Before it all - want to make one thing totally clear. What I'm going to write pertains only to my situation - it's not meant to judge anyone else. Suddenly, okay not so suddenly - i've been thinking about this for a few months - but for the drama - let's go back to: Suddenly, I realized, after losing the Generations cc hidden line and searching in a panic for which biz card i can apply for to hide more debt - that the game's over... everybody knows that the dice are loaded, everybody rolls with their fingers crossed, everybody knows that the war is over, everybody knows the good guys lost, everybody knows the fight was fixed, the poor stay poor, the rich get rich, that's how it goes, everybody knows. what i mean to say (those last few lines were from a song that popped into me head, Leonard Cohen - he's da man!) is that as extraordinarily clever as i thought i was - amassing all these credit lines - 19 personal and biz cards - almost 350K in credit - I lost - the banks won. Because - no matter how disciplined i've tried to be - I've been spending more than i need to - and even with a fairly decent small business and a pretty good salary - it's come to the point that i can't pay back all my debt in just a couple of months - and while i've bt'd back and forth to take advantage of the best deals i can - i'm now at a point that the banks are making more money off of me than i ever intended. nothing terrible in aprs - i don't have any balances on crazy high rate cards - but - honestly - i didn't think i'd have the amount of debt i'm currently paying off. I'm not trying to get sympathy here and say my life sucks - i know there are people going through much more difficult ordeals - however - for those of you who feel - like i did - that you "made it" - and have - over the past few years - after participating on various credit boards - amassed lots more credit than you ever dreamed of - here's the downfall, or my downfall, at least. For those of you who go into debt to invest - and make it back in a few months - that's a different story of course. In my case - in all honesty - aside from a condo i recently acquired - a big part of that debt was high livin. Nothing wrong with enjoying oneself - but - ummm - now i think i should have maybe, just maybe, been a little more - uh, what's the word - frugal? So , while this post has mostly been theraputic for me (in fact - just to make sure it's theraputic - i'm gonna post it on the other credit boards i'm part of) - I hope it also help a few others - who may be in a similar situation. finally - unless an offer comes up that is outrageously enticing - i'm gonna lay low, refrain from applying and upping limits- and pay down my debt. Oh yeah - and WILLGATER ... hows it goin bud?
This is where I can relate. I'm on commission, so my paycheck varies, but after I pay my bills, I always have the same amount left in my account. When I'm broke I eat Top Ramen, and when I have a little cash on hand I head to the sushi bar. Either way - I am full at the end - and I consider myself quite disciplined as well. When I make more, I spend more. For some reason, that Top Ramen is just not as appealing when I've got a little more cash and when there is a sushi bar between myself and the grocery store
