get out of credit card debt

how I came on here and used this website as a real tool for quite a while and once I drifted away I went right back to my bad habits. I am back to using this site and I really need to stay on top of my ultimate goals because it is SO easy to drift off my intended path.

I am still in debt and will be slowly creeping out after Christmas. After the New Year it’ll be main priority number 2, with 1 being my health/fitness goals.

Ummm….so the WONDERFUL people at Chase upped my credit limit by A LOT! I understand that they did this because my credit is getting better AND they want me to spend spend spend. Welp, that is JUST what I did! I am NOT getting mad at myself though, its a non productive use of energy in my opinion.

I have 2 more credit cards that’ll be paid off next month SO I am going to focus on just one credit card at a time. Chase, which has the HIGHEST balance currently, will be paid off first and then I will go right on down the line. Plastic can be dangerous!

So I have two of my MANY credit cards totally and completely paid off and I couldn’t be more estatic about it. I only have a little more to go on most of them and two of them are still pretty huge. Slow and steady has been working out just fine in this situation and I plan to continue on my path to becomming and staying debt free.

I did my exit counseling for my student loan and won’t have to start paying that back until September SO I am socking away some cash in my savings for that and my upcoming car insurance that is due in August. Saving I need to work on some more but paying things on time I have down pat!

FEELS SOOOOOO GOOD!

that my total credit card debt is probably around $2,000. I was figuring on it being more but thankfully I am moving back home with my parents starting June 1st so all the money I was spending on my rent, food, utilizies, ect. I can put towards this. Though now I’ve incurred more debt due to stopping going to college but that loan is $3,500 and I hope to pay that off as quickly as possible as well. My first payments towards that also won’t be an issue until the fall, probably around August when the new semester starts, so I have time before I have to worry about that.

Moving home is def going to help in accomplishing this goal and getting it out of the way. I really need to focus on putting all that money into the bills and not into partying and dinners! I have a very bad spending habit that I had in check until last week. Time to get back on track and erase this debt asap!

It is such a pleasure now to recieve my credit card statements in the mail each month and see the total due going down! I do not cringe any longer on that walk to the mailbox for fear of what might be lurking in there. My credit cards are still frozen in my ice block and I honestly do not miss them. Actually, ironically, since I’ve frozen them I’ve not wanted for money at all! I keep getting unexpected money in my bank account that is helping me not only pay all my bills on time, usually earlier then the due date, BUT I can actually buy extras. This weekend I blew some money in MAC Cosmetics and did not feel bad about it because it was on my debit card. I am quite proud of myself and never thought I’d live to see the day I didn’t panic when I couldn’t use my plastic. ^5 to me!

So my credit cards are still frozen in my freezer and I haven’t purchased anything online with them, I am actually being a good girl and following the rules I’ve set for myself. So it just figures that this would happen now! I got a letter in the mail this past week stating that they’ve upped my available balance on one of my credit cards! I am pleased because this actually means my credit is improving but what a tease! No reason to be alarmed though, I didn’t grab the block of ice and start chipping away. I’ve actually managed to have a excess amount of cash in my checking account every week for the past month because now I am really thinking about each and every purchase and not just slapping down the plastic.

I struck out quite a few times yesterday in dealing with my credit card companies and trying to get them to lower the APR’s. I did however win big with Capital One which had the highest APR of all the cards I own. Though they are still frozen in big block of ice that is not an excuse to pay high interest on what I already owe. Capital One worked with me and got my APR down to the national average and I couldn’t be more thrilled!!!

It’s frustrating to be paying these off soooooo slowly but I have no other choice at the moment. I am focusing on the positive, I can afford to make all the payments and they are all ahead of schedule. At least that makes me feel better about the situation. Also, buying Christmas present on my debit card is taking a toll on my wallet. Holidays are expensive! Though it would be BAD if those purchases were on credit cards, another plus I am going to focus on!

So now that my credit cards are frozen I am slowly paying them off. Just paid for this month and I’m only doing the mininmum right now because money is tight. I’m hopeful that I can up the amounts each month even if its only by a little. The main goal is to have all my credit cards paid off by June 1st 2009. I am moving in with my boyfriend and I would LOVE to be freed of credit card debt.

At least now that they’re frozen I can’t spend anymore!

Right next to the iced cubes lies a zip lock bag with my frozen credit cards in it. I was actually panicky when I put them in the water, my brother asked me what if they don’t work when I unfreeze them, all I said was SO WHAT? I can always get a new credit card but looking at them as I was placing them in the water I thought this is SO good for me to be doing. I will never stop using them unless they are unacessable so this works out well.

I checked this morning and they’re still solid as a rock. Now I need to forget I placed them there. Maybe I’ll hide um in the back under something I know we’ll never eat!