Unless you are independently wealthy, you have probably stressed out and even lost sleep over money, bills, debt, etc... some of us stress or lose sleep over money issues almost every single day. I am no exception. The debt that keeps me awake at night is not my car loan or student loan as those are pretty normal; it's the credit card debt that I lose sleep over.
I have always prided myself on my good credit and the fact that I never make late payments on my bills. Don't get me wrong, the above-mentioned are still true, but over the past 1+ years, I've accrued credit card debt that I am not proud of. I've gotten myself into this vicious cycle of spending money before I make it (before I get my paycheck), using my paycheck to pay most of my bills, and then my credit card to pay the rest of the bills. And then using my credit card to buy other stuff (necessities and non-necessities) along the way. And I don't know about you, but once I start accruing credit card debt, it's very easy to say, "another $20 won't make a difference," and before you know it, you've said that a hundred times! And it sure as heck made a difference. A bad difference.
So now it's time for this cycle to stop. (Because frankly, I want to sleep at night).
With the help of my parents and some trusted (and financially responsible) friends, I have created and implemented a plan. I transferred my credit card debt to a lower interest loan (the payments will come directly out of my paychecks so they will never be late). One of my very good friends is in possession of my credit cards. And my credit card statements will be mailed directly to my dad instead of me. As you can see, right now I am asking those who are closest to me to help hold me accountable to this new plan.
And this new plan is going to be very hard. It's going to severely change my standard of living - or make me live according to the standard of living that I should have been living all along. haha! But it's worth it. And I know for sure that it will teach me things, and cause me to grow in ways that I never would have otherwise.
And I don't care what the economists say, the value of a dollar just skyrocketed in my world.
So, maybe I will post every once in a while on my progress. And I certainly would welcome money saving tips or stories on how you controlled your credit card debt!
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4 comments:
Just out the gate, I want to say I am VERY proud of you for recognizing this need early in the game before it got too far out of control. I think you are on the path to financial freedom now. Nothing feels better than to "owe no man anything".
Also, I salute you for your honesty. Love you.
Awesome, Jessica!
We have found that keeping a record of every expenditure really helps. The first month, you just observe HOW you spend money (it's surprising once you start writing it down!) After you have a true picture of what you're spending your money on, you just create a target amount you would like to spend the next month. Then you take out the exact amount of cash you will need for each category (if you don't have it all at once, you can take it out week by week). I cannot tell you how much this will help you control your spending!! It's seriously amazing. And, after a few months, you can go back to using your debit card (still writing down expenditures though. . . that doesn't stop). If you want, I can send you our template so you can borrow from it. We keep ours simple--the easier to use, the more likely you'll actually use it. =)
way to go Jessica! Sounds like you have a great plan!
Very proud of you honey. This is a big step. One good tip is really to review what you are considering buying.. do you really need it? For instance, the Star buck coffees, etc.. the $4 dollars(or if you are buying for a friend $8- just sayin...) adds up very quickly and although this is a great 'treat' is not necessary. So if you want, treat yourself to a coffee once a month for doing a good job on watching your expenses for that month! Keep up the great work!
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