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Friday, December 30, 2011

it only took me 33 years...

...but I FINALLY managed to keep a New Year's resolution!!!Weight loss? Sadly no...onto 2012!!
Fitness? Nope. More for 2012.
Learn something new? Kinda...I did learn to hand embroider! But that's not it.

So what is it???
Wanna guess?
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Give up?
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I went an entire year WITHOUT charging a SINGLE thing on a CREDIT CARD!!! 365 days without using plastic!! Yay me!


It wasn't exactly the Dave Ramsey cash system, I DID use my debit card but that's tied to my bank account so it doesn't really count, I mean the money comes straight out of the account immediately....because, I don't know about you, but there is absolutely NO way that I'm going to drag two littles INTO the gas station every.single.time. I need to pay for gas!?!?

But other than my debit card, that was it. No major credit card, no store card (got rid of those a long time ago), nothing. nada.

To be completely honest I didn't think I would make it, so last December, I called the credit card company and had them cancel and deactivate my account effective December 31, 2010.
So not to boast or anything, but I'm pretty proud. It wasn't easy, but I made it!

Oh, and please DO NOT consider this financial advice of any kind - I actually don't think it's a good idea to cancel your only credit card, but I needed to make a drastic change to open up the door for some new ventures in 2012 and this worked for me.
Was it hard? Maybe not for some, but for me, yes - you betcha!

Hardest? Hotel reservations!!! Did you know that when you book a reservation with a debit card and check in to the hotel, they actually charge 3-4x the amount of your stay as a temporary hold on your account - you know, in case you decide to party like a rockstar and trash the room - and then it takes something like 5-7 days to be removed?? Yes, I learned that this year. Fun times. :)

So now that this little experiment is over, what next?
Hello, Visa/MC come 12:01 a.m. on Jan 1, 2012!!!
HA! just kidding!
Really.
Thank you to my family & close friends who supported me along the way! And thank you Jesus for your constant grace and provision in my life.

Here's to a 2012 full of possibilities!
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8 comments:

TaDa! Creations said...

Oh, I love that! I never would have guessed that was your resolution. Way to go!

Mrs. Shelton said...

Me too! Well....I haven't had a credit card in uh...5 years. My hubby (fiance at the time) found out I had 7,000...yes that is seven thousand dollars in credit card debt when we tried to buy a house and FLIPPED...as he should have. He paid them off and I swore never to use them again and I haven't! :)

Kaitlin Saenz said...

That is awesome! Congrats! What a great accomplishment. I look forward to seeing what you achieve this new year too!

Leanne Helums said...

Wow! That is great. We use our card for everything and then pay it off at the end of every month because I refuse to pay interest. We also earn money for using our credit cards so we actually use it to our advantage. Good luck with this year's goal.

Nichcole said...

So happy for you, as I did the EXACT SAME THING!!! We were just talking about this at dinner this evening it IS a BIG accomplishment!! Congrats to you keep up the good work, I realized this past year I saved HUNDREDS in interest and we are the VERY FEW who will not be getting a bill in the mail come Jan. 2012

Congrats again on a major accomplishment!!!!

Happy 2012

Em said...

Congratulations! Happy 2012 :)

Virginia said...

Congratulations, my dear daughter!
I know that you can accomplish whatever you set up your mind to do. Here's to reaching ALL your goals for 2012!
Love, Mom

Virginia said...

Congratulations, my dear daughter!
I know that you can accomplish whatever you set up your mind to do. Here's to reaching ALL your goals for 2012!
Love, Mom