I’m in a weird mood today. It’s a combination of freaking out that we’re not going to pay off the $5998 on the Advanta card by the end of the year, the fact that I just saw the charge at Home Depot my boyfriend put on the CREDIT CARD for $266 yesterday, (He told me after the fact, but it was supposed to be more like $120) and my mom whining at me this morning that her credit card debt is too high for the umteenth time even though she’s not really willing to take any steps to reduce her um “lifestyle expenses”.
SERIOIUSLY PEOPLE!
It doesn’t matter how good you nickel and dime a home improvement project if you’re going to end up paying 17% on that money! Just like it doesn’t matter to my mom if she cuts out $20 per month on cable and telephone expenses if she’s paying 14% on the money she’s already borrowing!
You have to get ANGRY at your debt, magnet it to the FRIDGE, and stare at it everytime you walk by it. Yeah, we can “maintain” the monthly payment, but WHY? It’s kinda like alimony – if you did something stupid in your past do you want to be writing a check for it every month for the rest of your life?? Or do you want to bust your butt to save your nickels only to hand them over to the bank? (interest) Isn’t it bad enough that our federal goverment is already giving them OUR money?
I may be considered un-patriotic for not paying the banks interest just so I can earn 4% cash back on my gas purchases. That is dumb logic - if I’m carrying a balance I would still pay them WAY more then they would pay me.
Last night I sold my old 2G iPhone for $200 and immediately gave the cash to the BF for the impending home improvement projects. CASH people! What a concept???
**This has been a Public Service Announcement for the “Stop Being Stupid with Your Hard Earned Money Coalition”. Thank you for listening.**