For all intents and purposes I’m now essentially Debt Free! I made the final payment of my 2016 Nissan Maxima on April 27, 2020. The original amount financed was $31,107.45 on March 28, 2016. The Maturity fate would have been 5/12/2021. It hasn’t truly hit me yet since I dropped some serious coin on the last payment.
In a funny bit of irony, right after I finished shopping at my local Tom Thumb I noticed a $165k Bently Bentayga SUV parked just two spots away from my newly paid off gray chariot. I did not get to see the owner, but I’m guessing it was an older woman who just wanted to buy some groceries during the pandemic. Heck rich people have to eat too.
Has it hit me yet? Not really. I still need to build my emegency fund back up. There’s still uncertainty about the future of my company. In the event of layoffs I would qualify for the Texas state $521 unemployment maximum and likely the coronavirus $600 extra payout for up to 13 weeks. It still would be a significant reduction especially once you factor in any type of Cobra coverage. Hopefully I won’t have to think about that anytime soon.
My first posting to this blog happened on April 7, 2012 – Ground Zero – My Challenge. I wasn’t even 30 yet, I did happen to have paid off my car at the time which was almost 4 years old at the time. I also still had $45k of student loans to pay off. My income was way lower than it is now. It seemed like an insurmountable obstacle, but I did it. I was inspired by Nomoreharvarddebt.com, MrMoneyMustache, Nathanbw, Double Debt Single Woman and a few others.
While I didn’t link to this blog or my YouTube channel on my social media accounts, I did receive a lot of positive feedback from my peers. It’s a celebration for me, I haven’t been debt free since my first college course in Fall 2001. To put things in perspective I took those loans out right before 9/11/2001. Took me 19 years to get to this point, I’ve made missteps. I spent money maybe I shouldn’t have on things I convinced myself I needed at the time.
What’s Next?
1. Rebuild heavy emergency fund
2. Increase 401k / Roth IRA contributions
3. Stay healthy + lose fat + avoid getting coronavirus
4. Relax more
5. Find a guy to date and fall in love with
6. Grow my hair back… Balding sucks lol
Looking forward to the next new chapter in my life. The last one wasn’t bad but I need a vacation… 😛 Still plan to post here occasionally. Much love.
Debt Free Alpha 
[…] going on in the economy. This time last year my total only around $65,285. Almost one year ago I made the last payment on my car and became officially debt free! I would never make it to the Dave Ramsey show but this is […]