I’m a free man! Free kind of like Andy Dufresne at the end of The Shawshank Redemption… sort of. I mean I was in a kind of prison. The kind shared by tons of people who were all “innocent”, and, I escaped.

After a rude awakening, help from fellow Fools, a paradigm shift, and 1-1/2 years of due diligence I’ve done it. For the first time in my life, I’ll actually turn a profit.

Earlier in May I paid off my consolidated credit card debt, and today (June 5th, 2009), the remainder of my credit card. Thus completing Operation: Debt Giraffe. Today marks the true start of my financial independence. Such a milestone deserves a celebration. The kind of celebration worth having every year. I’d like to mark today in everyone’s calendar as National Get Out of Debt Day (‘GOoD’ for short)!

You: “But wait, isn’t there already such a holiday?”

Me: “!”

According to this, it appears that a National Get Out of Debt Day does already exists and was created by the National Foundation for Credit Counseling (NFCC). However, based on further research, there seems to be a conflicting view on which day of the year this falls on. To wit, let the record show that today, June 5th, is the official Get Out of Debt Day. *rapture*

The only place to go from here is up. Look out Warren Buffett, I’m coming for that #1 slot .

To everyone who is stuck in, working their way out of, or has been liberated from debt… this day is for you!

Fool on,

Dave H