A woman buys a new car and decides to pay it off before the first payment is even due. Here’s how she was able to do that and why she used social media to document the journey.
TikTok creator Aysia (@aysia.massie) posted the last video in the series on April 2. “It’s Day 73 of ‘paying off my car before the first payment is due’ and today is the last day of this series,” she says to start the video. “We are paying off my car today.”
Aysia started the project in a video posted on Jan. 20. In the video, she tells viewers that she wants to pay off her vehicle before the first payment is due on April 10. She starts with an initial savings of $3,000 and plans to add a few cents to that savings total for every unit of engagement she receives on the series.
In the comments of one video, a viewer reflected the idea back to her. “OK, so you weren’t using your TikTok videos to help you raise the funds. You used it as a tool to help you figure out how much to pay daily. Interesting concept,” the person wrote.
Day 73 of ‘Paying Off My Car Before the First Payment’
It was a long journey, but Aysia accomplished her goal nearly three weeks early. In the last video of the series, she reveals that she reached her savings goal of $12,500.
“I will get into yesterday’s numbers,” she says. “Yesterday’s video hit 1 million views. So, first of all, thank you guys for engaging.”
She continues, “With that, yesterday’s video received 279,000 likes, 23,000 comments, 15,000 shares, 17,000 saves, and I gained 14,533 new followers. Welcome. That totals to 348,533 engagements. And at $.03 per engagement, that is $10,455.99.”
That’s not all. “However, we received so many donations yesterday,” she says. “We received $407.09 through CashApp and $88 through Venmo. That makes the total for today at $10,951.08.”
In total, she says, “I have received $1,817.41 from donations. Thank you guys so much. It is insane to see that number and know that it quite literally came from random people on the internet. I am just so thankful.”
How much has TikTok’s creator program contributed to the cause so far? “And then only $41 out of the entire $12,500 came from TikTok,” she says. “So for any of you guys wondering, 'Oh, you’re getting paid from engagements?' No. This money has come from my pocket. My savings, my jobs—all of that. So that is $10,641.59 that I have contributed. That averages out to $145.78 per day directly from me and then $171.23 across everything for all 73 days.”
In response to questions, she explains that she will receive compensation from TikTok’s creator rewards later, but that isn’t a part of what she is using to pay off the vehicle. “TikTok pays per views, not engagements,” she wrote. “So, yes, I’m getting paid based on viewers but I’m using engagements to calculate how I pay my car with my own money.”
Can Aysia Pay Off Her Car Loan in One Go?
When it comes time to pay the loan off officially, Aysia runs into a bit of fine print. Because she’s using an external account, she can only pay a maximum of $10,000. So, she has to officially pay her loan off with a second payment of $2,656.05. Luckily, she was comfortably within her self-imposed time limit.
“I can’t believe you beat 80 days by a whole week,” wrote one viewer in the comments section.
“WHY AM I YELLING? It’s because I’m so excited for you,” a second person said.
“Let’s buy this girl a house,” a third person said.
Is It a Good Idea To Pay Off A Car Loan Early?
According to Chase, there are real benefits to paying off a car loan early, including saving on interest, freeing up money for other expenses, and having a lower debt-to-income ratio. However, certain loan providers can charge a penalty for paying a loan off early. That’s why it’s always so important to read the fine print before signing on the dotted line.
As several commenters on this Reddit thread posted to r/personalfinance a year ago noted, the person taking out the loan will still pay service fees and at least a small amount of interest. That’s why many recommend just waiting and buying the car outright.
Motor1 contacted Aysia via email for comment. We will update this story if she responds.
@aysia.massie Day 73 | Last Day! Please go follow some others on a similar journey @Shadá | PaysItDown💳 @dabiggesstt🔋 @JMC | Devotion & Debt Free @B. Nicole and tags others or yourself in the comments !! #debtfreejourney #carloan #financialfreedom ♬ original sound - Aysia
