I Hate Debt
I cut up my credit card yesterday.
For immediate context, my fiancé and I are taking a financial course, Financial Peace University, through our church. And last night was the wonderfully fun “you don’t actually need a credit card” lesson. And to be honest, I didn’t actually need mine. Dave Ramsey, the founder of the course, made a lot if interesting points that honestly made me feel better about giving up my card. I only used it for online purchases and restaurants, things I could easily use my debit for. So why not give up a card that could potentially get me into trouble.
I still have my other credit card, which I only use for cash back at Costco. It still makes sense that spending $100 and getting $2 back is better than spending $100 and getting nothing back. If I pretend it’s like debit, and I pay it off right away, my credit card technically isn’t being used to borrow money. And I feel I have the will power to use it wisely enough to keep it.
The opposite was kind of the case for my other card. I didn’t have outstanding debt or anything, but I was a lot more willy-nilly with it when I went out to eat. I would order whatever I wanted, thinking, “Oh, I can pay this thing off later. Who cares? An appetizer? Why not! The fish is a little expensive, but whatever! Dessert? Well, don’t mind if I do!” But using debit for that kind of thing will be a little more painful, which will cause me to perhaps go with the cheaper appetizer, or skip dessert, or eat a cheap burger instead of the costly fish. Little things like that. Even if I don’t let debt pile up, not having a “I’ll worry about it later card”, and replacing it with a, “This money is coming straight out of my account” card will prevent me from spending more than I intended to. As I learned, half of spending wisely is about "feeling" money.
I even felt that way when I bought stuff online. I bought stuff I didn’t need, without reading reviews, and it sort of felt like a waste in the end. Besides, now a days I hardly buy stuff online anymore. I don’t really have the time to shop or the room for new stuff at the moment. I have my wedding registry up on Amazon, but that’s for convenience sake for our guests (and they do take debit online as well, so credit isn’t a requirement to use their site).
Now, I’m probably going to get a lot of, “But you need your card for this and that and blah blah blah,” and no, I don’t. Feel free to comment that I do, but I really feel like I don’t need a card, even for the multitude of reasons people think. If you like your cards, fine. I’m here to celebrate my revelation and my new way of life, and explain how I don’t have to worry about all the crap I felt I had to worry about before.
Like a credit score. I always used to worry about not having a good credit score. All those commercials made me feel like I was a little kid pretending to be an adult if I didn’t have a credit score. Frankly, my credit score is in the toilet anyway, even if I didn’t cut up my card. I paid it off early and often, which told the bank, “Hey, if you give me a loan, I’ll pay that thing off before you can make anything off me in interest. How much have you made off my card? Nothing? So you’d be wasting your time loaning to me.” That’s why when you pay off a debt in full, your score goes down. So card or not, my score is in the toilet. And look at me. I’m still breathing. I’m still alive. I’m confident with enough of a down payment, I could still get the house I want, since it’s cheap (and my parents are selling it to me instead of a stranger, and they promised to help us if we get stuck. If I’m denied because of a bad credit score, I’m sure we could work something out). And for a car? If I really want a new one, I can easily save for one and pay the whole thing for it in cash. I saved up 30K for the house down payment. I can do that again, no problem! Bank loan? For what?! What do I need that I can’t just save up for it and pay no interest? Better yet, if I want something, I can come in with several hundred dollars less in cash and still get it. Imagine walking into a furniture store, picking out a $4,000 piece, and putting $3,800 on the table and saying, “If you don’t want this giant pile of money, I can go somewhere else.” I don’t need a stinking bank loan.
“But what about emergencies?” I have something for emergencies. It’s called an emergency fund. I can take as much out of it as I need in an emergency without worrying about a 12% interest rate while I’m dealing with a medical disaster , my stupid broken car, a busted refrigerator, or whatever else I’m currently freaking out about at the same time. It’s nice to only have one melt-down instead of two. I’ve got $3,000 sitting in my account, just waiting for something to go wrong so it can finally see the light of day.
“But what about benefits and flyer miles and reward points and blah blah blah?” Have you not been listening? If you need that stuff, good for you! I don’t! Flier miles would be wasted on me, because I don’t have the time to go anywhere. And if I wanna go somewhere, I’ll take the money I didn’t give to the bank as a sacrifice and use it to buy a ticket. I still have my Costco card, and I’m using it like I’m not borrowing the money, and I’m still getting my 2% back on groceries (and 4% on gas), and that’s all I need.
And if you still think I need a card for whatever reason, go ahead and think it. My card is gone, and I don’t need it. I know I don’t need it. If you still need yours, then go ahead and keep it. This lecture is about me and what I’ve learned about myself and my money and how I decided I want to live. And it’s really freeing. I don’t have to worry about what makes or breaks a credit score anymore. I don’t have to worry about forgetting to make a payment. I don’t have to worry about “not getting the best deals” or “not getting the best rewards because I’m not spending enough of my money.” My chances of building debt have just shrunk by half, and I honestly couldn’t be happier about it.
