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It is such a good feeling to have that thing paid off. I never thought I would. I’ve had it since 1995. In college, I used it more than I should have. But at least it was for college related expenses like books and for food. Gotta eat. But still … I racked up a bit of a balance on that thing.

But that’s all gone now. I’ve made my final payment. I am planning on keeping it, but don’t plan on using it. If I have an emergency, it’s there. But if I have an “I really want that” moment, I’ll just have to deal. LOL

I do have one more credit card. Another that I’ve had since 1995. Again, more college expenses. But I also put other stuff on that one that I shouldn’t have … my couch, my tv. But those were things I needed. The tv wasn’t extravagant … it’s a 19 in that replaced my 13 in. And I needed a couch. I had my first apartment by myself and needed furniture. This one should be paid off by the end of the year, if not sooner.

Since the first one is completely paid off, I have the money I’ve been sending to that one will be split between the second one and savings. Like I mentioned in a previous post, I want to open a second savings account specifically for saving for a house. I’ll probably wait a month or so before opening that second savings account, but I plan to do it before I pay off the second credit card. The sooner I start putting money in it, the sooner I’ll have enough to start house hunting … and THAT can’t come soon enough.

So, other than the second credit card, the only loan I have left is my student loan. And I think I remember reading or hearing somewhere that that is a good kind of debt (if there is such a thing … LOL). So I won’t be sending extra to that. I’ll keep making my payments and slowly whittle that down. My other bills are all monthly bills. Well, except for my car/renters insurance. But I’ve been paying 3 months at a time on that one for a while now. So I feel good about my financial state.

Hopefully I haven’t jinxed myself now by saying that.

So tonite I got my 3rd one (I got the first one last July). Everything on the report is good. No negative items. All accounts in good standing. After looking over things, I decided to get my credit score as well. After all, it only cost $5.95. I can handle that.

I’m very happy after getting my credit score. My Risk Grade is B. My Credit Category is Prime Plus. My credit rating ranks higher than 70.87% of US consumers. I am “more than likely” to get “good offers” from lenders. That definitely makes me feel good. If I was trying to get a loan to buy a house, I might actually get one.

The credit score report had some things listed that lower your score. This one surprised me: Having low available credit amounts on revolving accounts (like credit cards) has a negative impact on your credit score. A few years ago, I had both of my credit card companies lower my credit limits. I thought that having high limits was a bad thing. I guess I shouldn’t have done that.

I’m working on paying off my credit cards, and I’m almost there. One of my cards will be paid off shortly after the 15th of this month. The other card will be paid off by the end of the year. I only have the 2. I had planned to close the account on the second one once it was paid off but keep the first one open for emergencies. Now I’m not sure if I should. I need to do some more research into what lowers your credit score and what has a positive effect on your credit score.

Once those cards are paid off, I’ll have that money to put in a savings account earmarked specifically for a house. I’m going to start doing that next month since the one card will be paid off. I plan to take the money I was sending to that card and put some toward the other card and the rest into the savings account. I’m hoping that in no more than 3 years, I’ll have enough money saved for a down payment and other closing fees. I’m going to try to put as much money into that housing savings account as I can to try to get to that point sooner than 3 years. But I’m being realistic.

I just know that the sooner I am out of apartment living, the better. But home ownership brings it’s own set of problems. I’ve seen what Robin has had to deal with since she bought her house. Things that need to get fixed. Appliances dying. So I want to make sure I have enough in my housing savings to cover the closing costs and still have money left in it for the unexpected expenses that come up.

So, for now, I just keep paying off those 2 credit cards and keep putting money into savings. I have a Simple IRA now at work, so money is going into that for retirement. So, hopefully my financial future is now more bright than it ever has been in the past. I just hope I haven’t jinxed it by saying that.