Monday, January 8, 2007

Credit where credit is due...

...and boy is it DUE!

Isn't it funny how when you are buying things on credit they are so much less expensive than if you were spending cash? For example a 400 dollar rug is so much harder to buy with cash than it is with credit. I THINK it's because I don't have to make a withdrawal to put that rug on a card.

The point is I THOUGHT I was being fairly frugal over the holidays. What with the making of the gifts and buying gift certificates through work for a reduced price. I THOUGHT I had really been cautious and judicious when making my purchases during November and December. Not so much according to my last statement. Turns out that I ate out A LOT in November and December... so it wasn’t the shopping that got me, it was the dinner and drinks AFTER the shopping that snuck up on me.

Master Card’s bill was not the only thing that alerted me to my lack of liquidity... it was an insurance bill. I had set it aside when it came in, three weeks ago. Luckily I found it just a day before the due date. Unluckily the due date was the day before payday and I did not have enough in the kitty to pay it. So for the first time since I moved into this new condo and started this new responsible life, I paid a bill late. Not a big deal, but definitely a big warning!

There are no major events for a while that I will be required to add to my growing MC balance (Valentine's Day is the only thing really LOOMING) so I have removed said plastic from my wallet. Thus reducing the likelihood that I will attempt to use it for a time frame equal to that in which I can pay down a good bit of it.

When I bought this place I put an elaborate system of automatic deposits and payments into action, this reducing the chance of me accidentally blowing the mortgage on beers for the boys at WOOFS (totally plausible by the way). This system, while effective, has also resulted in a dramatic drop in my "discretionary" funds. An adjustment I am still adjusting to. MOST of that adjusting time has happened during the 3 months we like to call "The Holiday Season."

I started out in late September fairly flush with cash thanks to some very active saving in order to be ready for my move and all the incidentals a move requires... all that ready cash gave me a very false sense of security. Damn false senses! If I had only relied on the more COMMON SENSES!

I've given myself till July to really turn this ship around... and I think that is a doable goal. Not to be debt free, just to be on the downward side of my credit limit. I probably won't be much fun for a while.

1 comment:

Matt said...

The best laid plans ...

Happens to us all. Boy, don't I know that! But very cool that you've got a plan. that's the best thing. And you won't be less fun ... you'll just have to entertain the boys at home. :)

I like the new profile picture, by the way!