Comments on: No More Credit Card Debt: Now What?

By: Stephen

Stephen — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 17:39:15 +0000

I agree with Stan in that it’s important to actually celebrate — in some small way — significant milestones, such as no longer having CC debt (congrats, by the way, a mere 6.5 months in advance). Don’t go overboard, but saving up for a bit and then having friends over for a party (or whatever) sounds like a good way to celebrate to me.

By: Frugalchick

Frugalchick — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 00:36:16 +0000

Definitely build your emergency fund first. I agree with CJ, a lot of things could go wrong and could land you back in the CC hole. Good luck!

By: KC

KC — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 19:18:58 +0000

Yeah, kids can pay for college themselves. Choose a good public uniersity and get a job. Mom and dad can help out some, but they shouldn’t sacrifice their retirement for college. That’s how I got through school – hard work and some help from mom and dad. I got through debt free and they chipped in enough to help me be debt free, but not so much it messed up their retirement. I did this for 1 undergrad and 2 grad degrees. And they are having a nice retirement. My kids will have the same options.

By: Moneymonk

Moneymonk — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 18:09:59 +0000

I have not have credit card debt for about 12 years now, I don’t miss it. Actually I don’t have a credit card only a debit card

I find myself just paying extra on my car afterward, then building an EF, from there give some to charity and have a little fun!!

By: Kyle

Kyle — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 17:28:57 +0000

I say fill your emergency fund first, no question. After that, I could go either way on the start Roth, max 401k, prepay mortgage boat.

By: Stan

Stan — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 17:05:30 +0000

Once you finish off your CC debt, I think that you should celebrate. Do something to reward yourself for accomplishing your goal to reinforce your own good habits but don’t celebrate for too long. I like the idea of a party. :) Get started immediately on your next long-term goal after that.

Good luck!
ST

By: Smithee

Smithee — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 16:23:45 +0000

I boo-ed that one, too (someone else added it). We’re not planning on any kids.

In general, this is fascinating to watch.

By: Julie

Julie — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 15:32:29 +0000

Noticed you added the 529 option – I “boo”-ed this. :) Sure, saving for your kids’ college education is great, but it should be low on the list. The common advice I hear is: You can take out loans for school. You can’t take out loans for retirement.

By: CJ

CJ — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 15:00:51 +0000

If you don’t have the 3 month savings buffer and something drastic happens, You will just go right back into Credit Cards. I recommend that as your first step. After that, there are a lot of good options, but that would be my first priority.

By: Flexo

Flexo — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 14:58:36 +0000

Smithee,

One thing to remember is by asking a bunch of strangers, you’re going to get general advice — good advice, yes, but not something that takes into account who you are, what you do, and what’s important to you. So when it comes to spending your excess (kitchen upgrade vs. video equipment for example) it’s going to be hard to get a respose that makes the most sense for you.

By: KC

KC — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 14:49:37 +0000

Assuming you already have $1k to $2k emergency fund then start on the car payment. Basically you want to pay everything off but your mortgage debt. So funnel all that credit card debt repayment to the car. When the car (and any other loans not including the mortgage) is paid for build up the emergency fund to a 3 month level. Then do the Roth. Once the Roth is maxed annually continue to save for other expenses that will eventually occur (like another car, replacing broken appliances, etc).

By: Twiggers

Twiggers — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 14:34:57 +0000

Pretend you’re still paying them and start paying yourself now :) Open a new savings account and set a goal for something you’ve always wanted to do….or sock it into retirement funds :-)

By: Slackerjo

Slackerjo — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 13:50:41 +0000

This may seem over simplified, but when it comes to small projects around the house, I stretch these projects out over many weeks, using my disposable income (DI – literally an envelope filled with $20 bills) to cover the costs. For example when I had a condo, the downstairs bathroom needed some work. So this is how I fixed it up:

paycheque #1 DI = new mirrored medicine cabinets. I installed them myself.
Paycheque #2 = new exhaust fan (with some help from Santa’s gift card from Home Depot)
Paycheque #3, electrician to install said exhaust fan (I didn’t make very much $$$ back then so I had to break the chore up)
Paycheque #4, purchase new flooring.
Paycheque #5 & 6 installation of new flooring. I ripped up the old flooring, but paid a professional to put new flooring down)
Paycheque #7 toilet repair
Paycheque #8 paint!

I did not spend all my DI on the bathroom work, just $40, $60, $80 here and there. Back then, there was a terrible recession where I lived and I lost my job. I got another job, a very crappy job at half the salary I used to make, so my DI was $60 a week. All and all it was very simple fix up project. It took a couple of months but there was the satisfaction in the end that the whole thing was paid for in good old fashion CASH. Plus I did not have the stress of a gutted bathroom to deal with. So maybe using a bit of DI here and there for some of the smaller jobs, will free up $$$$ for the other things you have on your list.

By: Flexo

Flexo — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 12:52:10 +0000

This is a cool widget. I placed my votes.