The dreaded credit card bill

I know the feeling. I can feel your pain!



j.

It always amazes me the sort of debt some people take on. I'm very old school, I never buy anything I don't have the cash to cover. I do have CCs just for travel and online purchases, convenience really, but I always know the money is in the bank and the bill gets paid in full as soon as it arrives. I did buy my vehicle on payments to establish some credit history, but I knew I had the money to cover it in the event something happened to me or I didn't have a job.

So, I applaud everyone that tries to keep their spending in check and keeps from getting entrenched in debt. It seems like it's a hard thing to do in today's conspicuous consumption society, but it is worth it in the long run.

Been there done that. I have always been able to pay my bills, I've never allowed my love for fragrance to destroy my credit. But I must say that some of those bills gave me a shock for sure. It takes alot of hard work and Discipline to pay them off.
Gary

I have not had a credit card for 6 years. Believe it or not, I have not missed it one iota. I have a debit card that I can use for everything and that's it.

That's what i strive for. I will achieve it in two years time, i hope. I have just 2 credit cards left and one has not been in use for 2 years already. Dunno why, it's there just as a safety net i suppose. I am very tempted to use it to the that brand new mouth-watering, delectable, Nikon D70!!! Oh!!!! Man!!!! ;D

I have several high limit cards (between $8-12K each), but have a balance on only one. Here's the key: do the payment pyramid. Take one card, pay it off, then apply that payment fee to the next card, and so on and so forth (if you have that many going at once.)

An even better way of looking at it? How many people would love to have a raise at work? Pay off your credit cards and you'll be giving yourself one instantly. Some time back, I was easily paying $300-$400 a month (way over the minimum payment), just to pay them off quicker. Once it was all said and done, it was like giving myself a $300-$400 raise.

I'm to the point now where I really don't want to put anything on my card. I've got a nice chunk in my bank for balance, just paid some stuff off, and will be getting a (hopefully) decent raise within the next month at work. I figure there's just no need to put anything on a card at this point when I have a nice little expendable income at the moment being single and all.

Oh, God! I have two credit cards and promised myself never to take store cards (been a good girl so far in this respect). I manage to pay mine every month, but this online shopping is pure evil! I left my job recently and am about to receive my last paycheck next month and now am facing insecure path of freelancing. And, mind you, I got a panic attach yesterday that I won't be able to afford some scents I really wanted so, (instead of saving, as sane people would do), I got online and ordered 5 perfumes. (Blushing with shame as I write...) :-[

I was once waiting on 34 scents coming. Some were swaps.

My credit card bill is now £7000 ($13000) and no, I aint proud.

Thanks CoL, I feel a tad bit better now. I am not alone.
Hello everyone, I am Levannah and I am a scentaholic.

For those people with debts, I really hope that credit card bill isn't too much of a problem for you, given that you have to pay it back at some point :'(

When I first got married we just couldn't afford to live beyond very basic means. We foolishly ran up a debt that was high in proportion to my then salary. Every day we'd get a letter from the bank or somewhere else demanding money. It is a miserable way to live, your self-esteem dwindles to nothing, and you get depressed.

I got off my backside and found a decent job, and settled all our debts.

We never buy anything on credit now. Funnily enough, at the time in my life when my credit rating is highest, it's the time when I least want to use it. If we need a new carpet, or sofa, or TV etc. we buy it when we have the money, end of. The only exception might be for a fridge, freezer or washing machine. But nothing else.

I would NEVER go into debt for scents, it's simply not worth it, there are way too many other priorities in life.

*

There's a saying among gamblers:

Whoever invented poker was smart, but whoever invented the chip was a genius.

It just doesn't seem like real money-----same as credit cards.

I can't imagine having made half the purchases I've made, and I mean on EVRYTHING, not just colognes, if I had been required to reach into my wallet at the time and pay in cold, hard cash.

At present I'm only 4k in debt. (only!)

I've heard the average American family is about 8-10k in credit card debt, and that, were they to pay only the minimum requested payments each month; it' would take them 20 to 25 years to pay it all off.

Discipline is a bitch, but going unconcious about what one does in life is much worse.

A handy little mantra to chant:

Do less.
Own less.
Say "no" more often.

