The Slippery Slope

I talk a lot about saving money on this site because bad decisions when I was younger sent me into more debt than I could handle at one point – mostly credit card debt.  Credit cards are a slippery slope.  One car repair pops up and you think, “Hey, this is an emergency so it is safe to put this on the card.” This is followed by a shopping trip to the mall when “what’s twenty more dollars tacked onto the card going to make a difference” pops into your head.  Before you know it you are paying minimum payments with no end in site.  For me this was on a high interest card that I got in with during college… I was one of many 18 year-old suckers that fell for that. 

I could handle all of this debt ok until a few years ago when I had some medical issues pop up that required a lot of tests.  Just out of college with a part-time job, and on one of the worst insurance plans ever, I racked up more debt than I could handle.  I was sending out $10 checks once a month to as many outstanding bills as I could afford in order to avoid collections on my ass — which happened anyway because I still couldn’t keep up.

I have my debt under control so it is no longer the “bad” debt that seems to suffocate and I work really hard not to ever be in that position again. My credit is finally reviving itself  — rule #1 is check your credit report so you know where you stand.  So it doesn’t bother me that my friend calls me the “queen of coupons”.  Doing little things like avoiding online shipping fees, comparison shopping and decorating using recycled items I have refurbished make me feel really good about my financial position. 

I guess I wanted to share a little bit of optimism to the bloggers I read in positions similar to where I was.  I hated feeling the stress of debt and trying to hack at it little by little with no end in sight.  And this will sound lame, but being debt free is achievable if you aren’t a reckless spender.  I read about your guilt and your stress every week and I guess I want you to know that I empathize because I was there and trust me when I say… it will end.

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