Happy News!
Posted by Victoria | Filed under Victoria
I almost forgot about getting my blog post up for today, which is remarkable not for the reason why — I was distracted by a book I was reading (which happens quite often in my life!) — but because I have been excited about this week’s post all week. More than all week. Ever since I did my taxes, I realised I’d have enough of a refund to pay off the remaining portion of my line of credit, I’ve been looking forward to finally saying: I did it.
This was actually more than I was expecting. I don’t have anything set up in advance on my income tax as Gail recommends, partly because I like the psychological boost of having a lump sum, and mostly, when I worked it out after her post last week, because I don’t actually have very many of the ongoing things I could claim in advance. My large refund cheque this year was due to tuition rebates and similar, and after next year I expect I won’t have much of that left to claim. But I got the cheque, and, as I said when I did my taxes, I have more than enough — enough to play with a little after I paid off the line of credit.
It took me a while to do so, because for various reasons I didn’t get the cheque until last Thursday evening, and then I didn’t want to put to it into the automatic teller because I wanted to be able to move it around my accounts immediately, and it was the Easter long weekend . . . and then on Monday I did it. I went into the bank, deposited the cheque, went home to do my online banking. (I like being able to see what I’m doing.)
I have to say I hesitated a little. Should I move all the money over at once? Or in small chunks? It’s like having a treat: do you eat it all it at once, or savour it slowly? Sometimes if you eat something too slowly you lose the pleasure in it, it goes stale or whatnot. I didn’t want that to happen with the line of credit. I moved over the money in two lumps, just over half the first time, just under half the second time.
And then I sat there, looking at the account: Amount available: $10, 000. Amount owing: $0.00.
I keep looking, just in case, but it’s true. I am, as of this week, debt free. Nothing owing (except a bit on my credit card from the camera I bought with part of the remainder from the tax refund, as I have to move the money from another bank and will do so tomorrow). I’m not sure I can say it’ll be debt free forever — there will hopefully be a mortgage in my not-too-distant future — but oh! it feels great to have it paid down in one fell swoop.
I have been diligently paying it off in small pieces over the last fifteen months, and it was going to take me the rest of the year to get it down . . . but not any more. I am so pleased. I am so glad I found Gail’s show and then website a couple of years ago — sadly it wasn’t earlier, for I might have managed to achieve my goal of graduating without debt — but I came fairly close, as I just graduated in November. I also want to say thank you to my parents, who co-signed the student line of credit for me in trust that I would pay it off — even with a PhD in medieval studies, of all strange and useless subjects to study! I am so grateful for their help.
Good luck to everyone else in their journeys to debt freedom! May your stories be up on the “Success Stories” part of the blog some day soon!
Working on finishing up a PhD in Medieval Studies, what Victoria really wants to do is walk around the world and write books. Twenty-nine and single, Victoria lives in Halifax and is trying to balance work and life.
April 13, 2012 at 8:05 am
Congratulations, Victoria! I remember the thrill I had when I made my final payment on my student loan, and then proudly proclaimed I had paid it off in 2.5 years, rather than the 15 I thought I’d be paying when I first set up my payment schedule (I was earning less and paying more in rent at the time).
April 13, 2012 at 9:21 am
Congrats on the line of credit!
When hubby paid off his students loans he went to the teller to withdraw the money before putting it back in on the LOC instead of just doing an online transfer. He wanted to savour it too!
April 13, 2012 at 9:43 am
great news!! What an exciting new chapter of your life
Congrats on the hard work and determination, it has paid off!
April 13, 2012 at 9:44 am
That’s great! We ended up with a $3300 refund this year which took care of my credit card and 1/2 of what I need to shell out for summer camp for the kids. It feels GREAT to see my card showing $0 owing too! And because the rest of our debt (car loan) is in my husband’s name only, I personally am debt-free now too LOL (though we share the debt, and everything else, I like to bring this up to bug him every few days
lol)
April 13, 2012 at 9:54 am
Yippee! Congrats! That’s wonderful. It’s quite an accomplishment to graduate with your PhD and no debt. I had friends in grad school who had the equivalent of mortgages in student loans (over $100,000). Enjoy every second of peering at that beautiful zero balance!
April 13, 2012 at 11:55 am
CONGRATS TO YOU!!! I loved your part about rechecking the zero balance to make sure it was real.
LuLu
April 13, 2012 at 12:04 pm
Congrats Victoria! I am sure I will be doing the same thing, checking and rechecking my account when our refund pays off our Visa.
Hubby graduates in about 8 months, and me about a year later. Maybe we will be able to be where you’re at then too!!! It looks like a good place to be.
April 13, 2012 at 1:00 pm
Thanks everyone! I do keep checking. It’s magical. I got the visas down relatively quickly once I started working (and with the help of last year’s tax refund), but that line of credit has been more of a pain. I’m very pleased I managed it only six months after graduating — though I have been working full time the last year and a half, which obviously makes a huge difference!
April 13, 2012 at 2:36 pm
Hi Victoria!
That’s excellent news! I love reading when people reach their goals! Next week will be the first time in about 2 years that my credit card bill will come in to show a 0! I am already excited!
With that I will be debt free but my hubby still has a LoC and car loan to finish off paying. But still! I feel like Tara, a little above! haha!
Oh and staring at your bank account and be happy about the numbers you see there is perfectly normal, I do it all the time with my savings accounts (and the amounts are not even that high, just the growth progress itself is thrilling!)
Happy Friday the 13th!
April 13, 2012 at 4:44 pm
I love being debt-free, except for the mortgage! I had good news, not financial, but my daughter, son-in-law and granddaughter will be moving back to California from the East Coast! Hurray! I will get to see them more often.
April 16, 2012 at 5:03 am
Ccongrats to you!!!! Feels good doesn’t it!!!