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The Bogeyman: Credit Cards

August 31, 2022 When I was younger, I had a very vague sense of money but not on how to handle it. I remember bargaining with my dad for what my various chores were worth, taking a pointless financial class in high school (paper 1040EZ anyone?), and sitting down with my first paycheck that was maybe $150 after getting my first job.I had always banked at our local credit union so when I went off to college, I figured switching to a local credit union near campus was the way to go. I still remember asking my dad so clearly, “they’re asking me if I should open a credit card, what should I do?” He had always warned me about how dangerous credit cards could be – the debt, interest, spending what you didn’t have – but you needed them to be able to do other financial things. He shrugged and basically said use your best judgment. I chose a student card with a $1,000 limit and went from there.Over the years, I tried my best to avoid using my credit card unless it was an emergency. I was worried I would spend too much and wouldn’t be able to pay it off and would hurt my credit score. I had to carry a balance occasionally and it stressed me out more than it was worth. I actually only recently upgraded my card to one where I get cash back even though my friends have been telling me it’s a waste not to charge everything to my credit card. I realize I’m late to the game, but old habits die hard and it’s still a struggle for me to look at the balance on my card going up. For me, it’s also the mental game of adding another account to look up and one more place I have to go to track my expenses vs just looking at my debit account every day.I’m still getting the hang of incorporating my credit card into my life and it’s been an adjustment. I’m excited to see how it can hopefully change my spending habits for the better and the ways it can improve. You might also be interested in What a ride it’s been! 2022 has been full of adventure and trying new things and I’m so excited by all the progress Project Money has given me financially... As the end of Project Money draws near, I can’t believe how far I’ve come since we started. Day to day, I always felt like I could be doing something more... How many times did my dad tell me this as a kid when I really wanted McDonald’s? How many times do I tell myself this in a week when I don’t want to cook... It’s that time of the year again when you reminisce and look back over the year and start thinking ahead to next year. Every year, I try to make a personal... Happy (belated) Thanksgiving! This year didn’t really feel like anything special since my goal was to keep it low key. I was able to make a nice dinner... One of the things, or problems, I knew about myself coming into Project Money was that I had a loose budget but I never let that stop me from doing the... I can’t believe we’re halfway through November! I feel like this entire year has just been me saying I can’t believe how time is flying. How is Thanksgiving... One of the biggest things I’ve always been interested in is investing but since I struggle with crunching numbers and finances generally overwhelm me... This week was a busy, chaotic week but a good one and we hit some big goals in this house! First, I finally paid off my last private student loan. It wasn’t...
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