Thursday, December 27, 2007

credit cards suck ass

edit 2.12.08—situation so bad that I'm moving back in with my mum... and losing the decent roommate, the built-in pets, and the awesome apartment. The good news? My family is helping me, I'm paying them back, and I won't be living out on the streets in a cardboard box.

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So, I'll just come out and say it right now: I'm in credit card debt. There, that feels so much better to get it out there. Sickly enough, when I pay my credit card company the small amount of money I can give, they like to continue the vicious cycle and offer me rewards and send me e-mails about new ways to get myself in further credit card trouble. I guess that's the way they make their money: by screwing you out of yours.

When I first got the hounding phone calls saying I was at my limit and overdue on payment, I panicked. I saw an area code I didn't know calling my cell phone, and I assumed it had to be the CC Popo. I was petrified, then angry. After all, it wasn't real people calling me... it was a damn machine, programmed to keep calling to connect me to a customer service rep. They didn't even have the decency to have a human being leave me a message... even that was automated. It's ridiculous.

Bottom line: I could be so much worse off. I could be one of those kids in Ethiopia with the flies on their bodies. I could have the AIDS. I could be living out of a car. Instead, I have a nice apartment, a decent roommate, built-in pets (including a kitty that loves me and doesn't judge me), a sweet boyfriend, a good job, good family, and my health. I'm not going to complain. It's simply a wake-up call. I need to manage my finances better, and that's all there is to it.

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