Blogging Away Debt Our Journeys to a Debt-Free Life

by Tricia

Oh my….

I had probably one of the biggest financial scares of my life.

I am signed up with a credit monitoring company mostly for peace of mind. I know that if someone tries to do something in my name – I will be notified ASAP and I can stop quite a bit of damage before it occurs.

I got my normal weekly emails, but I got one sooner than normal saying that I have an “alert”. Sometimes that is normal due to fluctuations in my credit balances, but I opened up that email and it said that there was a new birthdate on file for me as well as a new account! I hadn’t opened up a new account and I sure didn’t change my birthday!

I frantically logged onto my account, and breathed a sigh of relief. The new account was due to one of my credit cards issuing new cards (due to expiration dates approaching) and the change in my birthday was due to the lack of using my day of birth by a creditor.

So – everything was fine! If you could see me right now, I am actually taking a break from typing and wiping my brow while saying “whew.”

It may seem weird that someone with as much debt as I have would spend money to have my credit monitored. But I do. It gives me peace of mind, and a bit of power knowing that if something does happen, I am notified almost immediately. I like having that sense of security and peace of mind.

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by Tricia

I look at my four-year old son, and I realize that I do not have a savings account for his education. I can’t justify at this moment putting money away to save for his college fees when I am paying 16% plus in credit card interest. It makes more sense to use any extra money that I may have to pay down my credit cards.

I do feel bad though. I hope that he can get scholarships or perhaps get grants. I almost wonder if I should start entering him in kid scholarship contests or something. Maybe by some twist of fate my debt will dwindle down and I can finally start putting away something for his education.

Now, I do not want to give my son a free-ride through college. It seems as though sometimes when things are just given to you, you do not necessarily appreciate it. I’d like to help my son, but I want him to work for what he wants as well.

I am truly dreading how much college will cost in 2019.

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