Just called my bank to arrange a final payment of $88.37 to pay out my $50,000 loan. It is DONE!!!! 4 years of hard work. $50,000 plus interest (lots) paid off a year early. I need to really take time to let this sink in. Along with everything else I have managed to do these past few years, travelling to Iceland and South America, all the sports related trips and training, and maintaining a life of independence and freedom, I also did that.

How did I do it?
1. I had to make a conscious decision to be debt free. To truly want it and believe it is possible. That was 2007.
2. I transformed my attitude towards money as one of necessary corrupting evil to simply a tool I need to live a life of independence and freedom.
3. I learned to budget and distinguish wants and needs.
4. I worked my butt off, extra jobs and long hours, to have extra money to put towards debt or pay for experiences I did not want to wait for.
5. I automatized everything, bill payments, debt payments, savings deductions. It reduced the white noise in my head a lot.
6. I declared war on interest. Negotiated a low interest consolidation loan, played the low interest credit card shuffle game, kept calling my card companies every 6 months to have rates reduced. Made extra $$ to pay down the debt faster.

7. I stuck with it. Every month was a victory to see the overall debt balance come down.

But mostly I have decided I really dislike the current financial system, credit card companies, the whole racket, and that I wish to be as unshackled to it as possible within my realm of choice and agency. By clarifying who I truly wish to be in the world, and how I can exchange my life energy for money simply in order to apply it to things that matter for me, I am trying to reconcile myself to what can be changed, and what simply IS for now.

Happy dance.

Original Debt: $70,000
Remaining Debt: $17,600 (one MBNA credit card left to focus on)