get out of debt

Well, Christmas didn’t help. Hopefully by the end of January I’ll be back on track. And then I should have some kind of bonus coming in March.

I made my last car payment today. Plus my credit card is down to less than half of what it started at. I’m on my way!

Out of nowhere, my company decided to give everyone extra large bonuses this year (don’t worry, it’s not government bailout money). By coincidence, the amount this came to after taxes was almost exactly the amount I owed on my two highest-rate credit cards. I just completed the electronic bill pay orders, and as soon as the checks clear, I will be rid of these two cards. In one fell swoop I cut my debt by 1/3.

This isn’t a time to be self-congratulatory of course. I did very little to make this happen, I just got lucky. But it feels great. The hardest part was not talking myself out of using my bonus in this way. Just think of all the cool STUFF I could have bought with that money. That’s why I had to make these payments first thing Saturday morning, so I didn’t have time to think twice.

I’ve also been very good about avoiding charges on my credit cards for the last six months or so. That’s helped a lot. I really only use them for emergency situations. I’ve used them maybe half a dozen times in the last six months, always for less then $50 each time.

So, what’s left? Next month, I make the last payment for Jessica’s engagement ring. Then in August, I make the last payment on my car. Then all I have left is one mammoth credit card balance with a reasonable rate on it. I’m just going to make a fixed contribution to that from each paycheck.

Fingers crossed.

I’m in the process of making a huge step toward this: I’m unloading my apartment (I hope). Jessica’s family has graciously agreed to led me move in (I practically live there anyway). So that will be close to a grand a month that I can use to fight off the demons of compound interest that have been hounding me.

(NOTE: Is the concept of demons hounding me a mixed metaphor?)

I used to be very good at staying out of credit card debt. But over the last year or so, there have been some big ticket items that I just had to have. Now I’m looking at 7 or 8 G’s (might even be 10) and not enough in the bank with which to pay it off. My plan is to throw between 500 and 1000 dollars at it with every paycheck. Which would work fine, if I could just control my spending.

Now that I think about it, controlling my spending is the real goal here. It’s the root cause. But I’m going to leave it as “Get out of debt” because that’s a much more measurable goal. It’s something for which I’ll be able to say “I’ve done this.”