This is a credit card disaster.
So how does someone get out of the credit card disaster mindset? Once you’ve got several credit cards and not enough income to pay them and your other living expenses, and there are no more creditors crazy enough to give you more money- what then? It’s time to deal with the consequences of irresponsible spending.
If you actually have room on any of your credit cards to spend more, you need to take away the temptation. Cut your credit cards into tiny pieces, and throw them away. Yes, every single one. Don’t save one for “emergencies” because honestly, how many of those credit cards were originally obtained in the event of an emergency? How much of the balance on the credit card was actually put there to cover an emergency expense? This is how you break the credit card disaster mindset. Credit cards are not the best way to obtain money in the event of an emergency; especially when you’ve already spent tons of money using them.
You have to make the decision to STOP using credit cards. It doesn’t matter if it’s a month before the holidays, if it’s a time when you are not making as much money as you’re used to, or you just “need” something from the store. If you can’t buy it with cash, then you aren’t going to get it!
You’re probably thinking you don’t have money to buy anything, and, you’re probably right. That’s what credit cards can do to you. What you need to do is create a plan of repayment. Figure out your monthly expenses and your monthly income. Determine where you can cut costs. Maybe you could save gas and carpool to work? Maybe you can pack a lunch rather than buying one every other day. Make coffee at home and save $2 a day, or $10 a week (or more- depending on how many cups of coffee you drink a week from the coffee shop!) There are ways to reduce your expenses. Find them, and do them religiously. Put the money you are saving into an account or a piggy bank. This becomes your “emergency fund”. It will take a while to grow, but it will grow with time if you continue to cut unnecessary expenses.
Next, concentrate on paying off the bills that you can get rid of first. You should find your smallest balance, and work at sending that account as much money as possible while still making your other payments, in order to pay it off. Once something is paid off, you have that account’s payment to use to pay more money on another account.
It’s going to be a slow and painful process. Getting out of the credit card disaster mindset is not easy- you are reconditioning yourself and teaching yourself responsible spending habits by not using credit cards any more, and paying off your debt. When you do finally have some breathing room, don’t go back to using credit cards. Put purchases off until you have saved enough to buy them with cash. Don’t fall back into the same credit trap you worked so hard to get out of, and before you know it, you’ll find it doesn’t take long to save for a purchase when you aren’t struggling to make monthly payments each month on old debt! That’s all about Getting Out Of Credit Disaster Mindsets.
