The credit card wagon that is. I have used my credit card (palm to forehead). Even AFTER writing I cut up my credit card on Monday and requiring myself to be ridiculously accountable to everyone EVER, I still used my credit card.
Why?
Well first of all, the credit card gods wanted a good giggle and two days AFTER I cut up my old card, a new one came in the mail because the old one had expired. And instead of cutting that one up too, I put it in my wallet "just in case". I had obviously forgotten that there is no "just in case".
And then came El Christmas. I knew this was going to happen, I tried to protect myself against it and I still wasn't successful at not spending a ton of money on Christmas presents. I ended up spending about 250$ for El Christmas and another 250$ somewhere else since November 3rd and here I am, up 500$ in cc debt.
How could this happen to me? I am disheveled, distraught, overwhelmed and utterly panicked. What am I going to do?! I am going to die destitute, no money, no car, no house....
Just kidding. I don't feel that way. Ok, maybe I felt like an utter failure for about two minutes and then I reverted back to smart JillyP and realized a few things:
#1. I am responsible for these problems, I made the choice to buy those things and it is my fault.
#2. It's not my fault in the traditional sense. Yes, I made these choices and they have hurt me financially but will I feel guilty about them? No. Will I tear my hair out and cry and whine and complain annoyingly? No. Will I take responsibility for my actions, make a change and move on? Absolutely.
#3. I will examine WHY I spent money that I shouldn't have, learn from that and move on with a better more effective action plan for financial success.
Why did I use my credit card? 2 main reasons:
1. I was NOT honest with myself. I was trying to be disciplined concerning habits/patterns/ways of life that I do not, I repeat, do not want to be disciplined about. My favorite things in life are going out to dinner with my friends and reading. That being said I was trying spend 150$ on groceries a month and 50$ on books a month. Yeah, that math does NOT add up. First thing I did was to ramp both of those amounts up and immediate peace followed.
#2. I wasn't honest about how much I could put to paying off my credit card each month and how much I could put to savings. Heres the thing. Financial advisors from all different points of view will tell you the same thing: that you need to pay down your credit card first before you contribute anything to your savings. I have tried over the past 6 months to follow this advice. Diligently putting 500$ a month to my credit card and 0$ to my savings. This has gotten me absolutely nowhere. First of all, watching my credit card balance s l o w l y drop is not HALF as nice as watching my savings account balance increase by 100$ extra every month. And believe me, I know all of the math behind paying off the debt first before putting 100$ into savings but it doesn't FEEL good to put 500$ to my credit card and 0$ into my savings account. I feel no sense of forward movement, no sense of progress, I am discouraged and all I ever look at is my credit card account BARELY lowering and my savings account doing NOTHING. There needs to be a sense of ACCOMPLISHMENT in a POSTIVE way. Otherwise I wont do it. And if and when I "need" to use my credit card, I can go to my savings account instead since there is a stash of cash there; there is no longer any excuse for using the credit card.
So my question to you is this: where are you lying to yourself about what you spend your money on?I realized that I was really afraid to admit how much money I spend on food/books a month. I felt like it would bring my "play money" down even more than it already is... but you know what? After I admitted how much I want to spend on groceries every month, I felt relief. I knew what I wanted, I had things mapped out and I had a plan of attack that was actually going to work. What things do you really love buying/can't live without and what things do you barely buy? Where can you be more honest?
Also, where can you start paying off debt and saving money in a way that feels good but is also in line with your financial goals? If paying off 1000$ a month in credit card debt makes you feel REALLY good, go for it. If paying off only 250$ a month in credit card debt makes you feel good while you put 100$ to your savings, do that. It is a good rule of thumb that you want to try to contribute at least a 100$ over your minimum payment due for your credit card so that you know you're hitting the principal amount, but if that plus saving a little each month is what makes you feel good and is sustainable, do it.
Ok. I'm back on the wagon. You?
Why?
Well first of all, the credit card gods wanted a good giggle and two days AFTER I cut up my old card, a new one came in the mail because the old one had expired. And instead of cutting that one up too, I put it in my wallet "just in case". I had obviously forgotten that there is no "just in case".
And then came El Christmas. I knew this was going to happen, I tried to protect myself against it and I still wasn't successful at not spending a ton of money on Christmas presents. I ended up spending about 250$ for El Christmas and another 250$ somewhere else since November 3rd and here I am, up 500$ in cc debt.
How could this happen to me? I am disheveled, distraught, overwhelmed and utterly panicked. What am I going to do?! I am going to die destitute, no money, no car, no house....
Just kidding. I don't feel that way. Ok, maybe I felt like an utter failure for about two minutes and then I reverted back to smart JillyP and realized a few things:
#1. I am responsible for these problems, I made the choice to buy those things and it is my fault.
#2. It's not my fault in the traditional sense. Yes, I made these choices and they have hurt me financially but will I feel guilty about them? No. Will I tear my hair out and cry and whine and complain annoyingly? No. Will I take responsibility for my actions, make a change and move on? Absolutely.
#3. I will examine WHY I spent money that I shouldn't have, learn from that and move on with a better more effective action plan for financial success.
Why did I use my credit card? 2 main reasons:
1. I was NOT honest with myself. I was trying to be disciplined concerning habits/patterns/ways of life that I do not, I repeat, do not want to be disciplined about. My favorite things in life are going out to dinner with my friends and reading. That being said I was trying spend 150$ on groceries a month and 50$ on books a month. Yeah, that math does NOT add up. First thing I did was to ramp both of those amounts up and immediate peace followed.
#2. I wasn't honest about how much I could put to paying off my credit card each month and how much I could put to savings. Heres the thing. Financial advisors from all different points of view will tell you the same thing: that you need to pay down your credit card first before you contribute anything to your savings. I have tried over the past 6 months to follow this advice. Diligently putting 500$ a month to my credit card and 0$ to my savings. This has gotten me absolutely nowhere. First of all, watching my credit card balance s l o w l y drop is not HALF as nice as watching my savings account balance increase by 100$ extra every month. And believe me, I know all of the math behind paying off the debt first before putting 100$ into savings but it doesn't FEEL good to put 500$ to my credit card and 0$ into my savings account. I feel no sense of forward movement, no sense of progress, I am discouraged and all I ever look at is my credit card account BARELY lowering and my savings account doing NOTHING. There needs to be a sense of ACCOMPLISHMENT in a POSTIVE way. Otherwise I wont do it. And if and when I "need" to use my credit card, I can go to my savings account instead since there is a stash of cash there; there is no longer any excuse for using the credit card.
So my question to you is this: where are you lying to yourself about what you spend your money on?I realized that I was really afraid to admit how much money I spend on food/books a month. I felt like it would bring my "play money" down even more than it already is... but you know what? After I admitted how much I want to spend on groceries every month, I felt relief. I knew what I wanted, I had things mapped out and I had a plan of attack that was actually going to work. What things do you really love buying/can't live without and what things do you barely buy? Where can you be more honest?
Also, where can you start paying off debt and saving money in a way that feels good but is also in line with your financial goals? If paying off 1000$ a month in credit card debt makes you feel REALLY good, go for it. If paying off only 250$ a month in credit card debt makes you feel good while you put 100$ to your savings, do that. It is a good rule of thumb that you want to try to contribute at least a 100$ over your minimum payment due for your credit card so that you know you're hitting the principal amount, but if that plus saving a little each month is what makes you feel good and is sustainable, do it.
Ok. I'm back on the wagon. You?
