done and done

or rather, i should say, it can be done. one can be debt-free. i announce this because this morning, i authorized my online banking to send out a check for the remaining balance on my student loan(s). granted, it was a payment far larger than what i typically pay in a given month, but damnit all, i gave myself a deadline to eradicate my debt once and for all by year’s end. and now i done did it. aaaand, nine whole years premature, based upon the lender’s initial assessment of my loan terms. aaaaaand, after i deferred more than once.

may i add that it feels quite lovely? a burden has been lifted! my heartbeat actually accelerated slightly as i pressed the “submit” button to have that cash sent away, to pacify those lenders, to perhaps bolster my credit rating by a couple notches.

sure, i’ll have some extra cash in my pocket each month that no longer needs to be set aside for other commitments, but in all honesty, i’m too responsible for my own good. maybe one spending spree to celebrate—a trip to alinea awaits and appropriate attire is necessary—but my the purse strings will be tightened once again as i (we) plan for other things. nothing in the immediate future by any means, but just general things. travel, a home purchase further down the line (edit: much further down the line. read: when we figure out where to hang our hats for longer than 5 years.), early retirement.

though i did my fair share of trolling on cnn’s “money” site and other blogs on how to whittle away at my debt, i attribute my own adage of “pay ‘em big and pay ‘em often.” obviously, it worked.

05 December 2007