I’m sitting here at my computer and I’m running some numbers. I’m not a mathmetician or an accountant, so i’m using calc. And I’m comparing three numbers. Two of the numbers reflect the balance of two seperate credit cards in my name. The third reflects the balance of a bank account in my name.
I’m using simple math and I’ve added the total of the two credit cards and subtracted it from the amount in my bank account. And I have a positive balance remaining in my bank account.
YES!
Thus, today marks the achievement of my 2008 New Years Resolution. Which was to remove myself from debt. Of course, i had to add stipulations to that resolution and say “credit card” debt, because there are other debts in my life - but the credit card debt is by far the most weighty of the debts. I really feel accomplished. Maybe I should spend the rest of the year working to pay off my remaining debts (minus the mortgage, that debt can just sit this goal-keeping-session out).
Who knows, the world is an oyster, and i’m gonna eat it… i think thats how the saying goes.
Well, its May. Which is almost the middle of the year. A little short, but I don’t want to wait to do this, otherwise I’ll forget.
As you may recall (or maybe you don’t because I cant find the blog post which suggests that maybe I just forgot to post about this), just before the new year I was faced with a tradition that many of my co-species participate in. That is just before the new year, or maybe on new-years eve, they decide what their resolutions for the new year are going to be.
The generic resolutions are, lose weight, eat more healthy, be more rich, be less poor, yadda yadda. All those are good and well, but I contemplated this (as i tend to do), and I came to a conclusion.
Most of these inspired-by-the-new-year goals find themselves left for dead months, if not weeks, after the night of their conception. I myself have done this (though I cant think of any examples), and this year (the coming year being 2008) I decided to do it different. I decided to have only 1 resolution, and to allow all my other poor habits to continue life as normal. The idea being that if I only had one (1) resolution i was attempting to nurture, I’d have a greater chance of success.
I decided that my new year resolution would be to rid myself of all my debts (minus mortgage). At the time I had balances with my credit cards, my brother, and my parents (all of this incurred by my purchasing a house).
Over time, it dawned on me that perhaps I should just focus on ridding myself of Credit Card debt, and focus on the others later. So i failed a little, but not enough that I’d label it failure, if anything, I’d label it a refocusing.
So here we are (almost) half way through the year. I still owe all the above mentioned people. But, the important part, is that I owe the credit card people less. 
And as I look at it, I’m on course. I have probably half as much credit card debt as I had at the beginning of the year. So yeay for me!
Whats that? Oh, yeah, thats my credit card. I left it home today. I’m hardcore like that. I don’t even need my credit card … today.
Alright, so I went to bed in the wee hours of this morning. And while I was either in mid-flight to landing on my bed, or while I was absorbing those first precious moments of feel-good (after laying down in a clean bed)(because my bed isn’t always clean) I realized something.
I realized that no matter how good I thought I was with my credit card. I’d never pay it off it I kept it on my person day to day.
I was contemplating the phenomena of my credit card balance mysteriously being at the same exact level as it was a month ago when I paid a large amount of it off. Its like I’m in the middle of a skate park, and I’m standing in the center of a large cement bowl. And someone has thrown in a one Ton lead ball, instructing me to keep it from reaching the center of the bowl.
With great effort I may divert the lead ball from reaching the center. but it always will find its way to the center. In the most gradual and innocent kind of way.
My year-2008 goal [link to blog-post - cant find it right now] is to remove myself of all non-mortgage debt. I think I’m 2 months late on removing the credit card. But its a step in the right direction.
I still have my cell phone and other random bills going to my credit card. but those I can plan for and be ready to pay off.
I don’t know how difficult it will be for me to adjust. I figure it shouldn’t take too many “crap i don’t have the money” (while checking out at the store) experiences to force myself into creating and adhering to a budget.
Anyway, nuff said, I’m going big-balla with wads of George Washington in my pockets.
