I went back and forth about it and I wrote about it on the blog. Yesterday, it finally happened. Chase Auto Finance is no longer a part of my life (as soon as the check clears and I get my title).
I wrote the check and put it in the mail yesterday for the full payoff of my auto loan. I've never written a check that big before and it was really hard. My hand was shaking the whole time and I think I smoked about three cigarettes before I finished writing the check. I had my buddy come over and drive me to the post office just to make sure I got that check out of my hands before I changed my mind. It's now safely stored in post office's outgoing mail bin with a destination of Chase Auto Finance's retail payoff department in Fort Worth, Texas
I'd originally said that I wanted to wait until I would have at least $20k in liquid funds remaining after I paid off the car loan. I didn't wait that long. After writing a check for $22,895.52; I have around $17k remaining in my savings account.
I should be happy about this but I'm not. I feel like Murphy is lurking around the corner with a huge financial emergency that will wipe me out and cause me to take on additional debt.
Why did I decide to go ahead and pay it off? I got tired of swimming against the current. Trying to build wealth while still paying interest is counterproductive. While it's true that my net worth is increasing, I feel the $555.91 car payment I was sending to Chase can be used to help build my net worth even faster. It will also help me breathe a little easier every month.
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Congrats! Driving a paid off car is kinda addictive. Hopefully you feel better after the big-check butterflies go away. If there is any doubt, you could pay your old car pmt to a special anti-Murphy fund until you feel 110% better.
Congrats! I love the feeling of driving around in a paid off car. Best of luck putting all that extra money away. You'll be much better off for it!
Uber-snowflake!! That's awesome. And think of all the money you'll be saving on interest. And earning interest on each month (if the $500+ goes to investing, anyway).
Congratulations! If you use the old car payment to restock your slush fund you'll be back at $20K in around 5 months anyway won't you?
Can you actually think of any 'Murphy' that could occur in your own life where $22K would make things easier than $17K at this point in time?
Congrats and join the club! When the check clears, you'll feel great. Personally, I think you made a very wise decision that you won't regret.
wow, thats great and dont worry i heard from a friend of a friend who knows a guy in cancun and he saw murphy there last night, so around your corner he is not!....
@financial ramblings: I'm hoping it does become addictive. I don't want another car loan again.
@paul: thanks
@debt dieter: I plan to build the account back up as soon as possible.
@singla ma: It's starting to feel better already.
@lez: LOL. I hope Murphy takes a long, long vacation.
Congrats! Having a paid off car will change your financial outlook and probably help you take some smart, calculated risks.
Congrats! Sometimes taking a major steps is hard, but it's usually worth it. Before the end of the year you'll be up to your $20K mark just by diverting your car money to savings.
You did the right thing. Congratulations.
Coly How!! Now thatsa BIIG payoff amount. You can go out and get some smaller NEW cars for that much.
Congratulations!!
My hero! Congrats on doing something that I aspire to sometime in the future. Great job on kicking Chase to the curb.
Maybe take a look at it a different way. If you paid cash for the car at the time of purchase you would pleased as punch that you paid for the car with cash. You should have that same feeling. At the time of purchase you might not have been able to save everything you needed but now your goal has been accomplished.
Way to go!!
I'm glad you finished your car loan. It must feel great.
I always feel a huge power rush when I fork over a lot of money.
By the way, you could probably save a lot of money if you quit smoking :)
Good for you! Must feel wonderful. I can't wait to pay off our cars
Umm thats a dumb idea especially if you got low promotional financing on it. I have a 2% car loan and am sure I could get a better return on my money than that 2% putting me ahead overall. If you wanted to pay a lump sum then you should have decided when you bought the car so you could the $1000 or other promotional offering that car companies give people that pay off in full
"I feel like Murphy is lurking around the corner with a huge financial emergency that will wipe me out and cause me to take on additional debt."
I just had to comment on how hard this statement made me laugh when reconciled with your earlier statement that you still have/had $17,000 in savings at that point.
You are worried about ANYTHING when you have $17k in savings? Also your car was worth $22,000+? Give me a break!
Sorry bud, but what a waste of space this 'blog' is, richies complaining about anything (but especially financial complaining) is hilarious to me.