Debt and mortgage-free… now what are we doing?

THIS POST MAY CONTAIN AFFILIATE LINKS. I MAY EARN FROM QUALIFYING PURCHASES.

This post is sponsored and we may receive a commission, at no cost to you, if you choose to use the services discussed in this message. And while this post is sponsored, we’ve been CIT Bank customers for a number of years.

In January 2016, a few years after getting rid of and cutting up our credit cards, and doing an all cash system hustling and saving, we paid off the mortgage on our house and became completely debt free. We paid off student loans, paid off a second mortgage, and paid off a van as well as set up an emergency fund. We also refinanced the existing mortgage before moving on to paying off the house. 

We are completely debt and mortgage-free. Now what are we doing? 

After paying off our mortgage, we did some fun things.

We took more vacations and relaxed our super tight budget. 

We also continued to save and boost our emergency fund. We also started planning and saving for moving into a bigger house. We took that money that would go towards the mortgage and placed it in a Money Market Account (MMA) with CIT Bank (Member FDIC)1. This would allow the money to grow at a higher interest rate than our local bank, but also allow us easy access when needed. 

Buying a new house versus renovating

Our original plan was to look for a new, bigger house. We decided we would either save to pay cash (plus our current house) or get a mortgage to pay off quickly. 

Well, we waited too long. There is currently very little inventory and houses are going for up to $100,000 over asking price and all cash! We aren’t willing to take that on right now. 

So, in the meantime, we can use that money we’ve saved in our MMA account towards some home renovations. Our house was built in the 1980s and it’s very obvious! We actually have a lot of space that just doesn’t function well for us and seems or might actually be wasteful.

And when the time comes, these renovations will hopefully increase the value of our home should there come a time we can move.

Get Amazon Prime on CIT Bank2

When you set up a new MMA account with CIT Bank, you can receive a year of Amazon Prime membership (courtesy of CIT Bank pending fulfillment of promotional requirements).

When customers open an MMA with at least $15K from an external funding source to be held in the account for at least 60 days, CIT is offering an added bonus of a 1-year Amazon Prime subscription—cash value of $1393

Requirements
-Promotion is available to both New and Existing CIT Bank customers

-New Money Market account must be opened with AMZN22 Promo Code within the Promotion Period.-Deposit requirement of $15,000 must be new money from an outside funding source.

-Existing customers may not use a preexisting MMA. For promotion they will need to open a New CIT Bank MMA account and fund from outside sources

-There is a limit of one Money Market promotional offer per account and per customer. If multiple Money Market accounts are opened, only one account will be eligible. Custodial accounts are not eligible. This offer is non-transferable.

-Deposit at least $15,000 to the new MMA account within the first 15 calendar days following account opening (the “Funding Period”). The $15,000 used to fund the new MMA account must come from a funding source outside of CIT Bank. Transfers from existing CIT Bank accounts will not qualify.

-Maintain an end-of-day account balance of at least $15,000 within the new MMA each of the 60 days following the end of the Funding Period.  If the end-of-day balance within the new MMA falls below $15,000 at any time during this 60-day period, you will not qualify for the Amazon Prime membership offer.

-Customers meeting all of the above requirements will be sent an email with instructions on how to activate their one-year Amazon Prime membership. This instructional email will be sent to the email address on file for the primary account owner approximately 30 days after the end of 60-day period specified above. The new MMA account must remain open for the instructional email to be sent.

Amazon prime: Amazon Prime Membership

• The best of shopping and entertainment.

• Enjoy more of what you love. Fast, free delivery, exclusive deals and discounts, and endless entertainment, all included in your Prime membership.

• Prime is more than Two-Day Shipping. Save big on groceries, get clothes you can try before you buy, and binge on endless entertainment, all with your membership.

Disclosures:

  1. First-Citizens Bank & Trust Company and its CIT Bank and OneWest Bank divisions are the same FDIC-Insured Institution. Deposits held under each name are not separately insured but are combined to determine whether a depositor has exceeded the $250,000 federal insurance deposit limit, per depositor for each ownership category. For purposes of calculating aggregate deposits, you should include deposits held in First-Citizens Bank & Trust Company, OneWest Bank and CIT Bank.
  2. This limited time offer of a one-year Amazon Prime membership is available to Customers who open a new CIT Bank Money Market account and enter the promotion code “AMZN22” at the time of account opening. The Promotion begins on March 23, 2022 and can end at any time without notice. Customers who are already Amazon Prime members can use the one year of Amazon Prime to renew their membership for an additional year.

    Customers will receive a one-year Amazon Prime membership provided that the following three requirements are met:
    1. Open a new CIT Bank Money Market account and enter the promotion code “AMZN22” at the time of account opening.
    2. Deposit at least $15,000 to the new MMA account within the first 15 calendar days following account opening (the “Funding Period”). The $15,000 used to fund the new MMA account must come from a funding source outside of CIT Bank. Transfers from existing CIT Bank accounts will not qualify.
    3. Maintain an end-of-day account balance within the new MMA of at least $15,000 each of the 60 days following the end of the Funding Period.  If the end-of-day balance within the new MMA falls below $15,000 at any time during this 60-day period, you will not qualify for the Amazon Prime membership offer.

There is a limit of one Money Market promotional offer per account and per customer. If multiple Money Market accounts are opened, only one account will be eligible. Custodial accounts are not eligible. This offer is non-transferable.

Customers meeting all of the above requirements will be sent an email with instructions on how to activate their one-year Amazon Prime membership. This instructional email will be sent to the email address on file for the primary account owner approximately 30 days after the end of 60-day period specified in requirement “C” above. The new MMA account must remain open for the instructional email to be sent.

IMPORTANT: All customers who qualify for the one-year Amazon Prime membership must redeem it no later than 03/23/2024. Customers who fail to redeem by this deadline will forfeit the one-year Amazon Prime membership from CIT Bank. 

Note: information and access to the one-year Amazon Prime membership is provided in electronic form, via email. No paper certificates or gift cards are available. 

Money Market interest rates are variable and may change without notice, including after account is opened. As of 5/11/2022 Money Market earns 0.70% Annual Percentage Yield (APY) on all balances. A minimum deposit of $100 is required to open the account. Fees may reduce earnings.

You must redeem your Amazon Prime Membership Code and agree to the Amazon Prime Terms and Conditions to qualify for Amazon Prime membership. Your Amazon Prime membership automatically renews for the membership fee in effect at the time of renewal plus applicable taxes. You may cancel at any time by visiting your Amazon Account and adjusting your membership settings. Valid credit card required at time of registration if Amazon does not have one on file. Amazon Prime Membership Codes cannot be transferred or resold. For more information about Amazon Prime, visit amazon.com/prime. Amazon.com is not a sponsor of this promotion. All Amazon ®, ™ & © are IP of Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates.

Please click on this link to review the Amazon Prime Terms and Conditions: https://amazon.com/primeterms/

See https://www.cit.com/cit-bank/money-market-promo-22 for additional details and full promotional disclosures 

3. The value of the one-year Amazon Prime Membership may be reported as miscellaneous income on IRS Form 1099-MISC for the calendar year in which it was paid. The recipient is responsible for any applicable taxes.

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2 Comments

  1. Leigh Anne Borders says:

    I remember when you did this! That video impressed me. I need to really get my finances in order and do this.

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