I've found that the more I simplify inside my home and the more I diversify outside my home (native plants, no lawn), the happier and more peaceful I become inside of me.

I never go into debt just to get my smell fix. There's other things in life that are more important (even though I love my frags).

Also, I'm currently unemployed, but when I get my job in the near future, I'll probably say "no" to credit cards and use a debit card instead, but keep just one credit card for emergencies and travel.

Debit Cards are crap! If you have a Debit Card it is easy for someone to fradulently empty your bank account. With a Credit Card your losses are limited to a few tens of dollars, with a Debit Card you have no protection.

Get a Credit card and discipline yourself to not purchase more than you can pay each month.

Debit Cards are carte blanche for fraudsters to take all the money from your bank account.

Paypal is another option - you can get a Paypal debit card. But whatever you do, I'd say don't put unnecessary things on credit cards! I am another debit card user, and as much as possible, I wait until just before pay day, and buy fragrances with money I have left from the previous pay, that's over and above my budget. I have never had a problem using my debit card.

It's weird - I won't blink an eye about spending $100.00 or more on perfume, but a pair of shoes or article of clothing for that price seems outrageous to me. I don't buy jewelry or anything else -- just perfume.

My bank offers protection for debit cards. There is zero liability for any fraudulent charges.

Anyway, I feel your pain, those of you who are in debt. I've gotten myself into debt pretty significantly before, but now I have no credit cards and all of the others have been paid off. It is VERY hard to resist signing up for one, especially since I have not had an income since mid-August (first-year law students are not allowed to work). Of course, by the time I graduate, I will owe so much money for student loans that it makes me want to cry!!

The best thing about law school is that I've been so stressed out that I rarely feel like eating, so that means I get to use grocery money for perfumes (not to mention I've gone from a size 8 to a 4)!

I am so ready for May to get here so I can finally WORK and have more money to buy frags. I'm already planning to use the money I get from selling back my books to buy some new summer scents--too bad I won't get full refunds, considering I've spent probably $2k on books alone this year!!

I'm really hoping that I will not give in to temptation and get a credit card while I am in law school--I don't want that added debt. As much as I would love to be able to purchase every frag off my wish list, it's just not worth it. When I was in debt before, it was horrible and suffocating--like having to wear a cloying perfume you loathe every day of your life.

I HAVE A POTENTIAL SOLUTION!!!

Use your debit card so it only draws on what you already have in your account. You will be much more concious of how much you are spending when it is immediately taken out of your account. Instead of paying later, you pay then and that is much harder to do.

We will have to change this thread to "the dreaded statement"

HAHAHAHAHA, sorry that was my rant for the night....

That's the only way my debit card works...I thought that was the whole point of a debit card--that it draws on the money in your account at the time of purchase. For instance, if I go into Dillards to purchase a $75 perfume and I only have $30 in my checking account, my debit card would be declined. Maybe there are some that function differently, but I can't imagine they would because you don't even need to have a positive credit history to obtain a debit card.

Ahh, but the crux of the matter is what the bank decides to consider a fraudulent charge. It is entirely up to the bank to make this decision.

For example, say someone manages to acquire your PIN and the info on the magnetic stripe of your card; this is not hard to do. They can then make a duplicate card and begin withdrawing money from your account. When you discover this after your account is emptied and tell the bank that these were fraudulent charges, the bank will most likely reply that "after a thourough investigation" (meaning they did nothing but wait 2 weeks to respond) they have determined that the withdrawals were not fraudulent. If you press the matter the bank will likely claim that since whoever withdrew the money had your PIN this proves that the withdrawals were authorized by you and not fraudulent.

How's this for insanity. The damage done in 15 months.

