I just did something that is leaving my heart pounding and I think I’m a little dizzy. With a few clicks, I did it. I paid off my 5-figure credit card as a Christmas gift to myself.
This year has been a hugely successful one, though not without a lot of hard work and sacrifice, and my frugal nature has enabled me to save and save…and save, while still enjoying what makes us happy as a family. We still have a weekly pizza night, we still enjoy vacations. We still continue to be the frugal one-vehicle family that we were 8 years ago when I gave up my government-job to become a stay at home mom to our first born.
Never did I think that working from home, using my voice and my love of writing, could result in me not only being able to contribute to our family income, but in being able to pay off a credit card looming over our heads for years.
I’ll be honest with you. I didn’t want to do it.
No, I wanted to spend that money on so many things: a holiday in February, a used-vehicle so we’d finally have two and not have to juggle rides, a renovation for my kitchen.
But the fact is that the money on the credit card was already spent – and owed. The money sitting in my savings wasn’t really mine with I owed Visa a huge bill.
And so – after months of thinking about it (meanwhile paying the yucky interest-only amount) I did it this morning. My palms are still sweating.
So let’s be realistic here – while the debt is paid off, I still need a credit card. The one I had from RBC was a low-rate Visa (thank goodness for that balance!) and now I’d like one with a fabulous rewards program. So I need to know – what’s your favorite rewards program credit card? I intend to pay off each payment as it’s made and reap the rewards, literally. Fill me in.
And hold me.
Wow, that’s pretty awesome. What a good feeling to know it’s all paid off.
We have a Bmo air miles mastercard and we like it. Anything with more airmiles means more free vacation tickets. we’re using ours for Busch gardens in Tampa. Have fun card shopping!
Good for you! I remember several years ago when I way able to pay off the mortgage on our house and how great that felt!
I have two credit cards, one is very low interest and one is an airmiles rewards card. I only use the airmiles one when I actually have the cash to pay for whatever I’m using it for since the interest is quite high. If I need to purchase something that I know might take me a couple of months to pay for I use the low interest one. So, for me, it’s airmiles but I haven’t really explored other rewards credits card a whole lot.
Congratulations for paying that off! That’s incredible.
We don’t have any sort of rewards card just the low interest one so that when we do carry a little balance it doesn’t hurt as much. I’d love to learn more about rewards cards and actually get something out of them!
Awesome! Congrats!!!! I am also looking for a good rewards card, so I may be coming back to this post to read the responses!
I highly recommend the President’s Choice cc. No fees, you collect PC points, you get 7 cents off gas at Superstore/Extra Foods, and you can redeem your PC points for free groceries! We just got $180 of free groceries earlier this month, and last night when I went to Superstore I had another $20 ready to be redeemed already!
I have redeemed over $900 in free groceries since we got the card. That is combined with our PC online banking account, but the majority of our points come from using the credit card.
We used an Airmiles card for years, and it was such a pain in the ass. Annual fees combined with crappy options for flights led me to the decision to cancel that card and try PC instead.
We use our credit card for EVERYTHING and pay it off every month. I get heart palpitations just thinking of carrying a balance on our credit card! I rack up thousands of dollars every month, and pay it all off and start over the next month. With all the free groceries we get, I’m actually MAKING money by using my credit card!
I love your ways Kathy! I used to do the same – use the points card and then pay it off and then had to move to a low rate no-rewards card when we were a (low) single income family after my first was born. I’m so eager to get back into rewards!
What about Sobey’s? Anyone? I love my Sobey’s Points card and know they have a CC as well.
Congratulations Tenille, that’s an incredible accomplishment. I need to be more disciplined in that way.
Okay I know you like to travel, are frugal etc..and I will tell you I am getting paid to share the Scotia Amex card with my readers, BUT if you EVER have read my blog I don’t endorse credit cards at ALL. Not till now. 4 x the points when doing normal things like grocery shopping. As well not ONLY can you redeem for travel but so so much more including investments. You know I think I am even more frugal then you Tenille and never thought I would consider a card again.
Now that you have no more interest over your head for consumer debt, what is next? The mortgage? 🙂 I am so so proud of you as you started this as a frugal blog. It wonderful to see posts LIKE this!
Thank you Hollie! I am a die-hard couponer and deal-seeker and regardless of having zero income or a decent income, I’ll continue to use them. It baffles me when people don’t use coupons…would you leave a loonie on the ground? Why not use the coupon then? Love reading about other frugalistas here in Canada!
I’ll check out the card you suggested, thank you!
