Credit Crazed

I'm slowly starting to realize how much we depend on credit. Like it's our God given right. I mean, who can afford to outright buy a house, a car, and an education with cash? If I was not able to get loans, I would not live in my home. I'd be taking the bus to work. And I'd probably work at a lower paying job because I'd have no education. Which means I'd never be able to save up enough money to buy a car, a house, or an education because I would barely have enough money to survive. What a vicious cycle. I couldn't take trips unless it was on a Greyhound bus or an airplane. I'd always share walls with neighbors. I couldn't ride my motorcycle.

I guess I'm really starting to think about this because I'm getting close to paying off my car. And I'm thinking about which bill I'm going to work on next. I call it my pyramid. It starts with my least amount of debt and works up to the highest outstanding balance. My credit cards were at the bottom, and now they're done. My car is next, then my motorcycle, student loan, and last but not least, the house. I guess up until this point I've always added onto my debt instead of paying it down. I'm finally at a place where I can take control and really sink my teeth into getting rid of some of it, without starving myself or being bored. It's kind of exciting in a nerdy sort of way.

I'm also stashing more money into savings. It's something I've never been good at, nor able to do. But even with the extra expenses I've incurred this summer like vehicle registrations, property taxes, dog shots, etc., I've been able to save a little money here and there. It's the first thing I do out of my paycheck now instead a last consideration. I think of it now as an emergency fund and can't believe I never really had one before. I mean, I've always had a savings account but there was never much in it. I'm also thinking of moving some moolah over to another savings account that I don't use anymore to stow away a fund for our next trip or big purchase. If I can't easily transfer money from that account into my checking, it's more likely to stay there.