03/22/2006 Â*03/23/2006 Â*Sale Â*PAYPAL *MRPLOW Â*Legal & Professional Â*$32.97 Â*
03/21/2006 Â*03/22/2006 Â*Sale Â*PAYPAL *ISAARNDT Â*Legal & Professional Â*$20.50 Â*
03/20/2006 Â*03/21/2006 Â*Sale Â*PAYPAL *LBARNES Â*Legal & Professional Â*$15.75 Â*
03/20/2006 Â*03/21/2006 Â*Sale Â*PAYPAL *STRAWBERRYL Â*Legal & Professional Â*$61.00 Â*
03/20/2006 Â*03/21/2006 Â*Sale Â*PAYPAL *DRAGONFLY00 Â*Legal & Professional Â*$21.90 Â*
03/20/2006 Â*03/21/2006 Â*Sale Â*SHAPING ROOM LLC Â*Miscellaneous Â*$45.00 Â*
03/18/2006 Â*03/20/2006 Â*Sale Â*MAISON DE PARFUM Â*Miscellaneous Â*$35.00 Â*
03/18/2006 Â*03/19/2006 Â*Payment Â*PAYMENT - THANK YOU Â*Miscellaneous Â*$-790.64 Â*
03/17/2006 Â*03/19/2006 Â*Sale Â*PAYPAL *STAR STRUCK Â*Personal Care Â*$17.25 Â*
03/17/2006 Â*03/19/2006 Â*Sale Â*PAYPAL *MRPLOW Â*Legal & Professional Â*$37.98 Â*
03/16/2006 Â*03/17/2006 Â*Sale Â*PAYPAL *JANICEWMILE Â*Legal & Professional Â*$23.50 Â*
03/16/2006 Â*03/17/2006 Â*Sale Â*NM ONLINE Â*Miscellaneous Â*$45.78 Â*
03/14/2006 Â*03/15/2006 Â*Sale Â*SHAPING ROOM LLC Â*Miscellaneous Â*$54.00 Â*
03/14/2006 Â*03/15/2006 Â*Sale Â*IMAGINATION PERFUMERY COM Â*Miscellaneous Â*$26.65 Â*
03/13/2006 Â*03/14/2006 Â*Sale Â*ESCENTUAL Â*Miscellaneous Â*$84.67 Â*
03/13/2006 Â*03/14/2006 Â*Sale Â*PAYPAL *PARFUMSDARA Â*Legal & Professional Â*$79.99 Â*
03/12/2006 Â*03/14/2006 Â*Sale Â*ROUGE Â*Clothing Â*$269.70 Â*
03/12/2006 Â*03/13/2006 Â*Sale Â*PERFUME BAY Â*Miscellaneous Â*$99.60 Â*
03/12/2006 Â*03/13/2006 Â*Sale Â*PERFUME BAY Â*Miscellaneous Â*$101.60 Â*
03/11/2006 Â*03/13/2006 Â*Sale Â*HERMES Â*Clothing Â*$158.14 Â*
03/10/2006 Â*03/12/2006 Â*Sale Â*SAKS DIRECT #689 Â*Miscellaneous Â*$447.32 Â*
03/09/2006 Â*03/12/2006 Â*Sale Â*PERFUME SHOPPE THE Â*Miscellaneous Â*$168.48 Â*
03/07/2006 Â*03/08/2006 Â*Sale Â*PERFUME BAY Â*Miscellaneous Â*$155.90 Â*
03/05/2006 Â*03/06/2006 Â*Sale Â*PAYPAL *MRPLOW Â*Legal & Professional Â*$24.99 Â*
03/05/2006 Â*03/06/2006 Â*Sale Â*PAYPAL *CALL6PARFUM Â*Legal & Professional Â*$76.98 Â*
03/05/2006 Â*03/06/2006 Â*Sale Â*PAYPAL *STAR STRUCK Â*Personal Care Â*$17.25 Â*
03/05/2006 Â*03/06/2006 Â*Sale Â*PERFUME BAY Â*Miscellaneous Â*$117.56 Â*
03/03/2006 Â*03/05/2006 Â*Sale Â*PAYPAL *SONOMASCENT Â*Legal & Professional Â*$23.75 Â*
03/03/2006 Â*03/05/2006 Â*Sale Â*SAKS FIFTH AVENUE #0001 Â*Miscellaneous Â*$373.00 Â*


Transactions Total Â*$1,845.57 Â*
Â*
Last Statement Balance Â*$17,478.48 Transactions Â*
Â*
Cisco,
I tink I'm in big trouble!!!!!! Â*

P.S. All spent on fragrance only. Hey Paul, wanna be my roommate if my wife discovers this little indiscretion?Â*

Â*

Â*
Â*