Haha, I have used that line about leaving a loonie on the ground! However some people just love their excuses or don’t care about saving money I guess…
i love the line about leaving a loonie on the ground compared to coupons. i love coupons, my husband refuses cuz he’s afraid of looking cheap. in fact when they came out with the timcard. he got them in xmas cards. refused to use them saying that the cashiers know that he’s buying with someone else’s money. i make a point of adding up my savings, to show my husband how much i save for us. I use the PC MC and love it. i reward myself with free groceries and feel good about even more savings.
Oh my gosh Danielle! Your husband needs an intervention! Mine was hesitant to use coupons at first but not gift cards – that’s a new one!! Thanks for sharing!
The rewards sound great but just be aware that many places DO NOT take AMEX!
I sometimes see people in line to the register buying products that I have a coupon for and have no use for it. But when I offer them a coupon most of them look at me like I’m crazy, some even look offended…Why?!
Don’t bother with an AirMiles card. Until about two years ago, AirMiles were fantastic but not anymore. The flights are impossible to book, the fees are high and you can’t change after booking. Each “mile” is really only worth 10 cents. So, if you spent $20, you’re only getting 0.5%. Bonus miles are better but still not great.
I have a Delta card for their travel program but we fly Delta quite a bit to get to Iowa so it’s worth it for me.
I agree with someone above who recommended the PC Card. The card is free and you earn 10 points per $1. 20,000 points = $20 free groceries which is a 1% pay back. Even better, you earn 7 cents worth of SuperBucks per liter of gas purchased using the card.
Always pay the card off in full because reward cards have very high interest rates!
I’ve heard people are moving away from AirMiles as well for that same reason. I used to have a PC Points card and loved it, so it may be time to go back to that. I refuse to pay an annual fee on a credit card – why would I pay for the privilege to be in debt? Urgh.
We have a West Jet MasterCard and are happy with how quickly the West-Jet dollars are adding up. We also get 1 companion fare each year for $99 (have yet to redeem but will be handy for our now annual cross-country flight as a family). We’ve had it since the spring and have already earned almost $500 West-Jet money which translates dollar-for-dollar. There is a $99 annual fee but the savings on the companion far alone are way more than the $99 it costs us for the card. We’re seriously considering getting a 2nd one in my name to get another cheap companion fare (2 kids + 1 on the way). We pay our balance off every month and buy EVERYTHING on the card to get maximum points.
I just heard about this card (or, rather, paid attention to the ads this time) on our recent flight to Orlando and back. It interested me and was curious if it had a fee. I don’t like the idea of paying a fee but get what you’re saying about it covering that companion fare, etc. Something to think about for sure, thanks for sharing your experience with it Kelly!
Congratulations on paying it off! I’ve also reached two great milestones this year. First, I paid off my own credit card debt AND paid off my student loan! I am SO very happy to finish both and like you, I will be looking carefully at which credit card I apply for and aim to pay off what I use immediately. I agree with you, I will not pay anything for a card that has an annual fee, regardless of the benefits they showcase because most of the time, those benefits aren’t even being used.
Please let me know when you find a card that you do like!
Will do, Donna! I want to weigh out all the options first but customer experience of my readers definitely will play the major role. Congrats on paying off that debt – student loans are gross!
It feels so great doesn’t it!?! Good for you guys Tenille! We both had BMO airmiles MC’s but found that branch here in town a bit difficult to deal with and there were so many conditions and restrictions when using the airmiles. I now switched to the RBC Westjet MC. The points are great and we usually fly Westjet anyway, so it will be more useful to us. Enjoy the extra money in your pocket every month!! 🙂
way to go! that must feel amazing!
Oh that’s such a good feeling! Good for you!! We just took care of a bunch of stuff like that too and got a Scotia Card with the Scene rewards so we get free movies out of it. It is not a low rate card, but as was explained to us, it gives a bit more motivation to keep it paid off!! And it’s working!
Congratulations on paying off your debt!
I use my Presidents Choice MC for EVERY purchase I make in the month (including bills) and pay it off at the end of the month – the points add up very quickly!
There is no annual fee with it either..
Congrats on paying off the debt! We just use a Mastercard from our credit union. The rewards are alright but not the best of wwhar’s out there. We do what you are planning to do: use the card but pay it before the bill comes.
More people need to look at there credit card statements and see how much interest they are paying even on the low interest rate cards as this interest is calculated daily. On the credit card statements it shows that if you have an outstanding balance of even as little as $2500 if you just made your minimum payment it would take you something like 18 years to payoff. That is crazy…Just imagine how much those credit card companies make on people that don’t pay off there credit cards each month. It’s insane…Sorry this is the financial planner in me..If you put something on your credit card go home and pay for it right away on the internet. You still get the rewards but the credit card companies don’t hose you in interest…
Congrats on paying off your credit card – that’s so exciting!
