Comments on: 8 Things You Must Do After Paying Off Your Debt

By: Karin @ HR Degree Directory

Karin @ HR Degree Directory — Thu, 03 May 2012 06:09:52 +0000

We had a loan of about $17,000, and my husband and I paid it off in two years. For average income earners, paying off that amount in 2 years is more than an achievement.

From the must do’s you listed above, we did items 1, 4 and 6.

By: Money Infant

Money Infant — Tue, 13 Mar 2012 16:24:43 +0000

If you’ve paid off $100,000 in debt you deserve to have a celebration, especially if it is paid in cash. That is one heck of an achievement and really no one else is going to appreciate it or reward you like you can yourself. And it sounds like you have a great plan and goals in mind for when the debt is gone.

By: Dana

Dana — Tue, 13 Mar 2012 13:50:47 +0000

Thanks for this article!! I really needed to hear #1. We have paid off almost $100,000 worth of debt and are now updating our house (paid in cash) to celebrate. I feel so guilty about not doing our other goals right away. So it is nice to hear that someone else took the time to reward themselves too!!

We are following the Dave Ramsey baby steps so our next goal is to beef up our emergency savings fund. Then to save more for retirement and start the kids college fund. After that though, is the goal to pay off the mortgage. However, we will be putting aside a large down payment for our next house instead.

By: Money Infant

Money Infant — Tue, 13 Mar 2012 01:46:35 +0000

Once you get close to having all the debts paid off (maybe 6 months away), start to plan for how you will handle the excess cash flow. Do a mock budget to see where you can use that money most effectively. And make another long term goal to strive for, this will help you stay focused.

By: frugalportland

frugalportland — Mon, 12 Mar 2012 19:18:42 +0000

helpful! I’m worried that I’ll lose focus once I’m out of debt entirely. But right now I am so so focused on the debts that it will be a relief to have savings options!

By: Money Infant

Money Infant — Sun, 11 Mar 2012 11:02:51 +0000

Going into debt just so you can feel good about paying it off again…wow. I’m just fine with the achievement I feel in saving and investing

By: Savvy Scot

Savvy Scot — Sun, 11 Mar 2012 10:53:54 +0000

Great Post – I agree that point 4 is critical. I have heard of people going back into debt, just so they can get back the sense of achievement by paying it back again! I think treating yourself is also very important Glad you had a nice vacation to Mexico

By: Money Infant

Money Infant — Sun, 11 Mar 2012 01:51:21 +0000

So, true. Just because you got out of debt doesn’t mean you can’t fall back in. It’s a slippery slope.

By: femmefrugality

femmefrugality — Sat, 10 Mar 2012 17:26:47 +0000

Ooooh great tips. Sometimes we get so caught up in paying back debt that we forget there is maintenance afterwards!

By: Money Infant

Money Infant — Fri, 09 Mar 2012 10:38:53 +0000

I’ll bet the emergency fund filled up fast too. One great thing about once the debt is paid off is that you usually have a pretty large chunk of cash each month to reallocate to other goals and they become pretty darn easy to accomplish.