Just 'Cause You Have Money

Well I can just hear my Dad saying to me," Honey, just 'cause you got money don't mean you have to spend it. That money is just burning a hole in your pocket". And it did do more than burn a hole in my pocket. I spent money I did not have. I charged on any and every card they sent me in the mail.

I was divorced with two little girls to raise by myself. There was no child support and the $65.00 a week I made didn't go very far. These are the things we don't like to think about. If I had listened to my Dad about money, it would not have taken the better part of 20 years to pay myself out of the debt I made. My Dad was a depression era man. He would have been in his late teens, early twenties. He knew what making do and doing without was all about. So much so than when his daughter came along she would not have to go through that.

But I did go through it because having everything you want leads to not appreciating any of it. You take it for granted that there will always be enough. You can even use credit cards if you don't have real money. But the rude awaking comes at the end of the month when the bills come. When the statement indicates the minimum payment is only enough to pay them their interest. Letting you see clearly, paying the minimum will never pay the balance off. 

So what was the credit card wake up call? Believe it or not it was Desert Storm. The name of that war is the perfect one for my own. When Desert Storm hit the financial community the first thing they did was crack down on the people who were over there credit limit. You guessed it. That was me. It was right after the big, big Christmas for my girls. You know the one where you are trying to make up for life without a Dad and a Mom who was absent even when she was physically there.

Well, my credit was really good. No late payments, no missing payments. But that did not matter to them in this war situation. They wanted their money. They wanted their $342.00 over my credit limit. They sent notices in the mail. They called the house. All of this in less than a week. The straw that broke the proverbial camel's back was: they called my work. That was it. They had their nerve didn't they. I ranted and raved for a couple of days. Then the stubbornness that got me into debt slid over to the other side.

Now I was razor edge focused. I was fired up mad. Mad at them but more mad at myself for falling into the trap. What did I do? I took every extra penny I could and paid it over and above what was due each month. When I got my income tax refund I paid it onto the balance. Two years later, it was done.

In order to fast foward the pay off, I stopped spending with credit cards. I paid cash. I used real money instead of the plastic stuff. I used my money for a lot more of what was needed versus what was wanted. I realized what my Dad said was the truth. " Just 'cause you got money don't mean you have to spend it. Or one better Dad. Just 'cause you have plastic (Credit) don't mean you have to use it.

Happy Thriftying To You All!