I have very exciting news today. For the first time since 1998 I am completely debt-free. That's right folks, for a brief period at 11:48 this morning I owe nothing to either Visa or Mastercard, or even to the bank. I'm pretty sure I even remembered to pay the cable bill on time! I haven't been debt-free since my first credit card, except for a brief three-second period in early 2001 when I paid off my Mastercard and then promptly went on a shopping spree in Montreal.

Credit has been my downfall. I still remember walking through the dusty corridors of the Hall Building and seeing that guy under the Mastercard sign. "Build your credit rating," he said. How could building something be a bad thing? He was giving away free pens, and more than that he was offering me a path into a life I'd never known. I'd be able to order Columbia Video House club! Online retail was just beginning to burgeon but I was eager to browse on Amazon.com. And when signing up for a new phone line I would no longer have to recite my social insurance number, my driver's license, my mother's maiden name and the estimated due date of my still unconceived first born. Those magic 16 digits from Mastercard were my key to the Emerald City.

Unfortunately it got out of hand. A vacation or two to the US, six unemployed weeks in 2002, a few drunken evenings on E-Bay, they all combined with an already unhealthy habit of shopping to drown my sorrows and a penchant for expensive pants (At one point I had 40 pairs). And no, I didn't bother to collect Air Miles or anything sensible like that. Yes, I was willing to pay the bank interest, but not annual fees.

In September 2004 I was at least $7000 in debt, and the interest was accruing. Even my attempts to get out of debt seemed designed to fail! When I went to the bank to try and consolidate my debts I ended up with a $40 parking ticket!

I finally realised, staring at my interest charges which were nearing the triple digits, that I needed to do something. It's been a long hard road, but I've been steadily paying it off. And as of today I am debt free. I am paying off my Visa every month. I am retiring my Mastercard. My line of credit has a balance of $0. And I even have $150 in an ING direct account - the beginning of my savings for school.

Now bring on the mortgage and student debt! I may not be debt free for long, but it is a sweet, sweet nectar for as long as it lasts.