I like selling books. I like getting emails like this even more. Enjoy…
Dear Mr. Tully,
I read on your blog a few months ago or maybe a year that you recommend not touching your savings to pay off your credit cards. I read too the comments from your followers who disagreed with you.
I just wanted to say that my husband and I followed your advice and paid off $8400 dollars of credit card debt without dipping into our savings. It was a horrible experience looking at our balance and statement and saying Oh, well, looks like we’re going to pay 230 dollars in interest this month!
It took most of my paycheck every month to make any headway and my husband was laid off but then rehired so we didn’t make a straight shot at it all the way through like we thought we would. We had a couple of months where we had to put gas for the car and some groceries on the credit card, but that was it.
Right now, our balance is 900 dollars and will probably pay that off in January because I have to have had some dental work done. My husband works outside and I work at home, so we have stayed lucky and healthy. So I’m prayer-filled for that.
I just have never had such a painful financial experience I don’t think, but when I ask my husband if we would have put the 8400 dollars back in our savings if we’d paid everything off at once he said Probably not.
We keep have the credit cards in a plastic cup in the freezer now. If we need them, we can pull the cup out and melt the ice to get the cards if there’s an emergency. Otherwise it’s cash money or a debit card or we don’t buy it.
I hated the time it took to just get back to even but lesson learned. We pay for it or we wait for it. We’re not old money but thanks to this experience we’re Some Money.
I’m going to order Old Money New Woman in January, too. My niece is graduating early.
Thank you very much for your writing. I hope we can visit Paris some day.
Janice
Hi Byron:
What a nice letter from Janice, and I loved her last line…”We’re not old money, but thanks to this experience, we’re some money.” Very clever and appropriate. Having been in their shoes in a previous life, I know the tremendous value of savings now, and I will never go down that path again. Great advice you gave to them, and congrats to you, Janice, if you’re reading this.
Hope you and your family are staying well in these difficult times, Byron. My husband and I are both healthy and hope to stay that way. We’ve been nowhere all year, except for work, and have been having a cooking frenzy in our kitchen and truly enjoying it. Stay well, everyone.
Bev
I recently heard a story about a lady who asked Warren Buffett for some investment advice.
He asked her if she had a credit card. She replied yes. Did she owe any money on the card (?) The answer was again, yes.
Mr. Buffett told her to go away and pay off the card. Then she was welcome to come back and they could talk about investments.
Regards,
David.
Thanks to Byron and Janice for sharing this story. Kudos to you and your husband, Janice. That’s NOT an easy path, but you followed it. What a great load off your shoulders!!
I read an article a few years ago that asked: what is the best investment opportunity for someone with only $100 to invest? The markets only pay on average 11% but paying off credit cards guarantees an opportunity cost return of 20+%…my wife and I were fortunate enough to pay off our credit card debt this year with stimulus checks (we only graduated university in 2017, so I feel we’re ahead of the curve now), so now we can focus on maximizing our investments and savings, and look forward to financial independence in our 40’s.
Good for you, Bryce. Here’s wishing you all the best in 2021… – BGT
Hi Janice, is debt taxed? Well, it is not. Why not to use it wisely, though? Debt is great, if you know how to use it. As far as I’m reading your story, you are mentioning dollars, not money. OM have money. Why debt is not taxed? Money are not taxed. For more financial literacy read Pierpont’s testimony before Banking and currency committee.
Good luck