Can you remember the first time you ever applied for that flimsy piece of plastic that was a gateway to everything you “needed” so badly but couldn’t afford? Can you guess what I am describing? A credit card. A measly, rectangular piece of plastic, designed to fit right in the back of your jeans pocket. An every day shape that would suddenly give you the independence you have been waiting for, a chance to put on your big girl panties and make adult decisions about spending money.
I remember that day. My best friend had a credit card before she even graduated high school. I was so jealous of her. I couldn’t wait until I was able to be approved for what I thought was going to be the best opportunity in my 18-year-old mind. After I got approved for my first card which was probably only a spending limit of $500, I learned that you can apply for the store cards now too. There were limitless possibilities! I discovered this could be my way to afford to move out of my parents house (which was perfect but in my teenage mind I thought it was prison). I had started working at the age of 14 and had about $4,000 saved when I decided I wanted to move out at 19. You know, I was so rich! I did horrible at my first semester in college and over the break fell in love. You know, that kind of love that blinds you. A dead beat guy that had the best use of words to explain to me why I needed to move out and in with him. The one that promises the world to you before you even know his last name. I fell for it. Within two months of moving into our apartment, suddenly his money was disappearing. I was the one paying the bills. I am lucky though because my blindness was cured quite quickly and I kicked him to the curb. Literally. I threw all his stuff out of the second floor window of our apartment, locked him out and called his family that lived two hours away to come pick him up.
I wasn’t sure how I was going to afford the lifestyle we were living on my own. I tried to do it for a bit. I thought it was a good idea to finally apply for all those store cards that I had access to; Macy’s, JC Penney’s, Pacific Sun-wear, Victoria Secrets, Wal-Mart, Target, etc. I just kept charging on the cards and making the minimum payments. Before you knew it, my credit was good enough to apply for the real grown up cards like Citi and MasterCard. I’m not sure how these companies even allow people to have so much debt that they know average people will not be able to afford but they do and I did it. I went back to college and lived the life. I traveled to Vegas 5 times, California, Florida (multiple times), Europe, and the Dominican Republic all thanks to my plastic friends. Money was no longer an object for me. I would go out and buy crazy stuff like $600 sunglasses. Why?!
It wasn’t until after I brought a house and decided that I didn’t want to be in debt anymore that I realized my problem. No matter how many budgets I made I could not figure out a way to get on track with my spending. I went to a local credit consolidation company who helped me consolidate every card so I was only making one lump sum payment which made it easier but still I was only just barely making over the minimum payments. I finally decided to look into the option of bankruptcy. Here I am, the child of parents with excellent credit, about to file for bankruptcy and honestly it was the best decision I have ever done. I finally have financial freedom, live on a budget and have not one single credit card! It wasn’t until after bankruptcy I learned about clearance shopping, couponing, meal prep, etc to keep my life organized and affordable. As a full-time working step mom, I decided to share my story and start a blog to share my ideas with others. If you get one good idea out of my posts, then I have made a difference. Thank you and welcome!
findingfrugality 