Tuesday, 19 April 2011

Dumb Dell Debt: Yeah, they got me too.

Believe me, when I say I was really stupid with my money, you have no idea. Or you're about to get the idea. And shake your head in shame! Five years ago, you couldn't tell me anything. Either in an attempt to impress the ex or my friends or make myself feel better, I started shopping like there was no tomorrow. Even if I didn't have the money upfront, which of course I didn't have. And I'm still paying for it now.

I foolishly fell into Dell's easy payment plan and racked up a bill of almost $6000 worth of electronic gadgetry. They were so overpriced at the time too, but I couldn't see that. I just had to have the latest and the greatest. $2000 monitor, $1700 laptop, $500 for the PS3, $1600 on video cards. Seriously. I paid full retail price for the two GTX280s when they were hot back in the day. I didn't even need them, they were hardly taken advantage of. But I had a computer rig to DIE for and that's all that mattered. Right?

Of course, I was only making the minimum payments. Some months not even making payments at all.

And now, five years later, what do I have to show for it? When times got tough (aka the bill collectors really started in on me), I sold off things with the intention of putting all the money towards the outrageous purchases. Of course I said that I would do it, but obviously easier said than done. I sold the laptop, a video card, and the ps3 after playing it ONCE and deciding that I didn't like it!! And I continued to make the minimum payments. Most of the time.

So today marks a breakthrough for me. Getting my act in gear and putting a bit of cash towards my smallest Dumb Dell Debt, I finally managed to pay off the PS3. After 2 years, of course there was still $350 left to pay off! I never realized how little my payments were affecting the principle until I started opening those envelopes. You know the ones you used to avoid or ignore. In two years I could've saved that $15 a month and would've been able to afford one, but here I was still paying for something I didn't even have anymore.

So my last few paycheques, I'd throw $100 at it. I never realized how great it felt to see that number diminishing. And as of right now:

Current Balance: