Late last year I added up my credit cards and realized I was over $8K in debt. I knew I hadn't been able to pay off the balances in a while, but every month I'd shrug, try to use the card less, try to do better. When I added them all up I was shocked. I started combing through the statements to see where I was going wrong. Turns out there was a lot I could cut out, so I set myself a goal. I paid as much as I could towards the higher interest one - it earns more cash back, so I was using it the most, then realized that was a terrible idea and cut it up. My one card I'd use for gas/repairs/emergencies I paid to an even balance that I checked every single day so I'd know how much I had SPENT - if I started the month at $5K on it and the balance was $5,700 I instantly knew I'd spent $700 so far.
I realize this sounds totally obvious, but at 38 years old I just realized that if my spending is more than what I make, my debt will go in the wrong direction. I know what I earn every month so I easily figured up what that "spending" line had to be if I was going to start chipping away at debt.
Credit card statements have these huge obvious boxes now about how your minimum payments work, and that's great, but I wish they'd highlight "hey here's what you SPENT this month!"
Today I'm about $4K in debt, a number that still makes me sad but at least I've been moving the right direction.
Submitted February 08, 2019 at 08:40PM by spacefem http://bit.ly/2Bu4xnZ
