3 benefits of paying off my car loan I didn't see coming

Get the Full StoryCourtesy of Laura Dunn

After I totaled my car in 2014, I entered into a 16,000, six-year loan on a used Honda Civic with a 259.26 payment and 5.59 interest.

I paid it off a year ahead of schedule, and immediately noticed three benefits I hadn't expected.

I was able to put more money toward my credit card debt every month, I wasn't tied to my car insurance any longer and could opt for another plan with a lower rate, and I saw my credit score tick up.

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For the first eight months of my job in Palm Beach, I commuted an hour from Fort Lauderdale on I-95, which is known to be one of the most dangerous interstates in America.

On May 20, 2014, I found out how true that is. On the way to work that day, I got into a near-fatal car accident and completely wrecked my car. Fortunately, no one got hurt, and my job gave me the day off to recover from my shock. See the rest of the story at Business InsiderNOW WATCH: Behind the scenes with Shepard Smith the Fox News star who just announced his resignation from the networkSee Also:6 smart ways to use high-yield savings accounts and earn up to 200 times more on your money, from people who doI bought an expensive purse in high school, then my dad showed me how I could have grown that money instead and I've lived by the lesson ever sinceHere's how much money you need to save every month to put your kid through 4 years of college

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