Well, it’s taken me a good part of the day for research, but I think I’ve got my next batch of stuff to write about here on this long and winding road towards becoming debt free. I’m going to write about credit cards available in Canada, and who knows – maybe we’ll both learn something

I have never paid much attention to credit cards and options such as no fee credit cards, or credit cards for students or zero interest credit cards. I have no idea how I managed with the 2 cards I have now.. I’ve been a RBC customer for years ( I have a story about this one day..) and probably just ended up with a VISA by osmosis. I wonder,  I had a personal loan with them years back and I bet I got the card that way. I remember getting ‘assigned’ a credit card I think. The cobwebs are pretty thick up here..

For the Master Card Mosaic.I have NO idea how this card landed in my wallet.  I’m not a BMO customer – Oh wait – I was. The student loan.

A quick story about the student loan. I had this loan for years and years and years. I still remember the payment – $61. The total was never much – about 5 grand I think and at $61 a month it took forever to get whittled away. Now considering, my gross income at the time was probably about $71  I was OK with that.

Well, as luck would have it, my little hobby site about memory prices actually started to pay off, and I started to make a wee bit more than my $71/a week/month. Fast forward a few years – OK, seven – and the student loan is down to about $1000. By this time, I had the $1000 saved and thought, what the heck  - I’m in no hurry really as that $61 payment has been with for so long it’s like family, but I decided to pay it off anyway. So off I traipse to the new Bank of Montreal in downtown hamilton (scary down there now) and announce my intention to pay off my loan. The teller had me write a cheque for the balance and she handed me a receipt and that was it. The End.

There were no angels singing. (like my lattes) , or balloons or streamers or anything. Cars didn’t stop in the street, the bank manager didn’t come out and shake my hand and give me a larger than life recepit, and nobody took my picture and published it in the picture.

I guess if there’s a moral to this story it’s this: My life didn’t change by paying off my student loans. I went home, made a  sandwich and then went to work. The end.  All these get out of debt books and sites sometimes make it seem as your life will change drastically the day you become debt free but in reality for me it just ended up being a number on paper that changed and I was now for the first time in a decade, with $61 more cash flow.

I know the get out of debt  gurus state that you should aim for three years  to be debt free –  but heck, I hung onto that student loan for ten years and I’d do it for another ten if I had to. I had a very good day job that was relative to the schooling and the loan so if it took me 20 years to pay off –  so what? I was making my payments on time (or close, most months) and the banks  were happy and I was happy.

Don’t let the get out of debt issue  become your only purpose in life. I know, money issues can be a worry and I’ve been rich and I’ve been poor and I’ll be the first to say that being behind the eight ball for about 28k isn’t the best place to be financially, but it really is only money. For now, I’m making my minimums and when I find some extra income it goes towards the debt. But if I had a choice of a year’s worth of lattes or being out of debt a year faster  - I’d choose the lattes. The extra year would come around eventually, anyway (the good lord willing)

I read an article today about a gentleman that is close to paying off his mortgage in about ten months and has the money in the bank now that if he wanted to he could write a cheque and be done with it.  He posted on his site that he had the cash in the bank, but what’ the race? 9 or so more payments and it’s gone anyway and interest rates are low so he’s happy to pay that small little extra bit in interest on the small remaining amount that’s left on his mortgage.  I think it’s a good move. There’s no streamers or balloons when you pay off a mortgage. The streamers come later  - when you realize you’ve got a years worth of mortgage or student loan payments now saved and you’re in the enviable position of what to do with  extra money  -  I think that’s when you can celebrate and you can crack open the bubbly.

All this to say: Don’t let the debt get you down. Be frugal, spend wisely and do your best to get out of debt fast and don’t give the banks any more than absolutely neccesary,  but remember to stop and smell the roses too. Another month or so of payments won’t matter a lick in the long term. This is a slow slow process this get out of debt thing and don’t look back and wish you’d have stopped for ice cream  (or a latte) on the way. Life’s too short.  I recommend the latte route. It’s way more fun.

PS. I has planned on starting to write about credit cards at the start of this post, but I got sidetracked with my little student loan story, so  all 3 or so of you lucky readers will have to wait until next time for for the credit card fun to begin.

Until next time, Spend Smartly.