Yup, it’s that time of year again. For those tracking with me, while I won’t my $$ goal this year (for the first time) I have reached my goal of paying off 10 debts. With only $ 570.99 paid off this year so far, I don’t know where I’ll top out this year but the big debts are behind me and I am now officially below $ 5,000 on my debts. Who would have thought that it would be the small debts that are the hardest to pay off. The reason being is that, and this is a switch, I have to track them down.
I started this back in 2007, almost 10 years later I have paid off $ 28,648.46. This total doesn’t include my student loans. this does include credit cards with small limits and high interest rates, new debt, and what I call stupid debt- which are debts accrued via stupid means- like that new debt. Now, I didn’t go out and buy a car or a $200 pair of riding boots. No, this stupid debt was accumulated from spending a little more here and a little bit there- on things I didn’t need and ending up with a few overdraft or stop check fees. Then there were months when I slacked on watching my spending and oops. Yeah, that hurt and set me back.
Lessons have been learned, so hopefully by sharing my experiences someone else will avoid my pitfalls. Someone well will stay away from those high interest credit cards that promise a savings break on the interest if a charge is paid in full within so many months. Take it from me, someone who walked that path, if you go passed the time limit they will hit your account with the interest going back to the initial month of that charge. Also, avoid having multiple cards. This is another area where people get in trouble. Guess what- if a place accepts Visa, chances are they’ll also take Mastercard.
Also, avoid having multiple cards. This is another area where people get in trouble. Guess what- if a place accepts Visa, chances are they’ll also take Mastercard. These days, I have one of each. My Visa is my debit card, zero interest. My Mastercard is reserved for large purchases or emergencies. I stopped nickel and dime charging to the interest card. That’s another way people get in trouble with cards. $5 at fast food places, a few more here and there- places you forget what you bought etc. If you find that you can’t break yourself of the chump change spending, use your debit card for it- there are no interest fees.
Elusive and Enduring 