I used to use the President’s Choice Financial MC. They even ended up sending me the ‘black’ one where I got the equivalent of 2% cashback for loblaw purchases (Loblaws, No Frills, Superstore, etc…) and 1% cash back on all other purchases.
BUT… I recently changed to the MBNA Smart Cash mastercard. It offers up to 5% cash back on all of your eligible gas and grocery purchases for the first 6 months, up to 2% cash back on eligible gas and grocery purchases thereafter, and, up to 1% cash back on all of your other eligible purchases. Also no annual fee and they will automatically mail a cheque when your cash back totals at least $50.
So the MBNA card is way better for the first 6 months and even after that, it will give me 2% on all gas an grocery purchases, which is more than what I was getting with the PCF card. Hope that helps! 🙂
PS: I’ve also used TD First Class Travel VISA but I don’t like cards with annual fees and I didn’t feel like I was getting enough travel rewards to justify paying the annual fee.
Congrats! Keep in mind that annual fees to balance out with rewards – so take a close look at what you want for rewards!
We switched from the Visa Avion card – as we were hoping to go to Hawaii, but then got pregnant with our last 😉 – to RBC’s Cashback card. The thing I love about this cards is that we get 1% back, no matter what, every year. So…how awesome will it be to just get a cheque in the mail!? 🙂 And actually – I see they now have one without a fee that gives you 2% back on grocery store purchases – which includes Superstore/IGA/Sobey’s etc (http://www.rbcroyalbank.com/cashbackcard/pdf/grocery-popular-merchant-mc1-english.pdf) – might have to switch to that one!!!
If you look at other programs – check to see what % you are actually getting back.
For example – PC points – earn 10 pts per $1 – redeem 20000 pts = $20 = 1%
RBC Cashback – simply get 1% on all purchases, 2% on grocery purchases
RBC Rewards – generally 1 pt per $1 spent – but then if redeeming for merchandise, the % you get back hugely varies.
The thing I’m loving about this particular RBC one – is that when you get your money back, you can do what you want with it! If you want to use it on travel, then once a year you get a cheque to spend on travel. So many of them, like the RBC WestJet or the PC MC or Airmiles, etc, you are given one option of what to spend your points on. And merchandise is usually *not* the best way to spend your points. Yes, you get something you wanted (maybe, if you have the 1000’s of points) just for spending money, but is it what you really wanted? And yes, getting money back for groceries is great, because we all have to eat. But what if you want to spend your points on something different this year? Like savings for a trip? Or savings for a down payment on a new-used vehicle? Or savings for a new camera? Or savings for …….?
There’s my thoughts. 😉
That’s terrific! I paid off and closed our line of credit earlier this year, and am so thrilled about it; I have never missed it!
good for you! It is hard but feels so good!
So what card did you end up getting? i agree you should never pay an annual fee for a card.
We have an Avion card now as well as a PC card. Still get lots of free groceries, but hopefully we can get a few free flights down the road too!
First I want to say CONGRATS on your accomplishment!
I absolutely love my HBC mc it has a high interest rate, but I never pay any interest! I always pay my cc off every month and reap all my rewards. I love my mc from HBC because I am a Home Outfitters junkie and love to redeem my points for gift cards there. If you dont like gift cards you can also have your points converted to air miles or esso extra points.
Wow, truly inspirational! We recently consolidated and while that felt good, it didn’t really ‘pay’ it off
Good for you! It’s hard. That’s a lot of money. But in the long run, you’re better off paying it up-front so you don’t have to keep accumulating interest!
Always pay everything on my credit card every month. No one is getting any of my hard earned money in interest. I save all my receipts and throw them away when I get my bill. I always know what I owe.
Good for you! Paying off any debt is a big deal. Maybe consider a credit card that gives you cash back? I switched to an mastercard that gives me a check everytime I’ve earned $50 and grocery purchases gives a higher rate than other purchases.
That must be an awesome feeling!!
I have the CIBC Aero Classic (but want to upgrade to the AeroGold – hubby says the fee is too high on that one though). I earn 1 point for every $2 spent and we will be booking 2 flights to Hawaii for next year very shortly! Super excited!
Awesome! What a great feeling that must have been for you and your family!
Congrats! Its really a big accomplishment! I’m still carrying a balance on my visa, but hope to pay it off within the next few months! (hopefully) lol
I pay it monthly. I don’t pay any interest on any of my credit cards.
Congrats on paying off your credit card!!!! I know how good that feels!
We also use our RBC infinite visa, and we save up our rewards for our yearly vacations to fly home and see our family.
I have an RBC Visa and I like their rewards system and I use my card to buy everything to get the points but always pay full amount every month.
