actyourwage | (no subject)

(no subject)

Dead comm is dead. *pokes at it*

Hi, I'm Ellie, and I have problems with buying things on impulse. This may be related to my thousands of dollars in credit card debt. I have a full-time job which, after monthly expenses, gives me four hundred a month to pay down credit card debt with. Somehow the debt keeps not going down. Does anyone have suggestions for ways to convince myself I don't actually need any of the books and probably don't need any of the crafting supplies I buy?

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I suspect going cold turkey on 'fun stuff' isn't likely to work out too well. Maybe try giving yourself $25 or 50 per month as an allowance (or whatever you can live with, but I'd go with less than half that $400), and sink the rest of it into the debt. Pull the allowance out as cash, and don't pay for anything that falls into the 'fun stuff' category except from that cash.

Also, make friends with your library and if you're anything like me, use what's already in your stash instead of buying new supplies (not that I'm very good at that one, either, but I try).

But how am I to buy things online with cash that's in my purse? Which is my problem. I buy things online and put them on my credit cards.

...that's the point, isn't it.

Thanks!

One thing you might look at, if your bank offers it, is a Visa/mastercard Debit card. I have one--for everything where I'm reasonably certain the website is secure, I use my Debit card. That way it's taking money directly out of my bank account, and I'm not adding to my credit card debt

I have a debit card, I just don't use it, because my credit cards have rewards programs. Which just got a reinforcement because I got enough points on the one card for a $50 B&N gift card.

I should start using the debit card instead, yes.

I strongly advise against using a debit card online ever. If anyone ever hacks your $site_of_choice and gets your debit card, you can be responsible for everything the hacker uses that card to purchase. With credit cards, you are limited to (I believe) no more than $50 USD no matter how many hundreds of thousands a hacker rings up.

An alternate suggestion would be--I think AmEx does a special type of card where you can't use it anymore until you pay it off in full. It might be possible to get one of those, cut up the existing ones (keep the account open but never use the card, if you're concerned about your credit rating), and go that way.

I'd set a small monthly spending limit for the fun stuff ($50 month) and buy prepaid credit cards for each month. tuck away the higher credit limit credit card in a place that is very hard to access.) Then use the prepaid cards - one each month.
http://www.creditscorequick.com/blog/2010/08/29/5-tips-to-the-perfect-prepaid-credit-card/ (I am nor endorsing any the site - there are many places so shop around)

You can also get a prepaid debit card
http://www.bankrate.com/finance/credit-cards/don-t-overpay-for-prepaid-debit-cards-1.aspx

Thanks!

Taken into consideration. Thanks!

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