For immediate context, my fiancé and I are taking a financial course, Financial Peace University, through our church. And last night was the wonderfully fun “you don’t actually need a credit card” lesson. And to be honest, I didn’t actually need mine. Dave Ramsey, the founder of the course, made a lot if interesting points that honestly made me feel better about giving up my card. I only used it for online purchases and restaurants, things I could easily use my debit for. So why not give up a card that could potentially get me into trouble.
I still have my other credit card, which I only use for cash back at Costco. It still makes sense that spending $100 and getting $2 back is better than spending $100 and getting nothing back. If I pretend it’s like debit, and I pay it off right away, my credit card technically isn’t being used to borrow money. And I feel I have the will power to use it wisely enough to keep it.
The opposite was kind of the case for my other card. I didn’t have outstanding debt or anything, but I was a lot more willy-nilly with it when I went out to eat. I would order whatever I wanted, thinking, “Oh, I can pay this thing off later. Who cares? An appetizer? Why not! The fish is a little expensive, but whatever! Dessert? Well, don’t mind if I do!” But using debit for that kind of thing will be a little more painful, which will cause me to perhaps go with the cheaper appetizer, or skip dessert, or eat a cheap burger instead of the costly fish. Little things like that. Even if I don’t let debt pile up, not having a “I’ll worry about it later card”, and replacing it with a, “This money is coming straight out of my account” card will prevent me from spending more than I intended to. As I learned, half of spending wisely is about "feeling" money.
I even felt that way when I bought stuff online. I bought stuff I didn’t need, without reading reviews, and it sort of felt like a waste in the end. Besides, now a days I hardly buy stuff online anymore. I don’t really have the time to shop or the room for new stuff at the moment. I have my wedding registry up on Amazon, but that’s for convenience sake for our guests (and they do take debit online as well, so credit isn’t a requirement to use their site).
Now, I’m probably going to get a lot of, “But you need your card for this and that and blah blah blah,” and no, I don’t. Feel free to comment that I do, but I really feel like I don’t need a card, even for the multitude of reasons people think. If you like your cards, fine. I’m here to celebrate my revelation and my new way of life, and explain how I don’t have to worry about all the crap I felt I had to worry about before.
Like a credit score. I always used to worry about not having a good credit score. All those commercials made me feel like I was a little kid pretending to be an adult if I didn’t have a credit score. Frankly, my credit score is in the toilet anyway, even if I didn’t cut up my card. I paid it off early and often, which told the bank, “Hey, if you give me a loan, I’ll pay that thing off before you can make anything off me in interest. How much have you made off my card? Nothing? So you’d be wasting your time loaning to me.” That’s why when you pay off a debt in full, your score goes down. So card or not, my score is in the toilet. And look at me. I’m still breathing. I’m still alive. I’m confident with enough of a down payment, I could still get the house I want, since it’s cheap (and my parents are selling it to me instead of a stranger, and they promised to help us if we get stuck. If I’m denied because of a bad credit score, I’m sure we could work something out). And for a car? If I really want a new one, I can easily save for one and pay the whole thing for it in cash. I saved up 30K for the house down payment. I can do that again, no problem! Bank loan? For what?! What do I need that I can’t just save up for it and pay no interest? Better yet, if I want something, I can come in with several hundred dollars less in cash and still get it. Imagine walking into a furniture store, picking out a $4,000 piece, and putting $3,800 on the table and saying, “If you don’t want this giant pile of money, I can go somewhere else.” I don’t need a stinking bank loan.
“But what about emergencies?” I have something for emergencies. It’s called an emergency fund. I can take as much out of it as I need in an emergency without worrying about a 12% interest rate while I’m dealing with a medical disaster , my stupid broken car, a busted refrigerator, or whatever else I’m currently freaking out about at the same time. It’s nice to only have one melt-down instead of two. I’ve got $3,000 sitting in my account, just waiting for something to go wrong so it can finally see the light of day.
“But what about benefits and flyer miles and reward points and blah blah blah?” Have you not been listening? If you need that stuff, good for you! I don’t! Flier miles would be wasted on me, because I don’t have the time to go anywhere. And if I wanna go somewhere, I’ll take the money I didn’t give to the bank as a sacrifice and use it to buy a ticket. I still have my Costco card, and I’m using it like I’m not borrowing the money, and I’m still getting my 2% back on groceries (and 4% on gas), and that’s all I need.
And if you still think I need a card for whatever reason, go ahead and think it. My card is gone, and I don’t need it. I know I don’t need it. If you still need yours, then go ahead and keep it. This lecture is about me and what I’ve learned about myself and my money and how I decided I want to live. And it’s really freeing. I don’t have to worry about what makes or breaks a credit score anymore. I don’t have to worry about forgetting to make a payment. I don’t have to worry about “not getting the best deals” or “not getting the best rewards because I’m not spending enough of my money.” My chances of building debt have just shrunk by half, and I honestly couldn’t be happier about it.
