Cindy,
The hardest lesson I had to learn (and I really wished someone would have told me sooner), was buying on credit is not always a good thing.
I quailify that with "not always", because we all sometimes need to make purchases on credit.
But I fell into a trip someone up thread mentioned. If I could afford the minimum payment, I thought I could afford something. What I did not know was I was selling my future for some temporary pleasures.
One of the things that woke me up was when I realized that I was still paying for things that have outlived their usefullness, and in many cases have been sent to the dump.
Paying minimum on credit cards just means that all your extra money is going to someone else. If you do not mind some free advise, here it is. If you are in debt, do everything in your power to get out, now.
The first step to getting out of debt is to stop buying. This is an amazing concept but one that is often overlooked. We cut up all but one credit card. We then looked at the one with the highest interest. Every extra dollar we had went on this card, paying minimum on the rest. When that card was paid off, we redirected all the money that was for the first card to the second, and so on.
It did not happen over night. It actually took several years.
But an amazing thing did occur. Our savings account began to grow (the extra money was put into savings) and when we needed to make a major purchase we paid cash.
Orginally we set a goal of $10,000. That is we would not make a major purchase until we had that much in savings. After awhile we raised it to $20,000.
We got off the treadmill of keeping up with the "jones" sort of speak. We have nice things, but our home is not a decorative show place. My yard is kept just well enough the neighbors do not complain. I drive a 14 year old car, my computer is 5 years old, and our TV has a large purple splotch in the top left corner but we have gotten used to it.
The point is, we no longer spend like we used to. This was not a concious decision, but a learned behaviour. After being frugal for a few years, we just sort of got used to it and it fits our life style. Today we spend a lot less then we earn.
There is no one path, but I always read these type of threads on FreeRepublic because there is a wide variety of participants, and most with real life advise worthy of hearing. Good luck on your future, may it be paved with opportunies, and the wisdom to take advantage of them.
Sounds like you need a "free estimate" from your local TV repair guy
'bout 2 minutes w/ a handheld degaussing (sp ?) coil should fix it (make sure he brings one)
I think most of us have fallen into that credit card trap. I agree. If you pay as you go you reduce your debt . I have also found that even though I like to shop for those grandbabies that I don't spend near as much when I'm paying cash. It's just harder to fork it over for some reason. My husband and I have even decided we are not financing cars anymore. We will just save and pay cash.