My stimulus check

Got my stimulus check today. Oh the things I could buy! I know we are supposed to use that money to stimulate the economy, but I also know, I need to pay off my debt!

As I sit here with an extra $1200 in my checking account, the shiny things beckon. I talked with a friend of mine and she wants me to book a vacation with her after all of this virus mess is over. I tried to be responsible, told her I needed it for retirement. Her response? No one knows what the future holds, or even if we'll   have one so we should enjoy today.

She makes a valid point, none of us know what the future holds and I think many people my age feel the same way. They feel that they should have started saving for retirement thirty years ago, and since they didn't, they should enjoy life while they can.

What happens when you are 65,67 or 70 and have zero savings? My friend has three daughters so maybe she feels a little more secure in their help. I have one child and I don't want to shift my responsibility onto her because I didn't make good choices.

As I talk to more people about retirement, I hear so many things. Many people think that Social Security won't be around for them, but they are still not saving. Some people think they will sell their homes and live off the proceeds. Some people are just flying by the seat of their pants.

I'm going to do my best to be responsible. I will buy an inexpensive gas grill, the grill I have is almost 20 years old and frequently catches on fire, no matter how well I clean it. Other than that, I'm paying towards that Kohl's debt. The interest rate is ridulously high. I'm still trying to decide if I will pull money out of savings to pay it in full or just put the remainder of my stimulus check towards it.

On one hand, it would be so good to finally be free of that debt. On the other hand, we don't know what will happen with the economy. I'm not sure I should take almost half of my savings to pay down debt.

One thing I won't do is spend it on the list of "wants" that lives in my head. I don't need any of those things and I know that buying them would lead to other purchases and the spending would continue.

I just checked my Kohl's account and my balance is $1699.92, I think I'm going to do it. This will only reduce my monthly expenses by $100 but the relief at having that paid off will be worth it. I have been paying a monthly payment on that Kohl's card for over ten years. It's time for it to go!

I'll admit that I'm scared. I finally have some money in savings and a pandemic hits. That little bit of savings gives me a cushion, reduces my stress. What if I need that money? I don't want to add more to my MasterCard because I used my savings to pay off Kohl's.

I'm overthinking it. I'm going to pay off Kohl's. If I need money, I will find a second job, even in this crazy reality we are living in, places are hiring, grocery stores, delivery services, I'd be able to find something. Here goes nothing- or everything, only time will tell!

The credit card trap

After getting divorced and filing for bankruptcy I was so proud to get approved for a credit card with a $300 limit. I thought that meant I was on the path to fixing my money problems. I was only going to use that card for emergencies.

Funny how many "emergencies" there are when you have a credit card to use. Soon I was living at the $300 max, paying minimum payments. The credit card company so kindly kept increasing my limit and I kept increasing the amount of debt I carried on the card, all while making minimum payments.

Right now I have two cards, Kohls and a MasterCard, neither are maxed out but they could be at any time. My spending habits are terrible. I can't tell you how many Christmas' I ran that Kohls' card up to it's limit, overpaying for things and then paying interest on that increased cost.

The MasterCard is no better. Let's go to Mexico! Put it on the card. My daughter is getting married! Put it on the card. Let's go to Disneyland! Put it on the card. Right now I catch myself trying to decide if now would be a good time to book a trip to Disneyland. As you can see, I suffer from a large amount of  "emergencies."

Time to get honest.

My Kohl's charge. Is it just me or do department store credit cards seem like a rite of passage to adulthood? I was so excited when I got that card with it's $500 limit. Now the limit is $3000 and my balance is $1699.92.

I can't believe I'm admitting this but I just looked at the interest rate on my Kohl's card for the first time. It's 26.74%. What in the actual hell? I have not purchased anything at Kohl's in over a year but I paid $607 in interest in 2019. This needs to stop.

Now for the MasterCard. The interest rate on this card is 14.40%, the interest for cash advances is much higher but I've never taken a cash advance so I guess that's one thing I've done right. My credit limit is $7900 and my balance is $6813.20. They also charge a $59 annual fee.

I've always paid a little more than the minimum on my MasterCard, but I need to focus on Kohl's first. Each card shows that the interest accrued every month is half of what the minimum payment is. It's the old two steps forward, one step back. I need to fix that.

I'm working on creating an emergency fund so I won't be so tempted to use my credit card. It's much easier to swipe that plastic than to hand over actual cash.

I do have a reoccurring charge of $49 a month for a self publishing course that gets charged to my card every month. It seemed like a good idea at the time, but now I'm cringing. I should have had that monthly payment come out of my checking account but I didn't want to have another bill to pay- not very smart. There are four months left of that payment, then it will be done.

I plan to use my stimulus check and some of my savings to pay off the Kohls' card. Even as I say that I  have a list of things in my head that I would love to spend that stimulus check on.

I need to get it together!