Sans-Credit Card

I think it’s time for me to freeze my credit cards.

Some of you (like me) may have felt a bit invulnerable once you got your first credit card and a consistent income after college. Thankfully I didn’t go too crazy on the charges. I was arrogant about it, to say the least. For the last three months I’ve been using cash mainly; muggers, did you hear that? I know people say it’s not safe to carry cash, but for me, it hurts more to spend than swiping a credit card. You can physically see your money disappear.

So now that I’m no longer using my credit card, what about the old charges? It’s time to hunt them down!

I printed out my credit card statements and am hunting down each charge, one at a time. I feel like the Terminator! Every time I have extra money, I make sure each item has been paid for. Sure, some have already been paid for, but having a physical list and seeing each one has been accounted for works best for me.

Here are some things I do to be more frugal this year:

• Opened a Mint.com account and set budgets.
• Give myself a weekly cash allowance for misc. spending.
• Purge my possessions to sell off anything that I haven’t touched in two months.
• Spend less time going out for drinks and more time working on projects at home.

What are some things you do? Let’s be fiscally responsible this year