Frugal | My Credit Cards are Frozen!

My Credit Cards are Frozen!

Posted by Lynnae on September 6, 2007

If you're new here, you may want to find out more about me. Also, please consider subscribing via RSS or email. Thanks for visiting!

No, not my accounts. The actual cards are frozen. Well, technically, they’re still freezing, since I just put them in the freezer 10 minutes ago. Yes, I’m freezing my credit cards. Why? Because it will make them very hard to use, but they’ll be available in the case of an extreme (and I do mean extreme) emergency.

Day 8 of 33 Days and 33 Ways to Save Money and Reduce Debt is all about not using credit cards. Freezing my credit cards is one of those things I’ve always meant to get around to, but never actually did. With my credit card readily available, I’d charge an online purchase, telling myself I’d pay it off when the bill came. The problem is we never had the money to pay it off.

Last night after reading Paula’s post about not using credit cards, I decided I was finally going to take the plunge. I transferred the balance of my mastercard to a new 0% APR card with no transfer fee. I’ve been meaning to do this for a while, but I hadn’t gotten around to it yet. Now it’s done.

Then I changed our Blockbuster online account to take the monthly fee off our debit card, rather than the credit card. Finally, I filled up a little freezer container with water, dropped the two cards in, and put them in the back of the freezer.

You know what? It feels really good to have those cards out of my wallet! Here’s to my new, credit card-free life!

NO annual fee credit card imply no credit card charges for annual servicing of your plastic. That’s why they are popular with people, as these plastics can be a way of saving.

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

These icons link to social bookmarking sites where readers can share and discover new web pages.
  • del.icio.us
  • Reddit
  • StumbleUpon
  • Technorati
  • bodytext
  • Facebook
  • TwitThis
  • Sk-rt
  • E-mail this story to a friend!
Filed Under Finances |

You Might Also Like

Comments

22 Responses to “My Credit Cards are Frozen!”

  1. NCN on September 6th, 2007 2:18 pm

    Wow… even I never actually “froze” my credit cards… I just stopped using them… Welcome to the No Credit Card Needed Family!
    Keep us up to date on how things go!
    NCN

  2. Kyle on September 6th, 2007 4:07 pm

    Now that is a great original idea. Freeze, baby freeze, we don’t need them!

  3. Lynnae on September 6th, 2007 10:11 pm
    They’re frozen solid now. And I can’t even read the numbers through the ice. :)
  4. Hilda on September 7th, 2007 12:03 am

    You gotta post a picture of those frozen cards!

  5. glblguy on September 7th, 2007 4:29 am

    Why not just cut them up? If you have an emergency fund, why would you ever need them? Having them “frozen” to leaves the temptation around…

  6. Lynnae on September 7th, 2007 5:53 am
    Hilda - I will try to get pictures of the frozen cards up today. :)

    glblguy - I thought about cutting them up, but I do use my cards for hotel reservations and things like that. It’s a pain to use a debit card, because they hold so much of your money hostage when you reserve a room with a debit card.

    The other thing is that while we do have an emergency fund, my husband’s job situation at the moment is still a bit precarious, and our emergency fund is not yet at a level I’m comfortable with. I know it’s just an excuse, but I’m just not ready to completely cut the cards yet. :)

  7. Carrie on September 7th, 2007 10:21 am

    I think you’re crazy ;) That’s all. Love ya!

  8. cardiogirl on September 8th, 2007 6:09 am

    This is so crazy, my sister JUST told me about this yesterday! (Freezing cards in a container of water. Wow, word is traveling fast. Good luck to you!

  9. Lynnae on September 8th, 2007 1:33 pm
    Thanks! My husband looked at me like I was nuts, too, but I gotta tell you, it’s nice having those cards out of my purse! :)
  10. Karen on October 14th, 2007 10:35 pm

    We won’t give up our credit cards, since we use them for everything and get air miles and rebates on them. When I make a purchase on one, I deduct it from my checking register just as I would a debit transaction. When the bill comes, I’ve already accounted for the expenditures, and there is no problem paying off the bill…six years of marriage and not a penny in interest paid!

  11. Jaque on April 27th, 2008 3:11 am

    Hehe! I never heard abouth this method to avoid using your credit card but it seems to be usefull. Thanks for the idea.

Trackbacks

  1. 33 Days And 33 Ways To Save Money And Reduce Debt
  2. Weekend Roundup - Mishmash Edition | beingfrugal.net
  3. The 104th Carnival of Debt Reduction - Digging Out Edition
  4. Carnivals everywhere! | beingfrugal.net
  5. DebtFREE-Revolution » Blog Archive » Build a Cash Reserve and Kiss Those Credit Cards Good-Bye
  6. focus on the m-network : plonkee money
  7. You Tell Me: Is it better to get rid of the cards or keep them? | beingfrugal.net
  8. A Look Back at Being Frugal.net | beingfrugal.net
  9. Credit Card Companies Want to Eat You Alive! | beingfrugal.net
  10. Cut Up the Credit Cards | beingfrugal.net
  11. 3 Steps to Take When Credit Card Companies Raise Your Rates

Leave a Reply