[Miller]

well since i've been out of high school (graduated in 2003) i've pretty much been in debt, credit cards, hospital bills, tickets. one thing or another i've never seem to get out of the red. well today i just paid off 6 grand in debt and i have no more debts. and i've even managed to start saving money for a house (i've got about 1200 so far and my tax returns are going strait to the jar)

not to brag or anything, its just such a relief and i feel i've accomplished something, kinda sucks to see 6k go out the window though. well now i can start saving hardcore for a house, my goal is 2 years, spring 2011, buy my first house. i cant wait to check my next credit report!

[Scrubbin_Bubbles]

Congratulations. You used to give me a lot of shit about my debt, and now I have next to none. It's a good feeling to have all your bills paid off.

[travisty08]

congrats miller. being debt free is great, it's one less thing you have to worry about.

[Miller]

Originally Posted by Scrubbin_Bubbles

Congratulations. You used to give me a lot of shit about my debt, and now I have next to none. It's a good feeling to have all your bills paid off.

Yea, it's easy to slip, i was nearly all paid off at one point, then i decided to move out by myself, no roommates, and its a hell of a lot more expensive, now a year later, it seems as i can do it alright, and still go out and have fun.

[SoulAssassin]

Congrats. It's a great feeling.

[Caucasian Hammer]

Ahh I'm just starting on the other end, my college fund went from roughly $40,000 to $6,500 but I guess that's what happens when your uncle that's in charge of it works for Lehman Brothers. So now I get to take out loans to pay for college....sigh.

[Chainblade]

congrats man! I hope to get there someday. It seems in my life, everything goes wrong to prevent me from paying off my debt. My paycheck has gone to just basic living expenses. Since my g/f and I broke up, I should have more money but then I got laid off a week later. I have one roommate and I hope to get another so I can make my bills even on unemployment. Then once I get a job, most of it will be straight profit so I will be aggressively putting it towards debt.

anywho, congrats again. I bet it's a fantastic feeling. money pisses me off and to be in so much debt stresses me out like crazy. I hope to have the feeling of being debt free someday.

[Torx]

congrats dude.
youre free from interest and banks, gotta feel good.

[MSP]

Fantastic! You clued in so much younger than I did. As long as you're paying for things with cash you're beholding to nobody. I'd set a savings goal in addition to your house savings, $10,000 maybe. You can get there faster than you imagine now you aren't wasting money on interest payments.

[Chainblade]

Originally Posted by MSP

Fantastic! You clued in so much younger than I did. As long as you're paying for things with cash you're beholding to nobody. I'd set a savings goal in addition to your house savings, $10,000 maybe. You can get there faster than you imagine now you aren't wasting money on interest payments.

ya cash is the only way to go. The only real problem with that is if you are trying to rebuild your credit, then unfortunately, you have to have credit for your credit score to go up. Pretty stupid. I have ONE credit card now but I don't see it as a credit card. I see it as cash. I use it only for my car insurance and gas. That's stuff that I would have to pay for anyways. I just put it on the card instead. And it gets paid off every month in full.

[MSP]

Yeah, to rebuild credit you use the credit card and pay it off each month religiously! Or better yet buy a car or house.

[Chainblade]

Originally Posted by MSP

Yeah, to rebuild credit you use the credit card and pay it off each month religiously! Or better yet buy a car or house.

Ya that too. Car or house is HUGE. I hate having a car loan but I know it's a huge part of why my credit score has gone up 100 points since I got it.

[MovingTarget]

I worked for several years at a credit card company so I'll give you tips on them if you are going that route to re-build your credit...

1. Whatever the limit is NEVER EVER NEVER have more than half of it used.
reason: it show's that you are stretching for more than you can handle.

2. NEVER pay it in full. always pay DOUBLE the minimum....early....NEVER just int he nick of time...
reason: If you pay it in full each month they think your less likely to need or use it. It's a turn off for them really...

3. Try to have a steady balance on it...but minimal.... as in less than 100.00$
reason: It shows that you are willing to use it. The reason that is important to them is because they have to get their money from somewhere...and if have the credit but aren't using it...even if just a little then they put you lower on their credit-worthy profile.

4. Only have 2 cards at most...since you are single and young...one with a high-ish balance and one with a low balance. You should keep it less than 10K max....but it all relates to your gross income.
reason: If you have several cards with a large total amount of available credit then you look risky...as in "If he goes postal he can rack up 50k in debt and then decide to never pay it!".

A house does better for your credit than anything else can possibly do....because if you default they take the house - you can't steal it! credit cards after that then car is last of the big builders.... If you can't or don't want or are not ready for a house then go the credit card route!

[ivwshane]

I wouldn't do a car loan unless you get a 0% interest loan.

I'd use your credit card for gas purchases only and have auto bill payment setup to pay off the card every month automatically.

I would also start putting a specific amount of your paycheck into a high yield savings account (I'm using etrade). Give yourself a set allowance for the month and put anything extra into the savings account (above what you are already putting in there).

If you get in that habit (direct deposit makes it easy) then you will have a nice sum in savings in no time.

[ivwshane]

Originally Posted by MovingTarget

I worked for several years at a credit card company so I'll give you tips on them if you are going that route to re-build your credit...


