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survey sez!
Reader's responses to The Big Question.

The Question: How did you accumulate your credit card debt? What is your plan to pay it off? If you don’t have cc debt, how do you avoid it?

The Answer: “I pay off my credit card every month. I only use it to purchase gas or other things that I can only use a credit card for. Don’t buy it if you can’t pay for it!”

The Answer: “I don’t own a credit card. And if the occasion arises that I do, I will only use it for dire emergencies. I guess it’s just been pounded into me that I should never buy things I want that I don’t have the money for. I’ve heard too many times ‘Credit card debt is the absolute worst debt to have’ that I’m not tempted to fall into the trap.”

The Answer: “It started when I had to pay for expensive repairs on my car. It then grew when I was in college trying to support myself. I pay as much as I can past my minimum payment every month and just used my income tax money to pay down some of it. Almost have it paid off! Avoid it by spending within your means.”

The Answer: “Zero debt here. If we can’t pay it in full when the monthly statement comes in, well, it’s simple, we can’t afford it and we don’t need it.”

The Answer: “My credit card debt was accumulated half by dumb stuff (eating out, shopping) and half by school tuition. However, I recently refinanced my car and paid them off. I plan to keep them paid off by not carrying them around with me anymore.”

The Answer: “I only charge travel related expenses like gas and airline tickets. I pay cash for everything else like food and clothes. It really helps you limit what you spend.”

The Answer: “Pay your monthly balance in full. The money you don’t pay in interest will give you more cash to spend.”

The Answer: “Don’t have credit card debt. I avoid it by not having a credit card.”

The Answer: “I use a credit card only when I buy items online—I just buy what I can afford!”

The Answer: “I have two avenues in our house. My husband handles the money for the household; he is the sole wage earner. The things we are paying off are student loans, car payments, mortgage, emergency house improvements (like getting the septic tank pumped and a new septic tank, etc.) that had to be put on a card. Nothing like new furniture or new clothes or paying off vacations or anything non-essential.

My husband pays off the smallest debts and the debts with the biggest interest attached, first. Then he applies those payments to the next debt. My own cards are strictly debit, so whatever little money I earn or deal with personally is strictly non-credit based. That’s the way to avoid credit card debt—don’t use credit cards. Only have them for emergencies, and to build up your credit—use them wisely.”

The Answer: “I accumulated my credit card on clothes, family, gatherings and now I’m stressed out. I plan to pay it off one day. