Going credit card FREE!

coasterqueen wrote: Ryan and I decided to go completely credit card free and pay off any debt we have on them. Ryan said that if we go credit card free for 5 years then he'd add on another roof-line (and patio) to the front of the house I've been wanting since we built the house . So he gave me great incentive to do so.

This past weekend was my first real weekend w/o cc's and it was ok. I have cc addiction so I'm going through withdrawals.

In many ways I hope this next 5 years goes REALLY FAST as far as being cc free, but it would be nice if it doesn't go too fast for the girls growing up sake.

Wish us luck!

luvmykids replied: Good luck! We've been cc free for nine years....it's great for so many reasons. You can do it!

PrairieMom replied: Goodluck! we have been CC free for about 2 years, and it has been completely OK. I still use my debit card so I have the convenience of being able to swipe to pay for things, but since it comes out of our checking acct, and we have no debt from it we consider that OK. It makes me nervous to carry tons of cash around.

Loosing that CC debt took such a weight off our shoulders that we didn't even know was there! Now we save ahead for things. We even paid cash for a new to us car. It was amazing to drive off the lot knowing that we wouldn't have to pay for that thing for years and years.
Now if we could just pay off this darn mortgage, we would be 100% debt free. Hopefully we will see that dream come true in about 5 years or so.

MommyToAshley replied: We haven't carried a balance on our credit card for about 8 or 9 years. We still use a credit card, but we only purchase things that we can pay off by the end of the month. It takes discipline, but you can do it!! Good for you!

ZandersMama replied: I'm credit card free because im too impulsive. I cut them up about 4 years ago, paid them off and never looked back.

BAC'sMom replied: Good luck!

We have been CC free for about 5 years. It's either cash, debit card or do without.

msoulz replied: Good luck meeting your goals!

jakesmommy08 replied: wow i dont use my cc but they are all maxed. I havent used them in a long time i just can seem to get them paid down. I plan on using my income tax money to get them down (and not use them). It would definately be a heavy weight of my shoulders once there gone. Im dreaming of the day! Good luck you have a good incentive!!

mom21kid2dogs replied: It is SO SO worth it!!!

A&A'smommy replied:
if you pay at least 10dollars more a month on it you will start to see a difference but the interest on cc's are OUTRAGEOUS they will eat you up. If you can pay more pay more if not don't pay JUST the minimum because that is where they will get you, you are paying MOSTLY interest when you pay the minimum.

rhoebe replied: It is an individual's choice whether to go credit card free or not. To those who are impulsive buyers, they should be careful on spending much using their credit card or they might not notice how high their debt gets. It just takes a lot of discipline and self control. Credit cards can really help you during emergency situations, but purchasing what you think is necessary and what you think you can actually pay for at the end of the month is the best solution so far.

youngmomofone replied: Good luck! We are paying off the rest of our military star card with tax return then we will be officially credit card free. We will never ever get another credit card ever again . We had to use every tax return the past 5 years to pay on/off credit cards so I can't wait for Feb 2011 when we can finally use that money on something other than bills.

~Roo'sMama~ replied:
We use our bank debit cards for everything too - to us it's just a plastic check. We've never had any credit card debt our whole married life, but I do have a Kohls card and a Herbergers card that I use when they have sales where you have to use your card to get the extra 20% off. We pay it right away though, usually that day or within the next couple days, and always before the bill comes so it doesn't really count. I had some leftover debt from before we got married that we finished paying off a couple years ago - I was very careless with my credit cards before we got married and I learned my lesson! Dh wants to only ever pay cash for cars too, but I'm not sure how we'll go about that when we need a new one someday and we have very little money saved up.

Good luck Karen on getting rid of yours! Sometimes I think they'd be really handy, but all in all I am glad not to have that debt hanging over our heads. We're accumulating enough debt as it is in the form of student loans.

coasterqueen replied:
Thanks, Sara. So far so good. It really hasn't been bad. Instead of using the cards we have a "cookie jar" at home where we keep money that we can use for things not budgeted.

cameragirl21 replied: WTG, Karen!
I use my credit cards for absolutely everything, except rent that is, and only because they won't take cc for rent, otherwise I would. BUT, I treat them as cash in that I don't ever buy what I won't pay off at the end of the month so I never carry a balance on my credit cards.
It's a good feeling not to have to deal with high interest rates every month.