Doomed to Debt?
Posted by Gail | Filed under Debt Traps
Today is Day One of this week’s Credit Card diet. If you’re in, make sure you go to FB to the School Lenders page and join. And tell all your friends and family.
Heaps of people bemoan their debt while booking their next cruise. Are you one of the idiots who can’t find the money to repay your old bad spending habits because you’re too busy traveling (on credit), eating out with friends (on credit) or shopping (on credit.)
How many of the following questions do you answer “yes” to?
- I’m not very good at planning.
- I don’t think too much about what I’m doing, or why I’m doing it.
- I always have to be active.
- I’m impulsive.
- I’m often anxious or apprehensive about making the wrong choices.
- I crave excitement and novelty.
- I’m pretty good at ignoring possible negative consequences.
Psychologists have done some research on the issue of debt personality. Some believe that people who answer yes to these questions also have a tendency to rack up debt.
If you’ve got a bunch of debt and you’re just making minimum payments, it’s time to face up to the fact that each time you whip out a card you’re SPENDING MONEY and that at some point in the future THAT MONEY WILL HAVE TO BE REPAID?
It’s easy to use credit. It’s hard to pay it off. And if your circumstances change and you find yourself with less money in the family pot, you can really strap your ability to roll with the punches if you’re carrying around a bag of debt.
It’s time to become a little more reflective in your thinking. It’s time to learn to plan. And it’s time to stop disregarding the possible negative consequences of your rampant spending.
Want some real excitement? Try living on half your income so you can put the rest to debt repayment. Have the urge to be active? Get another job and use all the income to pay off your debt. Impulsive? Eliminate the temptation: don’t carry your cards and stay out of the malls.
June 4, 2012 at 6:35 am
Did this blog get cut off???…the end seems unfinished….
June 4, 2012 at 7:18 am
I am active, but I certainly don’t have to spend to remain active. A run, a bike ride, or a work out at the gym, will do it for me, and those are all free.
June 4, 2012 at 7:30 am
I love the quote “bemoaning your debt while booking your next cruise!”. I have a close friend like this and my big fear is that she and her husband are going to have so many problems down the road because of it. I think he gives in just to keep the peace. But how much peace will there be when the caca hits the fan (as Gail is so fond of saying). Seriously – apply some discipline, learn to say no and plan for the future! No trip on credit ever felt as good as being debt free is.
June 4, 2012 at 7:40 am
I like to be active but 2 kids and a sandbox takes care of that. Today I’m making a small valence curtain for my kitchen out of an old sheet and that takes care of the itch for new things. I’m apprehensive about making the wrong choice so I mull over the decision for a few days and usually come up with a solution that does not require spending any money.
June 4, 2012 at 11:00 am
I seem to binge on credit. I do amazing for months – last year paid down $25k on our mortgage in 5 months – but then “reward” myself by going bananas. It’s crazy! It seems like I am terrible at the long haul. Slowly, slowly getting better, but I realise the key is to take the damn credit card out of the wallet, carry no cash or debit card, and just suck it up. Somehow that doesn’t translate into action for me. I find myself spending money and taking things home and then belatedly remembering I wasn’t going to buy anything. So maddening, because I have been on the jar diet in the past and done better in the past. Will join the diet and try again… It is really important to me to show my children that possessions aren’t everything, but I am spectacularly bad at walking that talk.
June 4, 2012 at 11:05 am
Andrea…your honesty is REFRESHING. So tired of reading the perfect posts by some. While lovely to be on track, it is NOT the way for many. And when it is, sometimes it isn’t long term or sometimes it just goes out of whack for a spell. You will do fine because you can see the wrongs….that to me is great.
June 4, 2012 at 12:02 pm
Andrea, it sounds like you need to find balance between ‘doing amazing’ and ‘going bananas’. A friend of mine was like that with diet/food. Some months she would deprive herself of anything she loved, lose 10 pounds, and then reward herself by eating herself silly the next month (and putting that 10 pounds back on). She decided to get off that treadmill and eat sensibly all the time, and over time she re-trained her habits accordingly.
