Blogging Away Debt Our Journeys to a Debt-Free Life

by Tricia

My current vehicle was purchased new with a 10.9% interest rate. We may have been able to negotiate a lower rate at the time of purchase, but it was just a horrible day (it was 9/11/01) and we just wanted to go home and get the car purchase over with (we had to have a car because our other vehicle wasn’t working right – and we traded it in). So, we lived with that interest rate.

About two years into the loan, I learned that you could refinance your auto loans. I thought that was a great idea and it would help to negotiate a lower interest rate and receive a lower monthly payment. I cannot remember what company we tried, but we were denied. They said we had too much debt and were too much of a risk.

After getting turned down, I too easily gave up and didn’t try another company (which I realize now was a mistake on my part). I also should have tried going to a bank and seeing if they had a loan with a lower interest rate.

I am happy to report that our vehicle will be paid off in September of this year, and as it stands right now, our vehicle is still worth $6,000. That is a little less than half of the price we paid for the car, so I believe our car has held up in value quite a bit. I want to have a little party when our car is paid off. It will actually be ours and not the banks!

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