Paid off a credit card

On Friday, I paid off a credit card that I've had for over a decade. It felt good.

I actually had to call customer service to get the final payoff balance. I had to wait another seven minutes on hold to have the woman calculate it.

I was on hold for nearly half an hour. At least I got the payoff total that I needed.

That's one problem about Canadian banks. They aren't upfront with your final balance. You are expected to pay what you owe on your statement. You then wait for another statement that calculates the interest.

I like how my bank in the US does it. There's the payoff balance and your statement balance for credit cards and lines of credit. You know exactly how much to pay off. You don't need to call customer service to have someone calculate the payoff balance for you.

Weird, Canada.

I'm happy that I have got rid of a loan and a credit card so far this year. My financial situation is looking better.

Loans and my debt

Here's an update on my financial situation. It'll be a medium post in length.

A couple of years ago, to repair my credit rating, I decided to take out a secured loan. Looking back, I shouldn't have done it. This loan company alleges that when you make regular payments to a secured loan, it helps your credit rating. Although somewhat true, repairing your credit rating takes time and dedication. It's not a quick fix like this company had implied. I didn't need to take this loan out.

Luckily, its term is only three years. I was closing in on two years of my loan. On Monday, I received a text message from the loan place saying that I could take out a cash loan thanks to my positive payments on my secured loan.

Now, I didn't want a cash loan. However, it allows the equity for the secured loan to get deposited back into my account and close that loan account. He said that I could pay off the new loan immediately. I decided to do it, as I just want out of both this secured loan and this cash loan that I never wanted.

The guy that I was dealing with was a pain as the process unravelled. I wanted the smallest loan amount possible, which is $2500. His confirmation text said $7500. Huh?

I also didn't want insurance protection, as I was going to pay the loan off immediately. At least he got that detail correct.

I have to call a special department to have my loan completely paid off. Fun! I wanted a specific day to have automatic payments come out of my chequing account to coincide with my payday. Nope, that didn't happen. It's the same special department that I need to get that changed. Even though I am not making regular payments, I'd rather be safe than have money taken out of my account that I have not budgeted for.

He asked for my bank statement overs the last three months. Since we were texting, I sent them that way. He then asked for them sent to his e-mail account. Why not say that to begin with? I actually had to download the statements from my laptop and transfer them over to my phone. I could have avoided the extra work.

During this process, I felt like this guy wasn't clear and upfront. He wanted a pre-authorized form filled out with my banking information. I put the company name in. When he got it, he wanted it blank. Well, why not tell me that upfront? I'm sending you a document with my banking information through the Internet. How safe is that it have any person take that information and authorize taking money out of it when the company name is blank?

Yeah, I had it. I told him off that I didn't appreciate these missing details, including the loan term. He frankly wasn't understanding my point of view. I told him so and said that we need to move on. I was tired of texting him who had the listening skills of a brick wall. I'm sure that I hit 100 text messages just to this guy by the end of this loan setup.

In the end, the loan money has been deposited to my bank account. My secured loan has been closed. I am waiting for the equity to get deposited. I'll call this special department to pay off this loan and close this account later on today.

What I am not thrilled with is the fact that having this loan company do a credit check on me will temporarily make my credit rating go down. It's sad that I simply couldn't pay off the secured loan without opening another loan. Then again, the secured loan was at a higher rate of interest and it's really not worth going through the loan for another thirteen months.

Other than this weird loan situation, I am thrilled that I can make more payments towards paying off my debt and improving my financial situation.

Debt reduction update

I haven't written about my debt reduction progress for a bit, other than continuing to save money staying at home. Commuting to the office is gone. I don't fill up my car with gas all that often. I go out twice a week for groceries, essentials, and takeout to help my favourite restaurants out.

As a result, I have more disposable income. It has been great contributing to my retirement saving and regular savings accounts. I had to dip into the former when my debt situation wasn't great. I didn't have an emergency fund. My regular savings account is that emergency fund that I have wanted and needed.

I get paid this week. It's a huge turning point. I will be paying off my line of credit completely. I am thrilled.

I do recommend having a budget and sticking to it, no matter how great or grave your debt situation is. I have been using an Google Sheets spreadsheet for a while and it does wonders. It's a question of being disciplined sticking to your budget, which is the toughest part.

Optimism with finances

Things are looking good with my finances. By the end of this month, I should have paid off a credit card that started my debt issues. It has been a lot of hard work to pay it off. I am glad that I'm nearly there.

I have a loan that should be paid off by late May or early June. It's difficult to predict when the last payment day is. I made extra payments, which is throwing off how the last day is being reported. I dislike how inflexible computer systems are.

Anyway, I estimate that sometime in June, I will have more income to build up my emergency and retirement savings, and continue paying off more of my existing debt such that I don't need to care about maxing out my credit cards.

I'm so happy with my progress.

Tax return and financial health

On Sunday, I filed my tax return. It's nice to get it out of the way. I am roughly 1.5 months early filing it.

I am pleased with how things are going with paying off my debt and getting back on track. This year has some exciting changes:

• Number of credit cards paid off: 2
• Number of loans paid off: 1

I will also be focusing more on saving money. It's sad that I have had to abandon this practice for a while to pay off debt. It's important to have a decent reserve for emergencies. These days, it's my retirement savings and I don't want to dip into it.

I'll need to build up my retirement savings, which I am looking forward to. I'm optimistic and excited! It's nice to feel good about how far I have come.

Bonus pay coming soon to my chequing account

On Monday, it was confirmed that my bonus pay will be deposited at the end of the month. I am excited!

I have a loan that will be completely paid off at either the end of May or early June. I am putting this bonus pay towards paying off a credit card. I will be in decent financial shape come the summer.

It's nice to look ahead and see how bright my financial situation will be. Yay!