I accomplished something very exciting. It was so exciting that it shot me into an illness of sorts. With the highs come the crashes and it is the same with spending, budgeting (or lack thereof), and debts.
I was financially stable once and I completely mistook this for being rich. Was I anywhere near the upper class? Absolutely not. But being financially stable for the first time in my adult life after years of living paycheck to paycheck? Created this illusion within me; I was rich!! Cue exorbitant amounts of debt.
Living within your means and budgeting has always been pushed on me by everyone in my life. It's such an obvious thing to do, like brushing your teeth, that to be reminded of it constantly seemed superfluous. My issue; I thought it was as easy as brushing your teeth. You have to make an effort to budget, apparently. So, this is me telling you all to start budgeting now! Really? We needed to start budgeting yesterday, folks.
I think the main culprit of this income illusion was my credit line. This is obvious, but just in case it needs to be said, your credit limit does not denote your spending limit. In fact, your credit line should not be equated to your available funds whatsoever. I was told this. We know this. Regardless, the spending of money on my credit card was my downfall.
I had steady income that allowed me to save. To me, I thought that meant I could "emergency" use my credit card whenever I wanted because I'd have the funds to pay it off. Did I actually do the math here? Nope! Budgeting! It works and we need it!
It's a powerful thing to be stable financially after experiencing being not. It'll give you superhuman strength and superhuman delusions. I have a proclivity to delusions and even self-deluding so you can imagine my spending habits here. Don't give me any reign over your finances whatsoever.
I had thought just because I didn't have to worry about bills meant I didn't have to worry about money and this is so not true. Having a credit card has allowed me to live completely outside of my means, which is great! I tend to enjoy a luxurious life I'm finding, but with none of the funds to support this. Ultimately, not so great.
Having more than one credit card is honestly insane now that I think about it. Does it allow you access to certain things like the clubs at the airport or discounts on rental cars? Sure! But how much does that actually do for me when I know I'm not responsible enough for the card in the first place.
And that's where I made my biggest mistake. Spending a certain amount (I do this to afford Christmas) to win points for travel seems like a good swap, but geezus, the spending requirements will put you in an early grave.
Let this be your wake-up call to take inventory of your credit lines and maybe do some filtering. Start a budget! Make sure you have a personal revenue in your spending and earning. Don't let the miles programs screw you like I did! The perks are nice, but they do not outweigh the shit you're responsible for.
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