credit addict

Semi-Rehabiliatated Credit Addict


I am a semi-rehabilitated credit addict. Isn’t step one of any program admitting that you have a problem? Since we know everyone likes to hear a story so they don’t feel alone (and you’re totally not), here we are:

Story Time:

There was a point in my life that I was so out of control with my credit that it consumed everything. I was young , impressionable, cuter than I am now and stupid as a box of rocks.

As soon as I turned 18 the offers for credit starting rolling in, not a day went by that I didn’t feel very special because the credit companies had chosen me! My mother thought I was irresponsible, but the credit companies? They trusted me! They knew I could handle it. I mean, why would they offer me a credit card if I couldn’t handle it?

I charged everything. Eating out, treating friends, gifts for my family. You get the idea. The one thing all this charging had it common was I had nothing to show for it! All I had was debt up to my eyeballs while charging “having a good time”.

The allure of obtaining everything I wanted through credit vanished when I realized I had to make that minimum payment to keep charging. But what to do? Cut my credit cards up? Blasphemy I tell you! Close the accounts? Oh Please?! Plus I’m not really even sure how good of a time I really had?

I froze them. Literally. I put those cards into a gallon plastic bag, filled it with water and threw it in the freezer. Actually I placed it gently on the shelf. After all, these were my babies I was sending into a cryogenic state. I did this several times.

Filling. Guilt. Freezing. Guilt. Defrosting. Guilt. Filling and freezing again. It was tough.

Fast forward to the “impulse, splurge, but I deserve it!” purchase. In order to use the cards they had to be physically defrosted. Take this hunk of ice from my freezer? Wait for it to defrost? I’m too lazy. Even to lazy hold it under running water , until my babies would be free to charge out into the world.

So I learned not to. I planned my bills, stopped going out (as much) and ending up spending more time at my parents house for free meals. Which is a great deal considering my mother’s cooking is a quite a few slots above most of the Food Network Chefs!

So, I became a semi-rehabilitated credit addict, one frozen hunk of ice at a time. Years later, I know now that freezing them wasn’t the best avenue to take, but I had to so something and it worked at the time.

What have found yourself doing to keep from charging?

~V

Velma
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Velma

Suburbia dweller, organizational nerd & ninja, lover of coffee & author of SuburbanCents~
Velma
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