At the end of May 2012 I sent off my last payment towards my car loan and become completely debt-free!
It was one of those life moments I’ll never forget, not because I didn’t have any more debt (although that was part of it) but because I finally had control over my own life again.
I was regaining control of my situation and flipping my terrible circumstances upside down. Almost two years later and I’m still debt-free! Plus I’ve been able to quit my job and start my own online business.
All of this wouldn’t have been possible without the use of an online service called, ReadyForZero. I can honestly say there’s no other tool out there that’s as effective for creating a plan to pay off debt and reaching your goal.
What is ReadyForZero?
ReadyForZero is a service that’s aim at helping you tally up your debts, creating a plan, visualizing your progress and celebrating your success. They want to help you pay off debt faster so you can start building wealth and saving for the future.
You begin by signing up for one of their three plans:
1. ReadyForZero FREE: back when I signed up for RFZ, this plan was the only one they offered. But they have since evolved to make it even better than for managing your money. You begin by customizing a payment plan and estimating a debt pay off date. They have visual aids to keep you motivated, as well as emails to track your progress.
2. ReadyForZero PLUS ($10 per month): with this plan you can make payments directly within ReadyForZero to any of your debt or loan accounts. This includes one-off, monthly and biweekly payments. Biweekly payments are awesome for larger debts, like mortgages and student loans because they have a fixed interest rate. I made biweekly payments on my car loan because it saved me hundreds of dollars in interest over time. Take a minute to use their free calculator to see the estimated savings for yourself.
3. ReadyForZero PLUS Credit ($15 per month): with this upgraded service you’ll get access to everything the free and PLUS plans offer, like the visual charts, progress updates, biweekly payment options, and you’ll get credit score tracking. This allows you to see your overall financial picture and ensure success for the long-term. They update your credit score once a month using the VantageScore 3 from Experian.
How to Create a Debt Payoff Plan
Once you figure out which plan is right for you, it’s time to start linking all your accounts. Don’t worry, it’s completely safe and they can’t access your funds — it’s a read-only service.
This gives you the ability to see your finances at a glance; how much your interest rates are on each loan or credit card, your total balances, your monthly payments and how long it will take to pay off your debts.
You can adjust your plan at any time depending on your current income and expenses. This chart shows an example of when I was paying $630 a month towards my debts. See how much more quickly you can be debt-free by paying more than the minimum balance?
You can see my complete story in more detail by reading my other article: How I Paid Off $14,000 in 14 Months and Became Debt Free!
Save Money With Alerts
The biggest impact to get out of debt faster happens when you make your payments on time and can avoid higher interest rates. ReadyForZero has the option to set up alerts to you never have to pay late fees, and always know what your account balances are.
You can also get emails and updates on your progress, which is really encouraging! I mean, who doesn’t want to receive a cool progress award in their inbox?
Use the Community for Support
No matter what stage of paying off debt you’re in, you need a supportive community to keep you going. I’ve personally met the RFZ team and they are incredibly helpful and truly want to see each and every one of their users succeed financially.
Hanging out with Shannon, from ReadyForZero (and my blogging friend Cait)!
Which is why they put together a the ReadyForZero community who can celebrate each other’s successes and interact in real-time.
I’ve mentioned it before, but there was a point while I was getting out of debt where I wanted to give up. But it was this community of supporters that encouraged me to keep going. I received so many supportive messages and emails that I was determined to become debt-free for good.
It’s one of the biggest lessons I’ve learned from being debt free — you can’t do it without the support of people who understand what you’re going through.