Sunday, June 29, 2008

Independence Day Challenge Complete! (Mostly)

One more credit card down!

A few weeks ago, I challenged myself to run a 5K and pay off $5K of debt by the Fourth of July. Unfortunately, I have fallen off the running wagon. Again. My dad hurt his ankle in the week following my original post and, without my running partner, I let the training slide.

But on to better news: yesterday I paid off our Discover card! I have been chipping away at the balance all month, and still had $1907.22 left to go. I planned on using part of my husband's next paycheck, due to arrive on July 3, to sneak in the final payment and wipe it out. However, I was surprised to find that my commissions last week included a bonus that I thought I hadn't qualified for. After some calculations in Quicken, I sent off the last payment. We are now free from this credit card!!

Our newfound financial freedom is particularly gratifying when you consider the original cause of this debt. We opened the account in October 2005 based on a 0% balance transfer offer. All of our other credit cards were maxed out and at that time we didn't have a lot of resources. We decided to take the 0% offer and transfer part of another balance to the new Discover card. Only it didn't end there. Before we knew it, we had charged up to the limit of the Discover card and the original card. So we were worse off than before.

If you think of debt as a hole you're stuck in, the Discover card was a false step in the right direction. We were trying to climb out of the hole, only to find that the floor was falling out beneath us. I am so excited to finally be one step closer to complete debt independence.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Congratulations!

I am so happy for you. I know the feeling of paying off a credit card! I also know the feeling of getting right back in debt again! (I hope you don't experience this one.)

Nevertheless, I started My Stock Market Journey: http://www.ourstockmarketjourney.blogspot.com/ as a means to help eventually build wealth through investing. It's been a very interesting journey so far and I am learning so much. Feel free to drop by if you get a moment. Or, stop by Alisa's Place http://astore.amazon.com/myinvejour0d-20 for some coffee, tea, or a good read on budgeting.

Be well.

Anonymous said...

Congratulations! I've fallen into that false step trap myself. It's frustrating to say the least. You've done a great job. I'm sure the running will come around too. :)

Anonymous said...

COngrats, I am SOOO happy for you!