by Tricia
A while back, a reader asked me what types of things we put on our credit cards. Unfortunately, I can’t seem to locate the specific comment since it was a while ago so the question may have been worded a little differently. But I know that they wanted to know about the things we would buy on credit.
Looking through my old credit card statements, there were charges all over the board but a few showed up a lot:
- Fast food
- Gas
- Clothes
- Furniture
- Toys
- Electronics
The cash we had was used first and foremost to pay bills. After that, we used our credit cards. The embarassing thing about our debt is that I thought I was doing a good job of managing our finances. We were able to pay our bills and collectors were not knocking at our door.
I didn’t fully understand the fact that I was digging a HUGE debt hole that was costing us so much money. At the peak, our finance charges were running over $400/month. I can think of a lot better uses for $400/month than giving it to the credit card companies.
Since starting on this journey, there have been times where I can really feel a difference with how we spend money. Case in point – an LCD TV. I really would still like one, but we’ll wait. Once our debt is paid off perhaps we will start an LCD fund. Back then, I would have bought one without a second thought.
I have learned how to wait.
