That's a great idea, refuge 821. I agree that the whole idea of instant gratification is ruining this country. A lot of people now think that as long as you have one credit card left that you can max out that you still have money to spend! Whatever happened to the idea of it being a matter of honor to pay your bills?
Some people think that big credit card companies are so impersonal that they don't care whether the company gets their money; they think they don't need it, etc. I would like for my kids to be honest and know if they owe it, they have to pay it!
I just had someone complain to me that her credit card company is ripping her off by charging her so much interest because she has a huge unpaid balance. Huh???? Credit cards were invented for convenience. The way the credit card companies make money is to bet on the fact that some people won't pay their bills on time and its part of the agreement that if you don't pay on time, you pay more. Why should anyone complain if they don't pay their bill and get charged more because of that fact? It's surprising to me how many intelligent people just don't understand basic principles like that. They feel like victims because they can't have everything they want.
Oh- this isn't directed at anyone here. I am on sort of a rant because of some financial 'problems' some relatives have had recently.
Shyli, I applaud you for wanting to get your spending under control. Take it from an 'old' lady, doing without a few things now can make your life a lot easier in the future. I was lucky to be raised by parents who handled money well. When I got married I thought my husband was pretty cheap about things, but I never argued when he would tell me to cut back on spending. I was lucky enough to stay home and raise my kids, so I wasn't going to hassle him about money.
He semi-retired at age 55. Actually he was sort of forced into it by a company takeover, but we were lucky enough to be financially prepared for him to do that. He doesn't work much and I don't work at all. Everything we own is paid for. We got some money from his parents when they died that has helped, but we had our own savings and investments. We wouldn't have if we had bought everything we wanted. We did without to save for the future. We never expected the company he worked for to have problems-so it's good to be prepared. His parents never would have been able to leave us that much money if they hadn't been frugal. When I was in my twenties, I used to think, “those people are so cheap!”, now I think, “God Bless them!”
Recently I have seen people I know lose their nice homes and everything in them because of job losses and the fact that they weren't prepared and already in debt up to their eyeballs. While it is very sad, I also realize they brought a lot of it on themselves. It makes me appreciate my 'old tightwad' husband a LOT! He kept us out of financial trouble. That is why I like posting here. Being frugal really does work and if I can warn even one person or give them tips on how to stay out of debt, I will feel happy about that.
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