STYLETHREAD -- LET'S TALK SHOP!

if you really want the green boots, use them as a goal - the sooner you pay off your cc, the sooner you can buy the boots. 

I was in cc debt once.  I wanted to buy a new car. I told myself that I could not buy the new car until I paid off my credit card.  Boy, did I find ways to make it happen fast! I cut out buying little things like lunch and coffee, etc. (brought lunch and coffee from home), didn't buy clothes - nothing.  I paid it off faster than I ever thought possible. Then I sold my car and bought a little C-class Mercedes sedan.  The Mercedes is now paid off too, and I haven't had cc debt since...

detroit wrote:

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if you really want the green boots, use them as a goal - the sooner you pay off your cc, the sooner you can buy the boots.  I was in cc debt once.  I wanted to buy a new car. I told myself that I could not buy the new car until I paid off my credit card.  Boy, did I find ways to make it happen fast! I cut out buying little things like lunch and coffee, etc. (brought lunch and coffee from home), didn't buy clothes - nothing.  I paid it off faster than I ever thought possible. Then I sold my car and bought a little C-class Mercedes sedan.  The Mercedes is now paid off too, and I haven't had cc debt since...

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Thanks for the support ladies!  I'm really excited to be paying off my debt, but it's so darn hard when I keep seeing all sorts of cute things out there!  Green boots!!!  Chunky sweaters!!!  Leather hobo bags!!!  Velvet blazers!!!  GAH!!!  This is torture!!!

But oh how good it'll feel to not have debt!  I imagine it'll feel like being in school and having your homework done BEFORE the weekend starts so you can play, play, play all weekend long without anything hanging over your head...

shopchicago33 wrote:

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detroit wrote: if you really want the green boots, use them as a goal - the sooner you pay off your cc, the sooner you can buy the boots.  I was in cc debt once.  I wanted to buy a new car. I told myself that I could not buy the new car until I paid off my credit card.  Boy, did I find ways to make it happen fast! I cut out buying little things like lunch and coffee, etc. (brought lunch and coffee from home), didn't buy clothes - nothing.  I paid it off faster than I ever thought possible. Then I sold my car and bought a little C-class Mercedes sedan.  The Mercedes is now paid off too, and I haven't had cc debt since... Wow Detroit, I am impressed.  Do you have any tips for me on how to pay off my cc debt?  I hate it - it just hangs over me.  I guess I have to start cutting things out of my life

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yeah - well, you do have to cut things out of your life. you just have to determine what's really important to you... there are things I don't spend money on that most people do:

1. cell phone - I have a virgin mobile pay as you go, and a land line.  I am not a big phone person, and I don't understand the need to be reachable at all times unless you are in a job that requires it - in which case they should be paying for your phone. I pay maybe $75/year on cell phone use.

2. cable - I only have standard cable, and my tv only goes up to 99. so if it's not on there, I don't watch it - although I do have tivo.

3. our phone/cable/internet is all broadband which saves money.

4. we use coupons

5. I don't buy things at convenience stores, fast food, coffee shops, and I rarely go out to lunch - I pack my lunch.  I think I've bought a starbucksesque coffee maybe 4X in the past year.

6. I'm cheap, or let me say I look for the best value.  I drink beer and I like down to earth places that lack pretense and have good food. Although I do like a $150 meal once in a while... I also tip waitress well (even 15% if they suck) so I'm not entirely cheap, but I do always look at my bill to see if they incorrectly charged me because I have had that happen a few times.

I wear a $5000 watch that I got for $800 on ebay. Same story with my diamond bracelet. I walk around with approx. $25,000-$30,000 worth of jewelry that I've spent maybe $6,000-$7,000 on.  I am always looking for a steal - it gives me such an adrenaline rush.  I've also spent $800 on a tiny orange goat suede bag with a goldfish hanging from it... so, I just spend my money differently than most people, I guess... I like to refer to myself as frugal

detroit wrote:

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shopchicago33 wrote: detroit wrote: if you really want the green boots, use them as a goal - the sooner you pay off your cc, the sooner you can buy the boots.  I was in cc debt once.  I wanted to buy a new car. I told myself that I could not buy the new car until I paid off my credit card.  Boy, did I find ways to make it happen fast! I cut out buying little things like lunch and coffee, etc. (brought lunch and coffee from home), didn't buy clothes - nothing.  I paid it off faster than I ever thought possible. Then I sold my car and bought a little C-class Mercedes sedan.  The Mercedes is now paid off too, and I haven't had cc debt since... Wow Detroit, I am impressed.  Do you have any tips for me on how to pay off my cc debt?  I hate it - it just hangs over me.  I guess I have to start cutting things out of my life yeah - well, you do have to cut things out of your life. you just have to determine what's really important to you... there are things I don't spend money on that most people do: 1. cell phone - I have a virgin mobile pay as you go, and a land line.  I am not a big phone person, and I don't understand the need to be reachable at all times unless you are in a job that requires it - in which case they should be paying for your phone. I pay maybe $75/year on cell phone use. 2. cable - I only have standard cable, and my tv only goes up to 99. so if it's not on there, I don't watch it - although I do have tivo. 3. our phone/cable/internet is all broadband which saves money. 4. we use coupons 5. I don't buy things at convenience stores, fast food, coffee shops, and I rarely go out to lunch - I pack my lunch.  I think I've bought a starbucksesque coffee maybe 4X in the past year. 6. I'm cheap, or let me say I look for the best value.  I drink beer and I like down to earth places that lack pretense and have good food. Although I do like a $150 meal once in a while... I also tip waitress well (even 15% if they suck) so I'm not entirely cheap, but I do always look at my bill to see if they incorrectly charged me because I have had that happen a few times. I wear a $5000 watch that I got for $800 on ebay. Same story with my diamond bracelet. I walk around with approx. $25,000-$30,000 worth of jewelry that I've spent maybe $6,000-$7,000 on.  I am always looking for a steal - it gives me such an adrenaline rush.  I've also spent $800 on a tiny orange goat suede bag with a goldfish hanging from it... so, I just spend my money differently than most people, I guess... I like to refer to myself as frugal

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I agree with everything detroit said cc (says the girl who's in cc debt...I guess I have to explain that the cc debt is home improvement stuff, not just clothes and purses).  But there is something to be said for keeping your bills low and really thinking about your purchases before spending the $$$, especially on stuff like Starbucks and lunches.  I estimate that I save about $160 a month by bringing my lunch to work.  Stuff like that adds up big time.

Also, FWIW, I heard the COOLEST thing today to prevent you from using your credit card on unnecessary purchases--freeze it!!!  Literally, put it in the freezer so it's suspended by water.  Then you have to let it thaw for a good 12-24 hours before you can use it.  Brilliant!!!

alb wrote:

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ITA agree with everyone else that you are making the right, responsible decision by paying off your ccs.  I love the tips that detroit posted, and I follow most or all of them myself.  Not to hijack this thread too much, but I thought i'd post a few more tips that have helped me pay off debt and save $: 1)  I think three times about whether I need something (an item of clothing for ex) b/f I purchase it.  It has to be a reasonable value, have a good cpw ratio, and I try to at least have one thing in mind that I already own that I can wear with it.  If I see something in Lucky or shop etc that is really cute and super cheap, I get it immediately.  I mix those things with more expensive quality pieces.  for ex, one issue of lucy a few yrs ago featured these really cute navy pinstripe pants from ON, I got em and have them on today.  I've gotten SO MUCH wear out of them.  Also, for purchases I make at chain stores I always calendar everything for a 2 wk price adjustment (or whatever the applicable time period is).  That means that on the last day of the 2 wk time period (or 1 wk, as is the case with ON), I go into the store and hand them my receipt and ask them to check to see if the price has dropped.  I've earned a lot of my $ back that way.  I used to get tons of $ back at br by doing that, but they changed their sale policy and now i almost never can get br adjustments. 2)  i'm always looking for ways to collect airline miles and we almost never have to pay for our plan tix.  for ex, we put almost everything, bills, etc. on our AAdvantage MC and then pay it in full every month.  we belong to the idine program which gives us 10 miles per dollar spent at various restaurants--and they are decent, non-chain restaurants, surprisingly!  also, i do surveys at opinionplace.com which gives me 300 miles a month.  we do splurge on the hotels though, b/c i hate chain hotels and am a bit of a hotel snob (i like boutique hotels). 3)  for restaurants--we have the exact same philosophy as detroit.  most of the time, we are content going to "dive" places with good food, etc. 4)  I collect free samples of soaps, shampoos, etc. and if they're kind of crappy, my hubby will use them b/c he doesn't care.  We went for a year w/o buying shampoo/cond'r for him b/c he used only samples. 5)  I sometimes reuse plastic bags 6) I use coupons.  i love the program at cvs where you get cash back on your purchases.  cvs is awesome! 7) when i really need to stay away from clothes shopping, i avoid the "shopping" section of this forum so i won't be tempted.  i just frequent the other sections instead.  it really helps.  also, i limit my tv watching b/c that just tempts me as well when i see all the fabulous outfits on the characters, etc.  if i see something in a mag that i want, i tear it out and save it and if i still want it and it's still available when i have the $, i get it then. 8)  like detoit, i never spend $ on lunches, starbucks, etc.  i used to have a rule where i could only get starbucks once a week, but now i go there even less frequently than that, about twice a month.  you can save so much $ by not going out to lunch every day.  of course, if a friend wants to meet for lunch occasionally, i will do that (but not very often). 9)  oh, i love ebates and fatwallet.  they give you cash back on purchases from a ton of online stores-- bluefly, nm, overstock, etc.  if you shop online frequently (which i do to save time mostly, who has time to drive around to b&m stores these days?), it's really worth it!  not a lot of $, but i got my first check for $11 the other day.  i know it's not much but it's free $ you get just for shopping online!  my balance is up to $11 again, and certain days they have double cash back at certain stores, which is a great deal, esp. if it's something you need and would buy anyway (btw a little self promotion here (sorry), but if anyone wants to join i can refer you and you get $5 and i get $5 (i think).  that's all i can think of now.  hth someone!     

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same with me for travel! my husband is an international professional, so we have a lot of miles from that, as well as hotel points. our trip to China and Japan cost us a total of $800 to cover our between-city flights (plus food and shopping costs). He also uses a Northwest card and we get more miles from that. My credit card also gives me miles, and I've already earned a r/t ticket to Europe.

Oh - I am going out to lunch today with a friend, but my cheap-ass is only going to get the $2 soup