The ol' homestead

My thought on credit card debt

I think most people want to live debt free. What I see keeping a lot of families from this is credit card debt. Most people have a lot of credit card debt that they are trying to get rid of. I think when they started getting credit cards they had good intentions to pay them off monthly, but instead an unsurmountable debt is slowly heaped on them until they are struggling with just meeting thier minimum payment each month. I can count on one hand the people I know that actually pay them off each month. The rest are wasting a lot of their HARD EARNED MONEY. I know we all know these companies are getting rich on our money. I have someone who is very dear to me that struggles with this. She wants so badly to get rid of her debt, yet she has no self control over the things she wants but does not want to save for. I think this is a lot of the reason for debt -us Americans want something, and we want it NOW, not in a few years when we have saved enough to purchase it with cash! We have to have control and we have to be willing to be patient and WAIT.

I have a college son who is enticed almost daily with offers of credit via the mail, web and in person. How sad that most college kids have accrued so much credit card debt that by the time they graduate that they have to spend almost the rest of their careers paying off that debt..... and this is without adding in educational loans that have to be paid back as well. I told my son that it may be tough for us to get him through college without that debt, but we are 2 years into it and hanging on still..... you just have to find other ways than credit cards. I want him to be able to start his career without worrying about a huge amount of debt.

We are a society of buy now pay later, but the pay later now has, and is destroying a lot of homes and families. The stress alone is so destructive.

We live without credit card debt.... it can be done with a lot of determination and kept that way by discipline. The relief and pleasure that we have now to be able to say, "No thank you", is much more satisfying than walking around like the weight of the world is on our shoulders. You just have to WANT IT badly and you can get debt free, and live happily debt free!

Little miss started saving her brothers "credit card" offers to play house with. Isn't she rich!? LOL

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01:23, Monday, February 26, 2007 .. Posted by crewchief

Oh wow! Look at that mountain of cards!!

We have lived without credit cards for several years and have done quite well without. However, now we both work for a credit union that gives employees a credit card with a low credit limit. This is so that we will have experience with the product so that we "will better be able to assist our members". Uh-huh.

We haven't used Hubby's at all. We have used mine when he was off work for 2 weeks over Christmas and had no income. However, we have already paid it off.

It is now snug in my little wallet with a zero balance where it shall remain unless an emergency calls for it.

We struggled with credit card debt many years ago and the way we are handling these cards now, compared to the past, really is quite startling.

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02:35, Monday, February 26, 2007 .. Posted by farmgal35

We learned our lesson about credit cards and now I don`t have any and don`t want them. I do have a debit/credit but I have a limit on it and that is all we need. Good post. sheryl

debt

09:22, Wednesday, February 28, 2007 .. Posted by mccrjill

I'm glad my dh pays the credit card bill each month - we only use one. it's great not having that load to carry around. jill