The Plastics

The very first topic we need to talk about is Credit Cards. Most people live their lives in a state of credit. We lease, finance our cars. Takeout loans to pay credit cards, and never use cash to pay for anything anymore. What is cash? I almost forgot the days of my childhood where I counted my money, instead of logging into my bank app on my smartphone.


I have looked into many ways that we could go about paying off debt, and finally having what we call financial freedom. So far I have made my own plan! Everyone is different and we all need different methods to achieve a goal.


Here are my steps so far!


1- Gather all the information on every single credit card, and any other debt you have. Be prepared for this to sting, and for some it will sting A LOT. I don't know how it happened but I managed to accumulate $20k in credit card & loan debts. I think back and try to figure out were this money went to. My husband and I went thru some hard times for a while, and the only way we were able to live was to use credit cards. But once those times were over, we were programmed to be ok with incurring debt and material positions. Being a craft person, and trying to start my own business I incurred a lot of debt from yarn, fabric, jewelry, and machines to make it happen. Adding to that I know we bought things that we didn't need, and we went out to dinner when we really should have cooked at home. 


I gathered all of this 3 months ago, and only now am I truly accepting of what happened. It took awhile to realize how in a sense this was very self destructive. I dug myself in a hole that will take years to get out of.


OK deep breaths... Ready to move on? Remember the first step is admitting you have a problem.


2- In the next step which I did over this weekend, I called and canceled all but 1 credit card. Every single creditor asked me "Why?" I know it's their job to keep me as the wonderful and loyal customer I have been, but I knew it had to end. What really felt liberating was hanging up, and cutting up each card. Don't get me wrong I have the same amount of debt from when I picked up the phone to when I hung up, but it felt good not to have this crutch. Ok, so why did I leave one of them open??

All will be revealed in step #3

Until then, here is an important question:

How much debt to you have?

Please note these steps are my own personal journey, and that this is not financial advice. You can plan your own journey with help family, friends, your own research, or a financial advisor.