HECS/HELP Student debt is now paid off

My tax return is due to be lodged very shortly so I bit the bullet and made my final lump sum payment on my HECS/HELP  student debt. Four years at uni and my total HECS debt was almost at $30k inclusive of inflation indexation. I finally got sick of my student debt and paid it off.

Oh yeah, maths wise it could of been considered foolish since my loan was indexed to inflation of 3% last year(only 1.7% the prior year) and if I get a new mortgage, then my mortgage rate will be around 7% to 8% depending on the amount that I end up borrowing. I just paid off my super cheap student loan but I don't regret it one single bit. I don't want to be one of those older folks with a student debt dangling over my head from my younger days.

Here's to a debt free existence for the time being. I am currently debt free woo hoo! (Gotta ignore my credit card balance because that gets paid in full every single month). Next year I could be looking at a mortgage of up to a few hundred thousands of dollars so I may as well enjoy my debt free status as much as possible.

It's been a mixed year so far. Lots of sad events mixed with with happy events. 2011 is now going down as the year of four weddings and four funerals. Lots of sadness against lots of happiness. Lots of grief yet lots of joy. I particularly grieve for the aunties that we have lost and have been contemplating the subject of death a lot recently. When I find myself wiping away tears again and again, my heart feeling heavy- I can't help but think of death.

The fear of death when we first know that we're going to die, the acceptance of death as the time comes near, the welcome of death when the pain becomes unbearable and then what happens? Do we die and thats it? Or do we die and our spirits roam the Earth or our favourite hang outs? Or do spirit worlds really exist and our spirit goes somewhere in the afterlife? For me, I like to think of death as finality. That there isn't any afterlife and there isn't any reincarnation. That's what I'd like for myself whenever I die. The thought of death as the end and nothing more is much more soothing than to imagine that the spirit could be out there, hungry and lost and stuck on some inescapable spiritual plane.

I don't want to end this post on a sad note so let me say that each and every event has taught me to appreciate family and friends every single day. I'm being thankful and appreciative of my wonderful family and friends and try to live each day as it comes in gratitude. I don't want to ever become a selfish, lazy nor nasty person. I want to live my life generously and kindly towards others. Lastly, on the main subject of this post, I'm so glad to have finally paid off my HECS debt - it's like a shadow in the background that I've finally banished. Well, it's getting late now so good night folks and hope you remember to tell your loved ones how much you love them every day. Our lifetimes are much too fleeting.