Recently I was asked about the first financial advice I received that made an impact on my life. Unfortunately, I did not receive a lot of financial advice early on. I do remember my mom telling me that I needed a credit card to build up my credit, so later in life I could do things like buy a house or a car.
Unfortunately, the part of the advice I didn’t get was that it was important to pay that credit card off every month. I got my first credit card the first week I was on my college campus and promptly started charging. My credit rating was stellar, as I was never late with a payment. However, I thought that making the minimum payment meant I could afford that balance. It took me close to 15 years to finally pay off that credit card. Fortunately I learned my lesson, and I no longer use credit cards.
Blog of the Week
As we make our way through the M-Network blogs in my feed reader, the next blog to highlight is:
I’ve Paid for This Twice Already
I love PaidTwice’s blog, because she’s in a similar situation to me. She’s working hard to pay off her debt, so she can be debt-free sooner, rather than later. She’s always upfront about her successes, as well as her struggles. So if you’re looking for honest inspiration in your quest to get out of debt, you should take a look at PaidTwice’s blog.
News of Note
Frugal Coast2Coast was a huge success on Monday evening. Fitness expert Jonathan Roche was a inspiring, and he sure knows what he’s talking about. And I loved the fact that he told me I didn’t have to exercise an hour every day or spend lots of money to get in shape. Do you want to know the secret?
Feel free to listen to the archived show!
I have a contest coming up soon, and the prize is a great one! Look for a post explaining it later today or tomorrow!
The Funny Spoon is a new recipe site, featuring easy to prepare recipes, matched with coupons for the ingredients, when possible. To launch the site, they’re holding a contest where the first 50 people to submit an original recipe receive an eco-friendly grocery bag! So go check it out and submit your recipes!
The Roundup
News from MainStreet.com
- The Truth About Liquidators – Make sure you know your prices, before assuming a going out of business sale is a bargain.
Favorite Blog Reads of the Week
- 10 Ways to Become (or Stay) Poor – Christian PF
- Can You Really Live a Cash Only Lifestyle? – Yielding Wealth
- Frugality is the Fastest Way to a Better Bottom Line – Mighty Bargain Hunter
- Grocery Gaming After Work: Shop Day & Chop Day – Pokeberry Kitchen & Garden (scroll down a bit)
- Money Saving Grocery Tips – Real Life
I don’t have any big plans this weekend, other than watching the Superbowl. Go Arizona! I love rooting for the underdog!
Photo of Geisel Library at UCSD (my alma mater) by Allan Ferguson.
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Hi Lynnae! I think many, many of us were only given the advice that you need a credit card to build up your credit. Most of them add that you should pay it on time. Unfortunately, a lot of adults seem to forget the second part of the lesson about interest and the fact that making a minimum payment isn’t enough. You are certainly not alone in that boat. I’m still paying off some debt from years and years ago because I also tricked myself into thinking that as long as I could pay the minimum I was doing fine.
The good thing is that all of us how have gone through that will do a better job teaching our kids the whole lesson.
Thanks for the mention Lynnae!! I appreciate it!
Thanks for the shout out,Lynnae! I added your site to the bottom of that post! Duh, I don’t know why I didn’t before! Anyway, you’re doing a great job here!
Thanks for the shout out, Lynnae! I added your site to the bottom of that post! I don’t know why I didn’t have it on there before! (doh) You’re doing a great job here!
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Lynnae,
A bit off-topic, but cool that you’re a Triton! I took a summer course there back in 1999. Lived in SD for grad school, too.
That library looks like something out of Star Trek :O)
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