Financial Planning

On my first day of college I signed up for a Visa card with a $2000 limit. Ever since then, I've ebbed and flowed into debt and deeper debt. I'm a smart person, so I know credit cards are bad. But I'm also an impulsive person, an I-want-it-all-and-I-want-it-now American, so on days when my head was swirly with desire, Daddy MasterCard was there to help me out.

To be fair, Daddy MasterCard made a lot of things I cherish in my life possible. He paid for my airfare to Europe. He helped me start my own business. He even foot the bill for my and Mr. T's wedding.

When we moved across the country and I started collecting a normal paycheck again, I decided it was time to grow up and start living within my means. I put the old plastic in a baggie of water and threw it in the freezer. For about two weeks.

After more than 10 years of bad judgment and a lack of self control, I wised up and stopped the spending spree in the Fall 2007, days after charging more than $2000 on a flat screen television I cherish. I have been diligently paying off huge amounts of credit card debt each month, a feat made possible by working 3 jobs for more than a year and taking on extra freelance work whenever I can. (And when I say jobs, I don't mean glamorous, sexy jobs. I mean front-desk-babysitting-work-on-the-weekends type of jobs. That's how sick I am of having credit card debt.)

Finally, I have made some measurable progress. Card #1 is paid in full. To celebrate, we bought some champagne and cut the card into confetti. Now I have a taste for blood and Card #2 is next on my hit list.