Stuck in a rut.....
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Stuck in a rut.....
| Sat, 10-08-2005 - 4:13am |
of paying down my credit cards, and then charging them back up again! What is my problem!! A year ago, I had maybe 2 credit cards; now all of a sudden I have SIX! 3 are cut up and I have been doubling up my payments to get those 3 paid off faster, but progess has been slow. The other three I pay down and then find myself using them and ending up right back where I started. It's getting really depressing. How does a person break this cycle once and for all without compromising other things??

"How does a person break this cycle once and for all without compromising other things??"
I think the answer to the specific quesiton you asked - with the qulaifier of not compromising other things - is that one doesn't.
All my best,
Danni
i was doing this a few months ago, so i totally relate.I was paying double on all my cards and trying to frantically pay down my debt. But then, I would be short cash at the end of the week, and I would charge things like food and utilities! It is a vicious cycle. Here is my advice, don't pay double on those cards for a month or two until you get a real budget going. Just pay minimums, or maybe a dollar or two more. Of course, i am not reccomending that you do this for long, but you should get a clear budget set up. Myabe you can't actually squeeze those double payments on all the cards, maybe just concentrate on one. I know it is aggravating having those balances, but it's more frustrating to run them back up again! I wish ya lots of luck!!
kel
We're still trying to pay down our one big card (12K). What has helped us is to take that card from our wallets and put them in our safe deposit box (anywhere safe and out of reach would be fine too :-D). The safe deposit box means that, in order to make a purchase we can't afford, we need to actually drive to the bank, go in and ask for access to our box. Just the time standing in the bank, waiting to be waited on, is usually enough time for us to decide that we don't really need them after all, and we walk out.
Our downfall was always the unexpected things, such as sudden car repairs, sports games for our son that were out of town (hotel, meals, etc). So what we did was start putting small amounts of money in our savings account. I guess this could be called an emergency fund. It's still pretty small, but it's growing paycheck by paycheck. Thankfully we haven't needed it, so it's been able to continue to grow. It's my hope that if we have an unbudgeted expense, we'll be ok and not have to go get our cards.
Once our card is paid off, it will remain out of reach of our use. It's the only way to be absolutely sure that we won't use it again. It's a daily struggle, though. No doubt. :-D
Pat
I don't know.
We have the same problem. Right now, all of my cards are in a little box in my bedroom. We don't pay anything on the cards until after all our other bills are paid. Some months, we can only pay the minimum.
I'm trying to think long term. As in, the ME right now has to suffer so that the ME 2 years from now can have the things I want.