It’s funny because I wasn’t even trying to pay my car off before the 72 month mark. In fact, when I first got my car I was nervous about having a car payment and I didn’t know how things would go. Fast forward to October 2022 I was able to pay off the remaining balance and officially have paid off my first personal car. This process was pretty seamless and I wanted to tell you all how I did it!
Before 2019, I never had a car payment before. My step dad gave me my first car and my mother gave me my second. Both were paid off and all I had to do was pay the car insurance which was pretty sweet. At the end of 2018 I decided I wanted to move to Atlanta and being that I would drive back and forth from Florida to Georgia I needed a reliable car. I ended up getting my 2017 Hyundai Santa fe in January 2019 and just days after my other car clucked out on me! I figured it could have only been God who put on my spirit to get a safe and reliable car. This also gave me peace of mind about paying the payments because at the time I was super scared about acquiring a new bill.
So How Did I Do It?
As I stated before, I had no intentions on paying my car off early but my mom put a bug in my ear to pay an extra $20 a month. I know this might sound small but it actually made a difference. After about 12 months my payment was $0 because I was ahead but I continued to pay as usual.
Next, I got excited seeing my balance decrease and it made me want to pay more. Shout out to Ally Financial for giving me my first car loan, Their website interface made seeing my progress so easy. It tells you the percentage of your payment progress and every little detail of your car loan is on the home page for you to see clearly. This includes your original balance, APR, loan term, remaining payments, contract start date, finance charges, and more. This display made it easy for me to understand my loan and also motivated me to pay more and knock out my loan. I went from paying $20 more to paying $100 more and in October 2022 I paid the remaining balance in full.
My Advice
-Never bite off more than you can chew, get a car note that you can afford comfortably so that you have the option to pay more if you want.
-Small extra payments can save you hundreds of dollars on interest and have you on the way to an early pay off date.
-Getting an extended warranty is helpful but if you sell your car before paying it off you can ask the company for the remaining funds you didn’t use since you don’t have the car anymore.
-Lastly, if you can’t make extra payments it’s okay. Most of us need our cars to get from point A to point B and that’s what’s most important. Having a car is a blessing and making you payments on time is whats most important.
I go into more detail in my youtube video. I give actual amounts, screen shots, and more spot on advice so if you want more on this topic subscribe and meet me over on Youtube! Thanks for reading.
I hope you’ve enjoyed, until next time.
-Do what you love, love what you do.
BriannaRashay 