DEBT FREEDOM...how many see it as the first step to SS?

[Sherrynboo]

I have a goal of paying off the two credit cards I have. One is within reach, the other has about a $4000 balance. I have been trying to make a mental list of what else needs to be done around here with the two top things being a barn of some sort and a new chicken coop. The barn is going to require a $2000 investment so back into more debt we go! It is really amazing at how much money we all waste on interest charges with these credit cards.

Sherry in GA

 

[FarmerChick]

yea Bee
round and round ya go. it is so hard to stop the debt when it just piles up and you can't get it paid down. so hard to make dents but if you are persistent and have alot of years behind you.....lol...then it finally gets to the end.

Only transfers I made was putting my debt onto another card cause it was 2.99% for the lifetime of the loan. I put like 12K on that and paid it off finally. Now I have 1.99% interest for the life of the loan. And one card is 9% for the lifetime....So no interest to anyone on that card now but I sure have to pay it off...LOL





Has anyone heard of those commercials on the radio and tv that says you can pay off your 30 year mortgage in 2 1/2 years??? Anyone check into these debt payoff solutions and can they contribute how something like the above can be done???? I hear the commercial, pay off a 30 year mortgage in 2 1/2 years...HOW unless you drop TONS of money on it???? just wondering? too good to be true I assume?

 

[Beekissed]

I once went to a debt consolidation place years ago....I had my home mortgage, some medical bills and a few odds and ends of things. They said they couldn't help me! Said they were only for people who had credit card debt!

 

[curly_kate]

When you do have credit card debt, tho, consolidation can really help, as long as you go to a reputable place (I know there are some scams out there). I went to my credit union & they gave me a consolidation loan. The interest rate was much better, and it was a lot easier just to pay 1 place instead of 3 credit cards. Plus, the credit union people were MUCH nicer than the credit card people!!

That was back in 2002, tho. Not sure how that would go today with credit the way it is. My sister finished grad school last year, and the best interest rate she could find on her student loans was 8%!!!!! And no one will even CONSIDER her for consolidation! Makes me glad I came through when I did.

The one good thing about students loans being so expensive is that maybe it will make people consider that not EVERY person needs to go to college. Or the most expensive college. I know too many people with psych, English, history degrees that can't find a job, but still have to pay on their loans. They would have been much better off learning a trade, but college is "what people do." The number of people in our workforce with no useful skill is scary. (Sorry, kinda got off the topic, there!)

 

[FarmerChick]

yea this ad for paying off the mortgage fast wasn't a debt consolidation deal place.

it was a "proven system" from some guy making money off selling you his "system"---LOL---you know

I always wonder when I hear about "their systems" if they truly work but I dont' want to spend money to find out..HA HA HA

 

[Sherrynboo]

Karen, I have heard those commercials too and wonder what the gimmick is. Our balance on our mortgage is around $59,000 and if I were to apply myself I could see getting it paid off in maybe 5 years but 21/2? I would have to throw everything into it to do it that quick! Now I did hear Clark Howard say something about paying bills twice a month, every 14 days, to pay them off faster but he also said that only equates to an extra payment a year if I understood him correctly. I am trying to put more on the one with the least amount, get that paid then apply more to the other card. One day.......one day! I will be debt free! Doubt it will be 09 though.

Sherry

 

[FarmerChick]

I think there is something just wacky that as youngsters we take out school loans, to learn, to become something, to earn money, to be nurses, etc. etc. and have to deal with that payment the rest of our lives to try to pay that money back! Student loans are a noose--a catch 22 around some people's necks.

We go into severe and deep debt just to have a career????
Then we are nailed financially trying to dig out of that education hole. Just strange system we have..LOL

 

[FarmerChick]

I know Sherry
it has to be a gimmick in a way....like I can come up with a proven system too....don't spend any money...put all you earn on your bills and voila, debt free...HA HA HA

I mean, the ad says you can be debt free on your current income without making more...etc. etc.

I just truly don't see how cause like you said, I make extra payments etc...yea I can cut come time, but to that level???

I don't see it...but then again I have to spend money to buy the system to see if it is true....I am too cheap..HA HA HA

 

[poppycat]

Those ad's count on you paying, half as much, every two weeks instead of once a month- if you are referring to the mortgage ones. What happens over the course of the year is that you make two extra payments. If you are in a bi-weekly pay cycle you make extra payments in those months that you have three pay periods.

 

[AngieChick]

Over the past 4 years we have paid off $13,000 in credit card debt, and $24,000 in other debt, not counting paying off the car. Our car was a frugal one, and the credit cards were actually from when we were in college, they filled the gap that the student loans didn't. We didn't buy anything glamorous or fun with it, just used it for years in college for food, gas, whatever. The past few years were the first we had any wriggle room AT ALL to pay them down. My hubby's first job was in the Bay Area in CA, and with 2 little tiny kids there was never any extra money. We still have student loans, but that's it. Now we are aggressively saving up to put ourselves into MASSIVE debt next fall when we buy a house. But that's okay. It was hard, and we hit bottom as far as being financially overwhelmed by it before we were able to climb out. Our credit took a hit (we didn't claim bankruptcy, just your typical late payments when you have life happen and too much debt), but it feels good to have the debt gone. It was very hard for a long long time to make those big payments to get to where we are now.