I understand how hard it can be to quit. Though I am now credit card debt free, I once used them quite frequently. I charged up more than I should have buying things that I probably don't even have anymore. My husband and I sacrificed, paid them off and put them in our past. But every once in a while, they creep into my thoughts. Credit cards are a hard habit to break. I find myself thinking that I could drive to the bank, get a card out of the safe deposit box and just go shopping for what I want. Earlier this evening, I was going through a folder and saw a credit card tucked in it. I was really happy, thinking here's a card! Then I saw it was expired. I'm thankful it was. It is hard to stop spending money. We are so indoctrinated into believing that we can just buy now and pay later. What we aren't told over and over again is that when we pay later, we pay big time. If you are looking to get out of debt, make a better financial situation for your family or buy a home, you have to quit charging right now. Cold turkey. It is the first step, an essential step, to paying off your debt. Get out the scissors and start cutting up those cards now. Don't write down the expiration date and code on the back. It will be too tempting to use these on the internet or over the phone to shop. Cut the cards up and throw them away. If you want to keep a card for emergencies, you need to take it to your safe deposit box in the morning. Or freeze it in a big bowl of water in your freezer. Make it inaccessible to you. For example, not only is our emergency card in a safe deposit box, it is in a bank in another town. In a small town forty miles away from anywhere I would want to shop. No Walmart or shopping center close by. It is out of the way. That one decision of where to put it has saved us a lot of money. It will take a while to get used to not charging. You can no longer simply pick things up and throw them in your shopping cart. The process is often made simpler by using cash to do all of your shopping. When you go grocery shopping, take in the allotted amount of cash and nothing else. You won't be tempted to put more in your cart out of fear of embarrassment. If you leave your wallet in the car, you won't be tempted to use your debit card or checking account. You can only spend what you set out to spend. Kicking the credit habit is hard. But it is worth it. Even though you dream about charging things every once in a while, the benefits will help keep you strong. Life without credit card debt is much easier. |
