by Ashley
Wow, it has been a loooooong time since I’ve paid off a balance in full! When I first started blogging I was knocking debts out left and right (and, to be fair, some of them were pretty small debts). But for the past several months I’ve just been chip-chip-chipping away at some of the bigger debts.
I’m so glad that I can finally report that I’ve knocked another couple of debts off my debt list! (See last debt update here)
First up on the chopping block, I’ve finally paid off the second of our 3 monthly medical bills. We started off 2014 with 3 separate monthly medical bills: $75/month, $50/month, and $25/month. First I knocked out the $75/month bill (this actually happened this past November 2014). This month I’ve officially paid the last of the bill for the $50/month payment! Wahooo!!!! This still leaves us the $25/month bill (which also happens to be the largest balance = $6136), but its interest free so I have no intention of paying anything extra to it until other high-interest debts are gone. Regardless, I’m excited to be rid of the $50/month payment, which represented our bill for a specialist (neurologist) from when husband had a mystery illness at the end of 2013. See ya later, Dr. Neuro man! Or no….hopefully we WON’T see you later! Enjoy the money, hope you’ve had a nice vacation on us! (I’m being cheeky, but we really are grateful for the doctor’s services, of course. Just glad this bill is finally gone after over a year of paying on it!).
Next up on the chopping block, my personal favorite (and hubs’ too)….we’ve finally paid off the last of our remaining license fees!!! We had ignored this debt for a long time, and even when payment plans were arranged, the initial amount due was over $10,000. At the time I was a grad student making $500 every other week, hubs didn’t make much more, and it felt like these fees would NEVER be paid off. Oh man, I could go on and on about all the things I WISH this money had been spent on, how foolish we were, etc. Suffice it to say the lesson has been learned many, many times over. These fines represent mistakes we will never repeat for the rest of our lives.
This is just one of 2 pages of fees. Love seeing those zeros!
Oh the euphoria of paying of these debts (but the license fees, in particular)!!!
Now we’re officially down to only 3 categories of debts: the remaining medical, the car loan, and (dun dun DUUUUUN) the monstrous student loan debt.
To this end, I have some news to share with you later today. Be sure to check back this afternoon!
Can I get a “Wahoo!!!!” for these paid off debts? Feels oh so good! What’s your latest debt to pay off? What was your most psychologically-pleasing debt to pay off?
Hi, I’m Ashley! Arizonan on paper, Texan at heart. Lover of running, blogging, and all things cheeeeese. Freshly 40, married mother of two, working in academia. Trying to finally (finally!) pay off that ridiculous 6-digit student loan debt!
Congratulations. .. well done!
Congratulations! How fantastic! We received our tax refund and it is the familiar conversation – pay off 2 of the lowest balances or make a chip at the highest interest rate and highest balance.
That’s always a tough decision (as readers have seen me struggle with the same thing for months). Either way, you’re making a choice between 2 good decisions. It’s not like picking between paying a debt or going on vacation. As long as debt is getting paid, you’re making a good choice! Great job!
Whohoooooo! You are doing great!
Nice job Ashley. Time and money you’ll never have to spend again! I’m optimistic that this is only the start of an uptick in cash flow this spring!
Thank you!!!
Wahoo!!!!
VERY WELL DONE! Congrats to you Ashley!
Woohoo!!!!!!
That’s got to feel great! I love it whenever I get a new debt paid off. I still pay the same amount each month after a debt is gone (because I add the minimum payment to the snowball), but it still feels great to know I’ll have one less envelope coming each month and one less payment to schedule online. Yes!
Yes! It’s funny because initially I didn’t really think I’d care or be motivated by simply having fewer monthly payments…but its actually been a big source of encouragement! I love doing my debt updates and seeing so many debts that have been knocked off the list! I’m excited to do the update later this month (I’m waiting until a couple more bills are paid that are due mid-month).
Great job Ashley!!!! You and your husband are doing wonderful!!!
Awesome job! That has to be such a relief. Thanks to selling my car and receiving my annual bonus both in March, we’ve paid off everything but the last $3800 of my student loan, which I’ll knock out in the next two months. Then I’ll move to the debt in my husband’s name (his student loans and the mortgage – he bought the house before we married). When I paid off my two credit cards, it was a great feeling, but it was also very humbling; I am extra-aware that I got myself into that mess and need to NOT do it again. I think the final payment on my student loan will be the most satisfying. Keep up the good work, and thanks for continuing to motivate me!
That is awesome!!! Great job paying off almost all of your debt! Down to the last little bit – must feel so motivating just to knock it out! Early congratulations – the next two months are going to fly and then you’ll be DEBT FREE!!!!!!!!
Thank you! Following along your journey continues to be a really great source of motivation for me in both paying off our debt and also “becoming adults” in other ways. You have made an incredible amount of progress!
That is EXCELLENT. You should be very proud to have gotten this far — even if there is a long way to go, this is definitely a milestone to celebrate. I approve of the balance transfer, too.
Thank you!
Awesome sauce girl!!!
I have to share that a couple months ago, when you were all “I’m going to pay off the car loan ASAP!!”, that motivated me. You owed a couple grand more than me at the time, but I didn’t want to be lapped. With the help of a heaping amount of OT that’s been made available to me this year, my vehicle will be paid off next mid month (when that second check rolls in), a full three years early.
Cheers!
Kristina – that is INCREDIBLE! Great job, girl! Gotta admit I’m a little jealous that my car isn’t going to be paid off next month, too (oh how I wish that loan were gone), but it feels so great to hear that I helped motivate you to get rid of yours! That’s really, really cool! Way to go!