As we built a life together both Brian and I were able to pay off both of our cars before the purchase of our home and over the past 4 years we cut our debt by thousands. When saving for our wedding we made a promise to one another that we wouldn't put a thing on a credit card. We cut up my Visa and never looked back. Our entire wedding was paid for with whatever we had saved. It was a fantastic feeling knowing we didn't owe anyone anything after our wedding. All of our wedding gifts were put right in a savings account and we were able to put the money towards our honeymoon, purchase new windows, a down payment for our new Jeep and just recently wrote a rather large check to pay off all of my old credit card debt. I love that we are able to spend that money and put it towards our savings, improving our home and our new car.
Although the feeling of paying off that debt was pretty amazing I can't help but still feeling a little guilty that the debt was all mine. I regret being a stupid college kid and a stupid 20 something too. Being materialistic really got the best me. Don't get me wrong I still love pretty things. Shoes, clothes and housewares still get the best of me but only when I have the cash for them. Brian is the polar opposite. He could care less about buying anything. I think he still wears dress pants he had in high school. He keeps me on track too. He reminds me of what is important and what we really need in life. Most of the time he is right. The other times Home Goods gets the win!
Have you had experience in credit card debt? Have you been able to pay it off and if so where were you able to put that extra cash?