2. NEVER pay it in full. always pay DOUBLE the minimum....early....NEVER just int he nick of time...
reason: If you pay it in full each month they think your less likely to need or use it. It's a turn off for them really...

3. Try to have a steady balance on it...but minimal.... as in less than 100.00$
reason: It shows that you are willing to use it. The reason that is important to them is because they have to get their money from somewhere...and if have the credit but aren't using it...even if just a little then they put you lower on their credit-worthy profile.

I agree with everything except these two (I'm not saying you are wrong).
When I first started building my credit, I never had a balance and I always paid it off. My credit card companies increased my limit by a lot but I've never used it.
My limit hasn't been increased in quite a while but I never use my credit cards and I have no need for a limit increase.

My credit is excellent by the way.

[MovingTarget]

Originally Posted by ivwshane

I agree with everything except these two (I'm not saying you are wrong).
When I first started building my credit, I never had a balance and I always paid it off. My credit card companies increased my limit by a lot but I've never used it.
My limit hasn't been increased in quite a while but I never use my credit cards and I have no need for a limit increase.

My credit is excellent by the way.

and you're right... I was talking more about building it up - once he has the credit up where he needs it then don't ever use it.

The reason they bump it up when you pay it all off is to see at what point, if any, you start to carry a revolving balance, they are fishing. But, to keep temptation low and out of the picture one shouldn't let their available credit go too high...

EDIT: and the bulk of the population doesn't have your will power to refrain from going overboard...so it's good to start small and keep it low until one is used to having it and not using it...

[mistawiskas]

The only credit i'm using is for a car payment. i hear what chainblade is saying. it seems like it's one frigging thing after another. Even still, My debts have gone from 16 grand down to around 6500. Scrimping and squeazing the shit out of every penny and it's happening slowly but surely. I've been advise by many to just stop paying the leeches and let them eat it. But there's this little thing about me that tells me that that would be pussing out and that i was the one who signed for those debts. ^The fact that i was dilliberately misled has no bearing on whether or not I feel like i should pay. Anyhow, it's
the last of this crap I'll pay after this. I also refuse to pay someone to watch or hold my money for me. They can just make thier money off of someone elses money from here on out. I'm out of the credit game, fuck that shit. If I cannot pay cash, then I don't need it that bad.

[Chainblade]

Originally Posted by mistawiskas

The only credit i'm using is for a car payment. i hear what chainblade is saying. it seems like it's one frigging thing after another. Even still, My debts have gone from 16 grand down to around 6500. Scrimping and squeazing the shit out of every penny and it's happening slowly but surely. I've been advise by many to just stop paying the leeches and let them eat it. But there's this little thing about me that tells me that that would be pussing out and that i was the one who signed for those debts. ^The fact that i was dilliberately misled has no bearing on whether or not I feel like i should pay. Anyhow, it's
the last of this crap I'll pay after this. I also refuse to pay someone to watch or hold my money for me. They can just make thier money off of someone elses money from here on out. I'm out of the credit game, fuck that shit. If I cannot pay cash, then I don't need it that bad.

good job on getting it down to $6500. My debt is quite a bit higher. Mine is more in the $65,000 number. That includes a $15,000 car loan and a $30,000 home loan though. The rest is all the shit that I was stuck with in my divorce. I have paid some of it down. the $20,000 that is left after car and house loan is through my parents though. They paid off my debt so I could rebuild. Very nice of them. I hate that though as I want to pay them a monthly payment but life just won't let me, especially now that I'm unemployed.

Pisses me off as I broke up with my g/f because one of the main things we didn't click on was finances. I made enough that I should of been able to live on and some left over to pay of debts but I wasn't as I was having to pay for her. It wasn't fair. Among other reasons, we broke up. I was expecting myself to finally start financially being better. I bought her house so I wasn't throwing my money down the drain for rent and for the cost of renting a studio or 1 bedroom around here, I got a 3 bedroom house. I was going to get a roommate or two and have TONS of money left over to pay off debt. Less than a week later, I get told I was getting laid off of course. My last day was last Friday. I have one roommate but I need another as even with one roommate, I won't make my minimum bills.

Anywho, life sucks sometimes. 2008 was a massive rollercoaster. I got my dream job making decent money and thought I was going to be on my own and finally paying stuff off and just like that, i was laid off and it went all away. I hope I can get a job again soon or my car will be repoed...

[MovingTarget]

Sorry its been rough Chainblade..... I hop eit gets better for you soon too... I lost my place to live...my car....and then I finally got a decent job and I am getting back on my feet. I have the same problem though....I get so flipping close to getting ahead then something happens and knocks me back down.... I'm nowhere near your balance though....but it still sucks either way...

and congrats for you Wiskas....stick to your guns and eerything will be alright!

[tex]

Originally Posted by ivwshane

I wouldn't do a car loan unless you get a 0% interest loan.

Eh, I would disagree. It brings your score up a lot. I just got 3% and I am using most of my available credit. I'm paying it off double each month. I will end up paying pretty minimal interest and it helps the credit score a lot.

Why would you advocate that? Even the interest piece of a 3% loan is worth it for how much it will bring your credit score up. Right now, I'd even say up to 8ish wouldn't be a bad deal