My post earlier this week in regards to my cutting up my Visa cards seems to have really sparked some interest.... So I want to add a few thoughts tonight. First of all, we do pay off the cards pretty much every month... the Am Ex you have to! But, having 3 or 4 cards is just too much... in today's world of identity theft, forgery, etc. I think that each card is just one more target for the thief to hit. I firmly believe that when a person goes shopping with a credit card in their wallet they tend to spend more money because they can use the card and pay it off later whether it takes a month or many months. But, if you go shopping with cash or your debit card, then you tend to be more frugal with your purchases and not "splurge" every time or make a spur-of-the-moment buy when you really did not need it anyway! I have been terrible in the past about seeing something that caught my eye and at that moment I convinced myself that I had to have that item and just whipped ol' Mr. Visa one more time... After a while, if you keep doing it and you are not paying it off each month then the next thing you know your balance is up to thousands of dollars! There was a time in my life when I almost always relied on my tax refund and/or my yearly bonus to pay off my credit card because all year long before those two funds came in I kept the thought in my head that "I will just pay my card off when tax or bonus time arrives". Isn't that insane in the membrane? What would have happened if a) I lost my job or the company did not give out bonuses for some reason or b) I had to pay taxes instead of getting a refund? Then, what would I have done? I sure as heck could not go ask my family for any money... or the bank... I look at it like this: my grandparents raised me in a household that did not have credit cards or credit accounts. We paid cash for EVERY thing... and somehow they managed to raise my father and then me on MINIMAL income (it is almost unbelievable what few wages a hairdresser and a carpenter make) and we did not starve for food or freeze in the winter. We had shelter over our heads and a freezer full of food that we raised ourselves or came from the neighbor's garden up the road. Yes, I never had name-brand clothes or fancy gadgets like I do now... but, my grandparents raised me in a loving home, clothed me and instilled morals and values in me that will last my lifetime. And one of those is not to be greedy. And my having 3 or 4 credit cards makes me greedy. So, when we cash in those 103,000 skymiles in April for our two free plane tickets to Key West, FL for a small beach vacation, the Am Ex is a goner. In the meantime, we are saving, saving, saving for what? A rainy day? A fancy new car? Expensive jewelry? NO! We are saving for retirement... NOW... so we don't have to WORK for the rest of our energetic years. Oh, and kudos to my loving, wonderful husband for AGAIN putting me on the straight and narrow when planning for our future together....
Oh, and one more thing, to the anonymous person who commented on my blog that carrying cash is for OLD people and how disappointed they are in me for cutting up my Visa, you should be ashamed... the other comment was completely the opposite from yours... makes me wonder who you are....
PS
Happy 100th Blog to me! This is officially my 100th blog on the Blogger... kudos to myself.
1 comment:
hahaha.... that comment came from me, I figured you'd figure it out because we've talked about the credit card thing & you know I don't actually think you're old. But I just had to give you shit!! ~Jessica
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