Credit Cards

The strangest thing happened this week. One of my credit cards increased my limit. Go figure. I thought the credit card industry was lowering everyone's limits. But of course there is a catch, they raised my interest rate by 4%. I guess they figured I would be so impressed by the higher limit that I would not look ant the interest breakdown.

I could look at this two ways.

1. The increased limit lowers my debt-to-credit ratio, therefore improving my credit score (ever so slightly)

or

2. The increase in the interest will cost me $6 per month, therefore it will take me longer to pay off the card

While I am on the subject of credit cards I wanted to know.....

What items do you refuse to put on a credit card?

The rule I follow is a rule my mother taught me a long time ago

"Don't charge anything that will be gone by the time the bill comes"

Therefore my answers are

1. Gas
2. Food
3. Clothes
4. Bills (Cell Phone, Cable, etc.)
5. Travel

What did I charge?

1. Car Repairs
2. Medical Expenses
3. Text Books (From College)
4. Lap Top (Is that one word or two?)
5. Vet Bills (My cats are my children)

I ask again

What items do you refuse to put on a credit card?

Back Story - Part 2

After 2 years I decided I hated my job and to go back to school. That is where the second student loan comes in. During this time I am still paying just the minimums on the 4 credit cards I had left. I graduated from school, got a job I love but that does not pay as well as I would like (or need). Then the student loan bills start coming in. The payments were as much as I was paying in rent. So, I transferred to a new city where my mother lived, moved in with her and worked on catching up on the bills I could not pay.

Present Day

It took me a year of living with my mother to catch up on all of my bills. And I will admit, I've managed to pay some of the credit cards off, just to fill them up again. But this time I am going to pay them off for good. If I don't, I will have to work for the rest of my life and still be in debt.

Back Story - Part 1

So how did I get myself into this financial pit? It all started a long time ago (1997) in a galaxy far, far, away (Tallahassee, Fl).

In 1997 I was a freshman in college. I was foot loose and debt free (not completely, I had a student loan). It was the week before class started and I was walking through the campus. I remember there were tables set up and you could get a "free" t-shirt if you signed up for a credit card. Like a fool I signed up for 6, not thinking that I would actually get approved. So you can imagine my surprise when the cards started showing up in the mail. Before I knew it I was the proud owner of a Discover card, Master Card, and 4 Visa's.

Hearing the horror stories of college kids and credit cards I did not use the cards for months. Then it happened, I needed books for class and my voucher would not cover the cost. So I charged them. It was down hill from there. A small part of me is proud to say I did not necessarily max out my cards on stuff like trips, eating out, and other college kid crap. I used my cards to live, groceries, gas, text books, sometimes even other bills all went on the credit cards. Of course I bought clothes too, but the majority went to survival.

Fast forward 4 years, I graduate and get a job making decent money considering what I majored in. I thought I would be able to pay off the cards, but between rent, car payments, utility bills, student loan payments, and food I barley had enough money left over to cover the minimum payments. Eventually I defaulted on two out of the four cards. I made payment arrangements with one and my mother lent me the money to pay off the other.

To be continued........

Starting Early

Hi everyone, my name is Sam (name changed to protect the poor) and I am broke.

I am so broke that if the world was selling for a penny I would have to charge it. I have been living pay check to pay check for the past 7 years (since graduating college) and I am tired of it. I hate not having money to go on trips (like my sister), get my car repaired (it's 9 years old, but it's paid off), or live on my own (I live with my mother. I am not a looser, this is due to student loan debt). So I have decided to save myself before it is to late.

I was planning to start on this new path on January 1st as a New Years Resolution, but then I decided that there is no time like the present. Also, I figured that there would be a lot of new blogs out about the same thing and if I wanted some readers I better start early.

So, this year I have two New Years Resolutions.........

1. To pay down my debt ( I have 4 credit cards and 2 student loans)
2. To save money (I don't have a savings account, a 401k, or an IRA)

Let the games begin