Bye Capitol One.

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Got rid of over half of my debt load today by paying off my Capitol One credit card that I had run up to the tune of almost $6500.

I was going to wait a little longer in the new job to pull the trigger, since I wanted to make sure I was going to get past the 90 day "probationary" period (which is kinda bullshit, this and most jobs are at-will), but I'm already feeling pretty indispensable after only a month so I went ahead and did it.

It really was shackling me down, paying only the monthly minimum I was still paying $2400/year and was never going to be able to significantly pay it down unless I just bit the bullet and one-timed it. I will mourn seeing half of my savings bite the dust as a result but the benefits will be sizable too. It essentially gives me a $200/month raise not having to pay the monthly payment, and a side benefit will be a no doubt sizable bump to my credit score. That may not mean that much to me housing-wise (I'll never be able to afford a house here) but it still helps in just practical "life" ways. If I ever want or need to upgrade my car situation (now that I have a commute) my interest rate will depend on that.

It's a little "whoa", though. It's the most money I've ever spent on anything at one time, ever. It was always the plan though after cashing out the 401k and I'm glad I was adult enough to follow through on it.

It will probably help the Vegas situation as well. The extra $200/month can go into Vegas trip funds (I will need those again when the savings run out...soon) and I still have the Discover with a $2000 limit which is more than enough to cover Vegas expenses on trips.

I will NOT be opening another CC account. Not falling into the trap again. I pulled myself out of it once years ago, fell back in a bit lately but now everything is going to be pretty much cash on the barrel going forward. I'll have the Discover which I will keep at a low limit, the car loan which is at around $4K and dropping and that will be it. I don't want to end up being a 60-year-old man with $20K in debt in a decade.

Another adult moment in the FYMYAWF pantheon. That makes about four. Ever. But it feels good.

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