Zero was never before such a beautiful number.

I know this is none of anyone's business but mine and my husband's, but dammit, I'm proud.

As of today, we are (I am) officially debt free except for our mortgage!! Woooohooooo!!!!!

I paid off my car a couple months ago. It was truly all I could do not to have a Mary Tyler Moore moment outside First Market Bank on Hull Street after I handed them that last payment, and I have been toying with the idea of framing the title... every car I ever had was either given to me (Laverne = 1981 Honda Civic, Shirley = 1988 Oldmobile Cutlass Calais) or I never finished paying off before trading it in (Kira = 1999 Nissan Sentra, traded for my current darling, Sabine = 2000 Mitsubishi Eclipse).

I knew my student loan balance was getting very low, so I decided to just go on and pay it off. Well, the thing about my student loan is that my dad and I have tag-teamed it since I graduated from college--we've each made a payment each month, so we both have access to the account. And he beat me to it! My dad had already gone on and paid the rest off! And that means my debt is ALL GONE! Holy Jesus.

I'll let you in on a little secret. After a series of piss-poor credit card decisions, four years of education that were worth every penny, some chin surgery, and a penchant for newer vehicles, I found myself in over $50,000 of debt about five years ago. As Bryan and I got more serious, and as I saw his parents retire before they were even sixty and Bryan's very smart financial habits, I decided that I had to get rid of this crap. And so, with the help of dear old Dad and dear old Husband, I did! Or WE did, I should say!

I have to take this opportunity to thank my Dad. (Do I sound like I just won some sort of contest here?) He was as committed to my education as I was from day one, and he committed to helping pay for it. There were no big college funds in my family, but we worked together to make sure it happened, and it did! So, thanks, Dad, for believing in me, and for investing in me! :) I love you!

Man... $0. I need to go out and charge something!! ;-)