30 Day Writer's Challenge | Day 26

Debt is like any other trap, easy enough to get into, but hard enough to get out of.
Henry Wheeler Shaw

I have no idea who Henry Wheeler Shaw is, but how true!  Last year I was debt for free for - oh - a month.  I cut up my credit cards at the beginning of the year, put together a plan on which cards to pay off first.  I even set aside a set amount each month for my credit cards.  After about 8 months, I was done.  But not for long...

See, credit card companies are pretty smart.  They notice that after a few months of no incurring charges, but subtle payments, you might not have your card anymore.  What do they do then?  Send you another!!  Thus, starting my problem all over again.  The cards were gone and then they reappeared.  Plus my trip to Italy helped me incur some debt all over again (which was totally worth it).  

So I have entered that stage once again.  I'll go ahead and say it - I'm $3,001 in debt.  Okay, that may seem super small to some people, but to me, any amount of money owed to someone who will be raking in interest fees is too much money for me.  With that said, I put together a plan.  I cut up my cards last month - all except for my Goodyear card which hasn't had a balance in about a year but is good to keep around - and yesterday I put together a plan starting next month of my balances and how I'm going to pay everything off.  Plus, with the help of the spiffy website Mint.com, I put together a goal to pay off my cards.  With the amount I'm paying each month, I should have them paid for by next October, but I do have my tax refund coming at the beginning of the year and the rest of my financial aid.  Nothing like "consolidating" your debt with a lower interest rate from the government.  (That's another type of debt I need to start tackling soon!)

My plan for next year - debt free (eventually) and car payment free. The burden is starting to feel lighter already!

His brow is wet with honest sweat,
He earns whate'er he can,
And looks the whole world in the face,
For he owes not any man.
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow