Paying Bills = Love

There's a radio station in town that is running a contest where the winner gets one of their bills paid for them. You fax in your bill and then they pull your name out of a hat (or whatever) and then they call you and tell you all about how you have one less bill to pay. Now, I like this idea but I do have issues with the radio spots they run promoting it. I think it goes something like this ...

Announcer: Everyone hates paying bills.
Girl: Oh maaaaan. Another bill?!
Announcer: Except for this one guy in our accounting department.
Guy: YES!! Another one paid off!!
Announcer: Won't you let us help him by paying your bills?

Now, normal people would probably hear this and think "I also hate to pay bills. That accountant is such a weirdo!" And that's what I thought the first million times I heard it. But then I actually took the time to absorb what the 'weirdo' accountant was saying.

Guy: YES!! Another one paid off!!

I don't like bills ... in fact I would even go so far as to say that I hate bills. But one thing that I like about bills is paying them off. Which is what the weirdo accountant is excited about. So ... does that mean that I love bills? If paying them down equals love ... then yes. I do love bills.

I think that we could all take a lesson from this radio spot however. Even though it's on the station that plays Pink and the Jonas Brothers, even though their morning show personalities make me want to drive off the road and into a light pole on my way to work ... their account has the right idea about personal finance. You should be excited to pay down your debt. You should be excited when you rip open your credit card/mortgage/car loan bill every month. Not because of the number in the minimum payment square but because of the number in the total balance box and the fact that each month when you pay more than the minimum (you are, right?) it drops.

Making credit card payments is one of the things that I really look forward to doing every month. When I get my paycheck one of the first things that pops into my head is "How big a payment can I make with this?"

There is nothing in this world that makes me feel as light and happy as I feel when I zero out a credit card balance.