Falling into the Credit Card Trap

Hello everyone

I have been free of credit card debt for around 2 years. It was not an easy task but managed to do it with no debt assistance company service (which is also a rip off). 

• I made a promise to stop using the card no matter how much it hurt
• Made more than the ridiculous 1 percent minimum payment, which takes like 10 years to pay off, and the credit card company gets thousands in interest. 
• Started adding to my savings account every paycheck. Sometimes only 20 bucks, but always something. 
• Curbed impulse unnecessary purchases. Also tough since I was kinda used to buying crap. 
• Wrote some things down I wanted to achieve with money, and done my best to stick to it. Sometimes I failed, but didn't give up.  

When I started to see the balance on my credit card starting to drop it was such a cool feeling that it was making a difference. I ended up using a good part of my tax refund towards the balance in 2021. Thanks in part to the stimulus payments which helped. As the balance dropped my confidence about debt and money increased. I remember when the credit card balance was like 500 bucks. I paid 250 one month and finally paid the debt off the next. It hurt because we we still had plenty of bills to pay.  We did it and then made a promise to never go back to the credit card trap. So 2 years later no unsecured debt. Our savings has grown to around 3 thousand. Not too much money but would get us through a problem. 

Will end this post now but that achievement has led to several others I want to share soon. So if you want, buy a money master manual. The bundle is pretty cheap and is a good guide. No sales pressure here though, and never will be. 

Also will be allowing comments down the road, looking to connect with others and share experiences. 

Ralph