Total Credit Card Debt Paid Off…Over $17,000

I paid some more towards our credit cards this weekend and our credit card debt total now stands at $20,604. That means we have paid off over $17,000 since starting this blog in February of last year.

$17,000…that blows my mind.

That’s almost half the cost of our house. It’s the cost of a new car. That’s a little more than what I make at my job in six months. That’s a lot of money.

We still aren’t quite at the halfway point ($18,807) but we are getting very, very close

Posted by Tricia on June 17, 2007 at 11:37 AM in Debt Updates | 20 Comments »
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Jen responded:
Posted: June 17th, 2007 at 1:05 pm
Wow! That’s an amazing accomplishment. You should be very, very proud!
JW Thornhill responded:
Posted: June 17th, 2007 at 1:52 pm
WOW!! $17,000. That’s Great. Congratulations
Jaime responded:
Posted: June 17th, 2007 at 4:41 pm
Wow that’s so awesome! Congrats, it’s amazing how much can be accomplished when you set your mind (and budget!) to it.
Amber Yount responded:
Posted: June 17th, 2007 at 5:03 pm
Wow, thats inspirational, me and my husband are fighting about $26,000 of debt that doesn’t seem to get any smaller. Any suggestions?
ladydoughgirl responded:
Posted: June 17th, 2007 at 5:23 pm
Congratulations! That’s amazing. How did you pay off so much of your debt in such a short time? I’m new t your blog so I am not sure of how you got here. I’d love to hear your tips for paying off debt quickly. We have over 20K in credit card debt and we’re unsure how long it will take us.
Interrobanger responded:
Posted: June 17th, 2007 at 8:02 pm
Let me also say congrats. As one who works for a merchant group opposed to credit card industry practices (see UnfairCreditCardFees.com) it’s terrible to hear the kind of debt people find themselves under. It’s great to hear you’re making some real progress, though. Keep it up.

I think Congress might actually take action this year, since they’ve had 3 hearings now and the banks are starting to change at least some of their practices. Still, I hope new services like Metafos and Gratis will give them a run for their money (so to speak).
Fellowes responded:
Posted: June 17th, 2007 at 9:33 pm
Nice job Tricia. I hope to find myself in a similar situation within 12 months or less. You have made some amazing progress and I hope to follow in your footsteps.

Keep it up!
arduous responded:
Posted: June 17th, 2007 at 10:04 pm
Congratulations! That’s wonderful news.

And thank you for bringing us along on your journey.
boomie responded:
Posted: June 17th, 2007 at 10:10 pm
Can you please post a link to your story of how you got into this debt, what did you spend this money on? I’d like to know.
Thanks and congratulations!
Tricia responded:
Posted: June 17th, 2007 at 10:24 pm
Thank you everyone!

Amber – the best advise I can give to anyone trying to pay off their debt is to not give up. Try to make more money and try to spend less money. Free up as much money as you can and send it away towards your debt. It’s a lot easier to say than do, and I still work on that. But don’t give up.

boomie – I gave a nutshell synopsis of how we got into debt here. Our debt basically accumulated from 1995 to early 2006 except for about $10,000 to get equipment for my husband to start a business. Our credit cards were a way to live above our means. In retrospect, we very well could have lived within our means if we didn’t live so large and were more responsible with the money we had.
Hector responded:
Posted: June 17th, 2007 at 11:42 pm
Congrats!! please tell us how much you pay, and to who!? what amounts etc.!!!

We have 13497 to go!!! I can’t wait, I’ve become obsessed about debt!!
danielle responded:
Posted: June 18th, 2007 at 8:43 am
Good for you!!! Congratulations!!!

I am anxiously awaiting you breaking the point where your debt is under 20K. You will feel so good then.
Roundup for week of 10 June 2007 at Mighty Bargain Hunter responded:
Posted: June 18th, 2007 at 9:14 am
[...] Blogging Away Debt is almost at the halfway point in paying off her debt! [...]
DC Smith responded:
Posted: June 18th, 2007 at 10:30 am
Isn’t it scary when you think back and realize all that money was in your budget before and you spent it AND MORE to get into debt? It was for me. I looked around at what I had and couldn’t figure out where even a tiny fraction of it went. I blew thousand per year and all I have to show for it is this crap? It was quite the eye-opener.
chitown responded:
Posted: June 18th, 2007 at 10:53 am
Wow!!! Keep up the excellent work!!!
Amy responded:
Posted: June 18th, 2007 at 3:16 pm
Amazing job! You should be patting yourself on the back. That is a huge accomplishment!
Ellen responded:
Posted: June 19th, 2007 at 10:57 pm
I’m impressed by not only people who can work hard to get out of debt, but by people like you who are willing to share it with the world. I’m trying.
Moneymonk responded:
Posted: June 21st, 2007 at 5:53 pm
17K in 4 months!!!!!! You should be debt-free in the next 4 months. Stay Focus
Steve "The Credit Card Debt Man" B responded:
Posted: June 28th, 2007 at 1:52 pm
I hope this blog will help open up other people eyes to the dangers of credit card debt and will hopefully save some unsuspecting visitor the pain of credit card debt.
MoneyCash responded:
Posted: May 26th, 2008 at 7:06 am
That is really quite an accomplishment. IS that income you earned from blogging?