

True ..!!

[Ric]

Top stuff Henry

It's always a good feeling not to owe money.

[Barrykgerdes]

A wise decision. Much better than putting into super. When you retire there is nothing better than owning your own home. You can then live on a very small super (or OAP if it is still available) and still have money over to enjoy life. That is what I did (although they would not give me redundancy) I was still able to discharge all debts before retirement.

Barry

[erick]

Are they charging you an annual fee for the card and a separate annual fee for the rewards scheme? I find that it is much harder to get the benefits from credit cards we used to get, especially when so many merchants now charge fees for credit card use (outrageous fees in the case of some, like Qantas!!)

[jenchris]

I've been made redundant twice and I'd only been working for the companies for 10 months! No payout...
Of course being my age, it's also difficult to get back into the fray.
I can probably out fitness most 45 year olds and I'm relegated to, "careful, she might have a heart attack".... soddit

[snowyskiesau]

Congratulations. It's a good feeling being debt free - I hope to experience it soon. :)

In the past, I've used my credit card for most purchases but always paid it off in full every month. Not having worked for the last 18 months has made that a bit difficult.

However, I've just exchanged contract on a property I've had for sale for 6 months so I should shortly be debt free and hopefully have enough money to move to Tasmania where I can practice being broke again. :shrug:

[Barrykgerdes]

Yes I get an annual fee that is well covered by award points. Last year I spent about $30000 on my card. The convenience of the card outweighs the costs by far if you use it wisely.

Barry

[Barrykgerdes]

Half your luck. I have been retired 25 years but still get offers of full time jobs.

Barry

[space oddity]

Good to get out of the credit card debt with their large interest rates. Being the stingy mongrel that I am, I have never let myself not get up to date on the plastic fantastic.Often we find the account slightly in the black! Does not last that way too long. The convenience of paying business bills over the phone with the card saves a lot of time and is easy to trace. My card gets a real thrashing as well as regular feeds of funds.
The really disturbing thing is the percentage of Australians that cannot get themselves out of credit card debt, continuing to live beyond their means while propping up the obscene bank profits.
Now your next goal is to knock off the mortgage:rofl:

[erick]

A few questions:- Why is debt a dirty word? Why the great rush to get out of debt?

I have some answers and I would be interested in your thoughts.

[jenchris]

Debt is very expensive and stressful as far as I can see.
If you want to buy something or have a nasty emergency, you don't have to worry about financing it.
I'm credit worthy as I have equity, I'm beholden to no one and independent (and have been since I left home at 17).

[space oddity]

Debt is OK if it is used to fund productive assets that will produce ongoing utility , production or value. Much of the debt households incur is to fund a lifestyle more lavish than their income/production warrants. The habit of living beyond one's means will eventually catch up. Something the economists have never cottoned on to- in the long run, you can only consume what you produce. Borrowed consumption must eventually be repaid. In the context of Australia as a whole, we as a nation consume more than we produce- how are we going to suddenly become able to pay our own way , let alone pay back the debt?
Too disturbing to think about it . I will just have to stare in to the heavens for inspiration:rofl:

[erick]

My rule is debt for things that you can touch in the future - house, car are obvious ones. There are others - Children's upbringing/education?

Never debt for something such as a holiday. Have that covered with hard cash before you go - don't have it sitting on the credit card for ages after the fun is past!

[Chillie]

Thanks for your kind thought everyone. It is a good feeling.



Sorry Jen. Although I would like to drive up to Swan Hill to visit you sometime, I'm getting a few things done to my new car which could cost up to $2,000. That will be going on my credit card. So I can't even buy a couple of Engel fridge/freezers for myself.

[Omaroo]

Never had a credit card, and never will. I run a company one, but that's separate and only for company travel.

I do have two monstrous mortgages though. Roll on 2047. :lol:

[multiweb]

Freedom of choices, more options? There is nothing more stressful to just work because you have to and pay off borrowed money when you could take it easy and buy stuff you can afford. I'm debt free on all accounts. Loving it. Now paying kids education so they both get a top job, big block of land in the outback, did I mention obs? They'll sure need one of those two. :whistle: