I agree completely with what you have said. In the 40 years since I got my first checking account, I have never had a check bounce or paid a bank fee for checking or ATM usage. The only time I have ever paid interest on a credit card was when I did an ATM cash advance so I could pay cash for a car purchased in 1990. How was I to know that “cash advances” always get charged interest! Here I thought I could use the bank’s money for 30 days for free and just pay them back on the next billing cycle. That episode taught me a valuable lesson (never do ATM cash advances) and I paid that debt off immediately.

When we were first buying furniture and appliances, we always did 90 days or 1 year same as cash; whatever the store payment promotions were. They always hated us when we would come in to make our payments and never pay a dimes worth of interest.

I truly feel sorry for people who get themselves into bad situations and have to borrow money for daily needs. But if these same people subscribe to cable TV, or pay $50/month for a cell phone, or have an iPod full of tunes, or wear $100 sneakers, I don’t feel quite so sorry for them. It’s just so sad that so many people have such poor money management skills.

It’s hard enough being in control of one’s destiny. Don’t make it worse by always being in debt!

I enjoyed hearing your personal testimony that a debt-free life is possible. You set a great example of how budgeting and living within your means can lead to a happy and fulfilling life. It’s inspiring.

Several years ago, when I had just graduated with my BS, I was working at what was essentially a minimum wage job. I had credit card debt, a car loan, and rent. As much as I may have even wanted to switch jobs, I was too poor to quit because the gap in paychecks (no matter how hard one tries to time it right, there is just no continuity in income stream when switching jobs) would have pushed me over the edge.

So why become debt free? I learned way back then that one becomes debt free so that one works for himself, not his creditors.

By increasing income and income sources!

There’s a lot of talk about people being in debt because of living above their means, and there are plenty of people in that category. But I think at least an equal number are in debt because they used debt to cover lost or declining income from a job loss or other income reduction.

Income is the key, and that’s where I’m focusing.

How I pay my debt is pretty straightforward: automatic transfers at the beginning of the month, don’t put things on the credit card unless they can be paid off before the due date (I just love collecting those points!), and add the difference in interest between the current month and the previous month to the payment since I’m used to not having the money anyway.

What I plan to do when I achieve debt freedom is to take my wife on vacation. She’s a great sport about all this and has been very supportive of the decisions I’ve made. I try to involve her but her eyes just glaze over and we end up laughing too hard to get anywhere. She’ll definitely have earned the break by then. After that, the money that was going to debt will be equally split between savings and investments in hopes we can retire early.

I had lot of savings and investments, and then I bought a house. I guess I don’t like outstanding debt, so am rapidly paying it down. It might have something to do with my old school bringing up.

How?
Just like we have been – keep the fixed expenses low, spend less than we earn. We’re on track to be completely out of debt, mortgage paid off, in just under 9 years. My partner will be 40 and I will be 45, our son will be 13 and unless the stock market tanks again between now and then his college fund will be pretty much full.

What will we do? Who knows? Anything we want. It depends a lot on the health care laws, actually – we can’t stop working til we know what kind of health costs we’re going to have and how they’ll be covered.

Because it disgusts me how much money I’ve made, yet how strapped I became.

How do you plan to get there?

We stopped borrowing, we are living on much less, and creating new income streams without taking on new debt.

What do you plan to do when you achieve debt freedom?

We are giving more, saving more, and investing in people’s lives more

I like your comment about not worrying what kind of car you are driving. I am the same way. Until Cash for Clunkers, I was running around in a 1990 Astro Van and a 1992 Acura Integra. The wife drives a 1997 Grand Am. My C4C replacement for the Astro was a Dodge Caliber costing right at $11,250 including tax, title, etc. Sure we could have afforded much more, but why increase the daily burden of living any more than necessary. All we really wanted was to have a car with working air conditioning once again.

If you are not burdened with debt and build up some savings, you can take advantage of opportunities like Cash for Clunkers when they come your way.

How do you plan to get there? Slowly and steadily. I could only afford the price I paid by getting the rate fixed for 5 years, so I’m limited in how much I can pay off early during that time. I’m going to make the regular repayments, pay of the $20k extra I’m allowed to make in that time without incurring extra fees as soon as possible and then save.

What do you plan to do when you achieve debt freedom? When I have debt freedom or reduced debt I plan to quit my career and either live from my other pursuits (illustration & writing) or go overseas as a translator.

Actually, I want as much debt as possible assuming the after-tax cost of debt is below my expected return on savings/earnings.

I’ll take locked-in low debt rates (fixed-rate mortgage, student loan) over paying down any day.

We just recently fully funded our 6-month emergency fund (it takes a while to build that sucker up). I still drive a 13-year old POS (wife’s car is 5 years old), but I don’t care. I know I have enough money aside to fix it or replace it. I see people buying these brand new $30k cars, and am just amazed! These people don’t understand that you need to be RICH to be able to afford the amount that those things depreciate. The majority of them are upside-down on the loan as soon as they drive off the lot.

Well, I’m glad a lot more people are getting on the ‘debt-payoff’ bandwagon — just wish everyone didn’t decide to do it at the same time!

I fleshed out some of my reasons for my debt free journey in this post. http://www.fivepencepiece.com/.....-planning/

My journey actually began 8 months before that threat arrived, and I’m glad. I’ll be “debt free” in a few more months and then I don’t have to worry about how to pay the immediate bills should it happen.

Lee

I have become more strict in our budgeting lately and starting paying myself in advance monthly for bills that will be due only once or twice a year(insurance, timeshare fees, christmas fund). Also we have begun a snowball method and I hope to have my 1st card(and smallest debt) paid off by december. After that its on to our highest %(AMEX). We actually started paying off our debt a year ago, but some big expenditure(taxes, car problems) keeps popping up to set us back. I’m hoping better planning will prevent these setbacks.

How do you plan to get there? Like the author HARD WORK and dedication

What do you plan to do when you achieve debt freedom? Put that money to work for me!

2. Selling the house is the last step. We have no other oustanding debt.

3. “Owe no one anything, except to love each other, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law.”

I am looking for freedom from debt because Im tired of realizing how much im paying now for the fun I thought I was having then. It’s not as fun now as it was when I was having it, and sure wasnt worth the interest. I have begun to throw every last cent I have towards my outstanding debt, and it has been working quite well. I hope to be free of my credit-card debt by dec 31, 2009. When I achieve debt freedom, Im going to save for the things that I used to go into debt to buy, and It will be glorious when I can pay cash for them.

It’s funny looking back at it now. I thought I was doing something different – almost revolutionary. I considered myself “unplugged” from the consumer-driven system. Turns out that I’m really not that different after all – it seems to be a growing trend. It could be that many people have chose to shed their debt due to recession fears or b/c gas prices kicked their butts last year. Or it could be that they did it for some reasons I did… They were just sick of living that way. Ten years of having whatever you want whenever you want it regardless of cost has gotten old.

It’s a great thing. Although I have to admit it – I liked it a little better when I thought I was one of the few people living this way. I mean… Who am I supposed to brag to and make fun of now that everyone is becoming debt free?