About ten years ago, I had seven or eight credit cards. I had Master Card, Visa, Firestone Credit Card, JC Penny, etc. I also had a hellacious debt that almost put me on the brink of bankruptcy. I was barely making the minimum monthly payments which, in turn, barely covered the interest that was accumulating each month. In short, I was going nowhere, fast. So, I managed to take out a low-interest loan through the Veteran’s Administration and paid off all those high interest credit cards. Since that time, I have been credit card free, with the exception of one Visa Card (that I will use in only the most dire of emergencies).

Yesterday, I placed the final payment to the VA in the mail to retire that debt. Basically, except for my house mortgage, I am now debt free. I’m not even sure how I got into so much debt a decade ago. Before I knew it, a full third of my paycheck was going to make minimum payments on credit cards. I’m too embarrassed to even say exactly how much I was in debt due to credit cards. Suffice it to say, it was more than $10K and less that $25K. It was someone I really, really disliked that made me realize what a hole I was putting myself in with those credit cards. This person made the astute comment, “A credit card is nothing more than an instrument that allows you to live beyond your means.” And that was true. I thought about it all day after he made that comment. I decided to do something about it. The next day, I made my application for the VA loan.

It is now over and done. God knows how much interest I paid on those things over the years before I finally acted. That money I used to pay each month now will go to other things. One thing is for certain; I have learned my lesson about credit cards. All because I listened to someone whom I intensely disliked. You never know when life will throw a curve ball at you.