Money has much been on my mind as of late. I am a Stay at home mom, with a husband who is laid off.
It's not an easy scenario to find yourself in. Our unemployment has not yet started. However, our tax refund should be in next week. It is hard to know that this huge chunk is coming in, but is unable to be touched. There are many things that we would love to have. Our loveseat, where I sit, the wood prods at my back and it hurts. I would love nothing more than to go purchase a love seat-and my husband has the credit that we could probably do one of those "No interest till 2011" or whatever deals.
But honestly? Credit cards are not a frugal life. We pay for everything on the spot. If we cannot afford to pay for something in full when we want it? We go without.
I am the very first to admit that sometimes the credit offers are so tempting. How nice would it be to have matching couches that don't completely suck to sit on? But, I don't want to pay more for them than their price, in fact I often like to pay less than their actual price.
When we started dating, Andrew had a credit card. It was through a federal credit union-and we did awesome with it, until they merged and paying his bill became the most difficult thing in the world. They wouldn't take payment in the store. They wouldn't let you pay online, and to pay on the phone they charged an extra fee. We fought many an extra charge because of this, and it really brought us to a point: Why are we borrowing money? Yes, there are times where we are truly living paycheck to paycheck, however we have everything we need. I would much rather borrow $20 for diapers or food from my parents or Drew's than borrow $20 from a credit card and wind up paying $25 for the same product.
This is not to say that we do not have any debts period. I have old ones from when I was younger that we are progressively paying off. They are all with collections agencies so each year, we choose a couple and pay them with our taxes.
So before you put something-even small-on your credit card, take a moment and think about how it can effect you.
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Good for you! We have been doing Dave Ramsey's plan for several years and are currently taking his Financial Peace University class for more of a refresher - a kick in the pants, if you will - than anything. He would be proud of you. (If you don't know who he is, go to www.daveramsey.com).
ReplyDeleteHis motto - If you will live like no one else [now], later you can live like no one else.