Hard work, sacrifice and saving – congratulations on paying off your credit card debt!
It always feels so good when you can pay off a credit card. You can actually breathe a little better then. I have two cards I am presently paying off. One is almost there and the other is a close second. I don’t want that hanging over us when we decide to sell our house either this summer or next spring.
Congrats on paying yours off!
We’ve had a credit card for years, but our number one rule has always been to pay the balance off in full every month – no excuses!
We’ve also been able to rack up impressive loyalty points that have come in handy, too.
I’ve been trying to charge less and less over the years. Saving for what I want is the new way I’m doing things. But I still have a little bit of a balance that I’m working on. Congrats to you!
I understand how you feel. I took our income tax and paid off our credit card and the remaining part of my student loan. That was lingering over my head for way too long.
My hubby and I both have to carry cards for business purposes. He has the Amex which gives Aeroplan points (he travels a lot) and I have a CIBC Infinite Visa (again for Aeroplan points) – there are fees but we pay off our balances each month and the travel points really add up. We’ve had a lot of family medical concerns the past few yrs and have made great use of our points. Unfortunately, WestJet doesn’t offer many flights where we live so we are stuck with Air Canada. I also have a PC MC which I use for household expenses. Someone mentioned not wanting to use cash back for groceries but when you are feeding a family of 6+ in a smaller city that 40 or 60 or even I had 80 dollars once saved up knocks a lot off a grocery bill! It feels like picking up that loonie off the ground! Now there is PC Points Plus which may make the payback even more.
Congratulations! Consumer debt is always a burden.
Great job! I really need to work on getting mine down. 🙁
Congrats on paying off your credit card. It is a great feeling.
Good for you! Next month we’re paying off ours (1x 2000 & 1×500). My Hubby got his bonus from work, and looks like we re going to be debt free for once and all! I can slowly breathe a sign of relief!
Congrats on paying it off!! Feels good eh?
I have Visa and earn Aeroplan miles. $1 per mile. We pay off amount every month NEVER pay interest. And this is what we have gotten from it;
5 roundtrip flights to LosAngeles from Calgary
Rental SUV in LA for 10 days
3 round trip flights to Yellowknife ftom calgary
2 roundtrip flights to Regina from calgary
Rental car for 4 days in Regina
5 roundtrip flights to Las Vegas ftom calgary
Rental SUV in LV for 7 days
Redeemed miles for $1000 in gift cards at Esso & costco
Way to go! We did that a few years ago and it felt great!
Congratulations on paying off your credit card! You’ve already figured out the most important thing about credit cards – you need to pay them off every month – so just about any rewards card will be of benefit.
Oh my, a belated congratulations, Tennille! Half a year later, what credit card did you go with? If you’re still looking for ideas, one suggestion I’d make is getting a Walmart Rewards Mastercard, which I use in addition to my main credit card. The cashback on that card, particularly for Walmart purchases, beats those from any bank.
Congrats on paying off your credit card!
I currently use a Rebate Rewards credit card and it works fine for my current needs. Hoping to find another credit card with a different rewards program in the near future.
Congrats! I like using AmEx and BMO MasterCard for the bonus Airmiles, which I then turn around and redeem for cash off gas purchases. Yes, it definitely feels nice to pay off your balance each month!
Good for you – I am contemplating the exact same thing. Seems silly to keep putting $100 a paycheque into savings when I have a huge credit card debt…
We are slowly working towards paying off our credit card debt. It feels good to be able to put money on it after each paycheck.
reward cards are crucial! why not get something back for your loyalty (and interest payments!) congrats! must feel amazing 🙂
major congrats – what an amazing feeling. i like the rbc rewards cards. best redemptions are for gc’s to the Bay and you can also redeem for financial rewards (in the form of $ to be put towards another rbc financial product like a mortgage, credit line, etc)
Good move. It sucks being in debt.
That’s a big decision. I struggle to decide saving or paying off the card first. Same as you, saving is not mine if I still owe money with interest growing on it.
I have a VISA with Aeroplan rewards for flight rewards. Some of my friends have Avion rewards with RBC…you gotta check to see which will work for you. I travel to Asia & the Aeroplan works well there for within Asia. Good for you for paying it all off!!!
Paying off such a huge amount is Forest for the Trees stuff — the little, immediate things always seem to be important or more so than the bigger picture that’s so big its unfathomable. But once that debt is paid off, the debt-free view on life is much nicer to look at. And it’s only then do some folks realize that even though that nice shiny thing you might’ve wanted seemed, it doesn’t make you as happy as being without a mountain of debt. Stress-free feels pretty nice, too.
Congrats! it’s a huge relief to not have debt on your shoulders