Originally Posted by jamesdenver
i made the last big "chunk" payment on my CC last fall, and i have an obessesion with remaining free of credit card debt. intangible as it is, it's a trendemendous
i've had up and down CC for 11 years. i've gotton it down, racked it up, paid with some help my 'rents, racked some more up.
Krikey James! Reading that was giving me cold sweats. I too went through the credit card thing. When I simplified my life in 2004, I paid them off and cut them up. On the occasion I want to order something online, I'll hand cash to a friend of family member and ask if they'd place the order.
Originally Posted by jamesdenver
... there's so many "get out of CC guides out there" but i think they're missing one point: they tell you to cut back on things, cut out little expenses like $20-30 a month things, watch how much you eat out, etc. that's smart, but it won't happen without a fundamental life philosophy change regarding your goals, need, and wants. if you still like going to the mall to BUY stuff to make yourself happy, it won't happen. i believe spending is like an addiction, and eventually you'll relapse. if you hang out with friends who don't see a good time as anything else than spending $100 on dinner and martini, it's a tough call and you may see less of them. on the other hand you may find friends that enjoy things like drinking coffee at a diner, or practicing spanish together.
WORD. You hit the nail on the head there.
A lot of the so-called friends I used to have are people I don't see anymore because they couldn't wrap their heads around just hanging out and talking - they had to be at a restaurant or mall spending.
I have a whole new set of friends now - people I have a deeper connection to - who play instruments, work on bikes together or let me cook for them. One of them was about to make an order from Nashbar for some bike stuff. I went into my box of bike goodies, pulled out a pair of road bars and brakes and saved him $100. Craiglist, Freecycles and the local bike co-op are great ways to save.
I think we're just a bit ahead of our time there: once our species gets over peak-oil and realizes the embodied energy tied up in the materials we throw out, we'll need to be frugal because, say, a set of handlebars will cost you $400 new on account of the mining, refining, manufacturer and transportation costs. (though that might not happen in our lifetime)
"It's not the big expenses you plan for that'll bankrupt you - it's all the tiny little ones you didn't keep track of that'll add up."
Durn good discussion here!