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Finances & Money

Major Milestone: Credit Card Debt

July 11, 2007
By Cleverdude
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I really could have done this last month, but I didn’t. You may know that we started with a peak of $20,000 in credit card debt (I say “we”, but I mean “I”). I can’t remember the exact amount, but I left college with about $15,000 in credit card debt, and in the last 6 years, that amount peaked a few times at about $20,000.  Mostly those times were our wedding, honeymoon, auto downpayments (at 0%), or other temporary large purchases.

Well, today is the day that we have less than $10,000 left in credit card debt! I just sent off a payment of $150 to Citibank, and our new CC balance is $9,852. Last month, the balance was $10,002.

I’m still considering which of our remaining debts to pay down first (2 student loans, CC, or Ridgeline). It looks like I’ll be able to get a decent balance transfer rate in November when the current 0% offer is up, so I may decide to pay down my student loan next, rather than the credit card debt.

But getting rid of that credit card debt is just so tempting!

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About Cleverdude

Mike founded CleverDude.com in June 2006 while working as a technical analyst in the Washington, D.C. area. A Penn State graduate, he built the site as a side project alongside a white-collar career that included earning a master’s degree and multiple promotions.

In five years he wrote nearly 1,300 articles on personal finance and life lessons drawn from his own experience. The blog grew from a hobby into a recognized early voice in the personal-finance community and generated meaningful revenue. He sold the site in 2010, continued as a guest contributor through 2015, and returned in 2023 after further career advances, paying off his home, and extensive travel.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Ms Broke says

    July 11, 2007 at 11:19 pm

    Wahoo! Big congratulations, Clever Dude… I can’t wait to be in your shoes 🙂

    Reply
  2. Mark A says

    July 12, 2007 at 10:11 am

    Definitely go for the Credit cards, the student loan debt will go so much easier and you will have less temptation to use the cards again if they’re at zero.

    Reply
  3. Clever Dude says

    July 12, 2007 at 10:32 am

    Mark, thanks for the advice. We actually don’t use credit cards for unnecessary purchases. We pay everything cash when we can. And when we can’t (or want to get rewards) we use cards, but pay it off within the month.

    All this debt was “legacy debt” from college. We had repayment plans for our wedding, honeymoon, and when we used it for other big purchases like a downpayment for my truck ($5k at 0%).

    Reply
  4. mapgirl says

    July 12, 2007 at 10:57 am

    Awesome! I’m working on it… working on it…

    Reply

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