Stop Trying to Fit In

As a young 20-something, I wanted more than anything to fit in. I always thought of myself as a bit awkward, laughing at everything to cover up my embarrassment. Then while working in the shoe department at the local Wal-Mart, I was given the opportunity to get a free makeover. Thank you random lady shopping for what I much later learned was naïve wannabees. Cool!! Sign me up! So I arrived at my makeover session a few days later. I walked out of that session a new woman, I was going to sell makeup. Everyone who knew me, knew I didn't even wear much makeup. Within a couple weeks, I was well on my way to a success business. I had business cards, a check book and a new credit card just so I could buy thousands of dollars of inventory, it was such a good deal to buy in bulk. Besides, I was going to be successful enough to get a new car.

Dream car of 2002

I did sell a few hundred dollars worth of makeup. But like most things at age 20, it wasn't meant to last. Life pivoted and my confidence in selling makeup vanished. The credit card bill did not vanish, it followed me around for at least a year or two.

During that time, I learned about and played the balance transfer game, I opened up new cards, I felt incredibly stupid. Up till that point, I had always managed my stack of credit cards. I was proud of them even. I have a Visa, a MasterCard, an American Express, a Discover card and many other cards for various stores that I liked to shop at.

Life continued to get busier, and I realized that paying for my past mistakes was just a monthly beatdown, a constant reminder of questionable decisions I had made. I needed to get this monkey off my back!

Once I got my debt under control, I gave up the credit card game. I couldn't understand how others were doing it. My desire to fit in did not extend to over extending my finances. The reward programs and free T-shirts were not enough to lure me in anymore. I had had it! No more!! Ironically, it would be another 10 years before I would even hear the name Dave Ramsey and learn about his principles.

If you are bebopping your way through life, things are fine, but not great, finances are fine, but not great. Let's chat!

If you have some debt, some savings, some retirement, and no plan, Let's chat.