This week we've talked about steering clear of celebrating Christmas on credit, not allowing credit card use to turn you into a beggar, admitting your debt to yourself and exposing it to someone you trust, and finally, intervening for those whose spending is out of control. Today, I'm encouraging everyone to take back their power. You haven't been using credit cards forever so believe or not, you can function without using them now. This Christmas, I want you to give yourself (or help someone else to gain) something that can't fit under the tree...independence...freedom from relying on credit cards. I want you to become liberated from your comfort with credit card spending and the convenience of swiping that card.
Remember what we've learned this week: admitting and exposing our truth is the first step to any real change. If we're all going to possess our power and control our spending, reduce our debt and destroy our dependency on credit, we have to face our current realities. That means pulling out the those statements and noting the God's honest truth. Are we behind on our monthly payments? Have we been paying on the same balance far beyond the length of time it should have taken to obtain a zero balance? How much are we paying in interest? How much have we paid this year? How does that amount compare to the amount we've paid on the principle amount originally financed? What have we been paying in late fees and other charges? How long is it going to take to pay off our balances if we continue to only pay the minimum amounts due, and how will that affect our bottom line?
After we've finished noting these facts, it's time to determine our own truths and paint our own pictures. We'll do this by changing the game. Here's how:
That's power, and that power is ours! Let's take it back from our creditors and possess it on our own!
Remember what we've learned this week: admitting and exposing our truth is the first step to any real change. If we're all going to possess our power and control our spending, reduce our debt and destroy our dependency on credit, we have to face our current realities. That means pulling out the those statements and noting the God's honest truth. Are we behind on our monthly payments? Have we been paying on the same balance far beyond the length of time it should have taken to obtain a zero balance? How much are we paying in interest? How much have we paid this year? How does that amount compare to the amount we've paid on the principle amount originally financed? What have we been paying in late fees and other charges? How long is it going to take to pay off our balances if we continue to only pay the minimum amounts due, and how will that affect our bottom line?
After we've finished noting these facts, it's time to determine our own truths and paint our own pictures. We'll do this by changing the game. Here's how:
- gather all credit cards and cut them up, have someone we trust to hold/hide them from us, or freeze them in a large container of water (get them out of our sights so we can work on getting them out of our minds),
- call our creditors to make arrangements if we're behind on our payments or if we need to reduce the amount of credit we have available,
- make credit card payments on time,
- establish a realistic plan for paying off all credit card debt,
- discipline ourselves and sacrifice additional funds monthly to pay down balances (commit a portion of every extra dollar that comes our way to reduce our debt),
- and finally, DO IT! Pay off every single debt and retire entirely from credit card abuse!
That's power, and that power is ours! Let's take it back from our creditors and possess it on our own!
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