Maybe you’re trying too hard to put money towards debt, so feel deprived (hence the rebound). Instead of not carrying any cc, debit card, or cash, can you carry a small amount of cash that has to last a certain length of time? That way, maybe you can tell yourself ‘if I buy this widget that I want, I won’t be able to go out for coffee with friend’, instead of all or nothing.
Good luck on your journey.
June 4, 2012 at 2:49 pm
Me too, Andrea. I never really feel deprived so that isn’t my excuse. It is just one big (planned) purchase sort of … opens the flood gates … and then its a bit more here, and a bit more there. I said to hubby last night – So, are we done Spending yet? I’m ready to close the doors again.
June 4, 2012 at 2:58 pm
Thanks Megan and April! You’re totally right- moderation and reality are the key!
June 4, 2012 at 4:42 pm
I find the summer the hardest time to save money! Friends are asking you to go out, there are parties to go to, weddings to attend and of course daytrips. So myself and hubby sat down last night and decided that we need to get back on our savings plan. We were doing so well and the last couple of months not too good at all. So we have decided that we will have a certain amount that we want to put into our savings each month. Once the bills have been paid and our savings amount has been made than whatever is left at the end of the month is our crazy money to do with what we wish. Weekend getaway, day trip or something we would like to purchase. Hopefully we can stick our guns and make this work:) I wish everyone the best with their spending and savings!
June 4, 2012 at 5:09 pm
I just took my credit card out of my wallet =\ feels different when you’re spending money via debit and it’s actually “real”! haha
June 4, 2012 at 8:12 pm
We do well saving for planned expenses, then they are more than we expected. So now we have to run too close in our budget because we do not want to take any money out of the emergency or the Oh sh** savings account. Trying to stay focused but hubby is ‘itching’ to book a mini vacation, using points but we still would have expenses. I just need to have a good ‘cushion’ before we book.
June 5, 2012 at 12:33 pm
I was a lttle taken aback by April’s comment regarding being tired of “perfect posts”. My husband and I recently became debt-free after 2 years and 9 months of budgeting, following much of Gail’s advice. It was hard work and caused conflict at times as one of us is a spender and one a saver. I’m sure many of those perfect posts of others did not come easily. Discipline can be hard to maintain at times…
June 6, 2012 at 5:37 am
Day 3 of no credit!!
June 6, 2012 at 12:46 pm
This has been a great credit card diet. Thanks for the push. I also sent a letter to my MP last night! First time for that too!
June 10, 2012 at 6:00 am
I just finished a week with cash only and the Budget Binder. I am not going to lie, It was a tough haul. I am one of those people who constantly spent money (that I didn’t have at the time) by swiping a little plastic card through a machine and walked out of the store with a new electronic device to satisfy my craving and trying to see how many of those stupid points I can accumulate. After my self indulgence I would then begin paying off the credit.
After streaming several episodes of ‘Til Debt Do Us Part I hummed and hawed at the vast amount of people who sunk stupidly low in debt. Just for kicks, I signed onto RBC and went to poke around and found a section for bringing up account activity. I was intrigued and pointed the calculator pie chart dealy six months and my jaw… dropped. My mouth was cotton dry and my eyes wide as though I had just witnessed a murder. In only six months I had spent $6,000+ on “stuff”.
To apply some background, I am one of five room mates in a house, single. My rent is only $565 a month (this including utilities and things VERY lucky). After watching several more episodes of the show I decided it was time to take credit card out of the equation while I am still in my current situation without having to worry about the costs of home owning. Best break a stupid habit as early as possible.
June 18, 2012 at 12:06 am
[...] of the first day of the Credit Card Diet (read Gail’s Blog for more details), she gives us Doomed to Debt? Sad, but [...]