<prompt> Human: Ive had credit card debt for way too long. Two cards, one at about 3,300 and another around 4,600. And I took out a 10K loan for a 4Runner a few years back that I probably shouldnt have. Long story short, the car was pummled by hail in the spring, and totaled out. The insurance company called it a complete loss and cut me a check for 13,500 which I thought was overvalued, but aparently theyre worth way more in Colorado than in Illinois. I used the money to pay off the rest that I owed on the car 5,600, and my two credit cards. Ive been riding my bicycle since they took the car away, and am feeling physically and mentally great. The check just cleared and I wiped out all three debts within five minutes. I feel so liberated. Now I just have to put all that money towards my student loans, and anticipate being debt free within three years.I do want to say that subscribing to this forum kept my mind in the game regarding a debt free life. Ive been chipping away at these debts, but this windfall was amazing and I feel like I just took the cheat tunnel in Mario to skip a few levels. Not having a car will be tough for a while, but luckily I can share with my wife when I need it, and ride my bike the rest of the time 13 miles round trip tofrom work.Thanks PF!Edit: lots of good points. One of the best was that I could have sold the car before the hail damage and walked away with the same deal. Thats true, and I think the real lesson here is that paying off old debts is more important than owning a nice car if you dont need said car.  <response>: Heres another story, a little similar...My 1980s carpurchased for 2,000 68k miles was wrecked while it was parked overnight. Turns out some person hit the car after exiting his vehicle and rolling forward hitting about 5 cars. My first claim from his insurance was for a paltry 1,100. My car was too old to ever opt for more than liability so filing a claim with my insurance was not an option. I called their insurance and said my car was a classic auto, mind you I do not have classic auto insurance. I recall sending them a request with an approximate value. The persons car insurance company requested I see another appraiser who then valued the classic car at roughly 10k. So what was interesting is that THEIR insurance settled for a total loss. While the damage was significant, I knew a guy who did all the repairs for 1,300 including a 100 tip since the repair work was remarkable. TLDR, best 9,700 gift I have ever received. 