How long did it take you to pay off your debt completely?

My husband and I are on a mission to pay down the debt and live completely on cash. We are down to a 30,000 student loan. I'm dying to knock this loan out by december 2011. The pain that debt has caused us has been very real, and I am absolutely ready to see it gone from my life! Any other debt recovery stories out there?|||In December of 2000 I had nearly $50,000 in unsecured credit card debt. I had recently bought a money pit of a home and about half of that was money spent for needed repairs. I was barely able to make my payments, cover utilities, and put food on the table.





I took a new job in Sept of 2001 that increased my income by about 40% and went on a debt-payment campaign. By then I was used to living on an austerity budget so paying every extra cent towards the debt was pretty easy. The only "luxury" that I allowed myself was expanded basic cable service for $19 a month.





By the end of 2006 I had paid off all of my debt but my mortgage and had refinanced my mortgage at a 4% lower rate than the original mortgage. I kept up with the austerity budget and started salting away the extra money in savings and some carefully selected investments, along with kicking in an extra $100 a month on the principal on my mortgage.





Presently I have nearly 2 years worth of income in liquid savings and investments and over $50k in equity in my home even at the currently depressed market value. I'm on track to having enough extra money to pay off my mortgage in full at the end of 2011.





Unlike some people, I did keep some of my credit cards open. I do use them on a rotational basis for routine expenses but pay the balances in full each month. I've been able to drive the available credit up to nearly 2x my annual income. As a result, my credit score is now skirting 800.





Most folks would be surprised as to how much income that they have that they can "re-purpose" towards debt payment. Dumping cable TV or satellite TV alone can make a huge difference. Switching to basic metered phone service along with the local telco's "teaser" broadband service can save a small fortune as well. (If you make a lot of phone calls, buy a Magic Jack. For $20 a year you get unlimited local and national calling and it works fine on a 768k cheapo DSL service. The basic phone line guarantees 911 service, something that should not be foregone.





Keep a small pocket diary with you and record ALL cash expenses in it. Again, you'll be shocked at how much you probably waste in the Coke machine at work. Buy store-brand pop and bring a few cans to work and leave them in the fridge there. (I really hated drinking Dr Thunder from Wally World, but the $50 a month that it saved me made getting used to it worthwhile.)





Consider a prepaid cell service if you really need a cell phone. Most folks can save a small fortune by un-bundling themselves from cellular contracts. At the very least, review your use patterns and buy the plan that most closely matches your essential needs. Savings of 50% are entirely possible. Time it with the expiration of any existing contracts if possible. If you just signed a contract it may be cheaper in the long to just pay the termination fee and walk away.





For entertainment buy used DVDs at garage sales. If you REALLY need to see a near first-run feature, rent it from Red Box for $1 and buy a couple of bags of microwave popcorn. (Frankly there's a LOT to be said for a $2 cuddle on the sofa vs $30 or more for a trip to the movies!) If you're a movie junkie, drop pay-per-view and subscribe to Netflix for $9 a month.





For student loans, see if there are any programs to bundle multiple loans together and/or to reduce the interest rates. See if there are any loan forgiveness programs available for your profession. If you're a teacher, taking a position in an urban or rural poor district can wipe out huge amounts of student loan debt in exchange for a commitment of a few years. Often the savings on the loan forgiveness are greater than the salary hit in working in those districts.





Getting out of debt isn't rocket science for most folks. Challenge every penny that you spend and justify it or cut it out and use it towards the debt. One of the huge positives that I noticed after a while was that once you are accustomed to cutting the fat from your budget it will become much easier to save for the future as well. I'll never have to take out a car loan again for example as I have enough in savings to pay cash and STILL have my emergency fund fully intact. Once you have experienced TRUE financial freedom you'll never want to return to the old ways of living from paycheck to paycheck. Being able to tell your boss, "Take this job and shove it!" without having to concern yourself with the consequences is an amazing stress reliever!|||Hope it helps. TFTP.

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|||I only have $1,000 debt.


I should be able to pay it next week.