Credit increase…

Yesterday, when I logged into my credit card account, I noticed that my ‘available balance’ was much, much higher than normal. Initially, I was confused about that, but I realized that I had received a credit increase. If you’ve been following my website for… oh about five or six months, you’ll know that credit cards are ‘fairly new to me’. I haven’t had one in about thirteen years and when I had one, I used it for about two years and cancelled it. It wasn’t cancelled because of abuse. I paid my bills on time. Because of that, when I checked my credit report about seven months ago, I learned that I had no credit history. So no… overspending isn’t the issue, I just thought that what I could do with a credit card, I could do with a debit card and in many cases that is true. However, I decided to get a credit card in case I ever was in a scenario where my debit card wasn’t accepted and just like before, I’d pay off my credit card in full, so I’m not paying any interest fees and since my card has a cash-back feature for every item that I purchase, I’m getting extra money for using my card for expenses.

Well, guess what? Shortly after acquiring a credit card, my debit card was compromised, but no worries, my small local bank stopped those charges before money was even taken out of my bank account and so now, moving forward I’m now paying for the majority of my purchases with my credit card.

My spending habits haven’t changed since I started using a credit card, it’s called personal responsibility… I have that. I’m still living well below my means. I’m still rarely eating out at restaurants, I’m still sitting on my “wants” for long periods of time. Yes, I’m still saving and investing a lot to prepare for the unexpected. Because if the unexpected… happens and I’m not being proactive, I might get blindsided when the unexpected pays a visit. Uhm.. no thanks! I don’t want that. By the way, the “unexpected” just happened to me recently and I was prepared. My recent purchase of my Dr. Marten’s is a testament to how long I can sit on some of my wants. I wanted those boots since I was in college, so it’s over twenty years ago.

I’ve been on some financial forums where they avoid credit cards at all costs because it’s a form of debt. Interesting how they dismiss, electricity, cell phone bills, a variety of other expenses where you’re doing the exact same thing. It’s always made me wonder why some people specifically single credit cards out from the others? I think all of them are Dave Ramsey forums. I quickly removed myself from those groups simply because some people didn’t understand that you can be responsible with a credit card. Although I didn’t have a credit card at the time, the assumptions that some made about credit cards, was over the top. Here it is, six months after getting a credit card, and I’m still not being controlled by it. Guess what? A credit card won’t spend on its own. Someone has to do the spending and outside the purchases, I was already making when I actively used my debit card, I don’t spend what I don’t have.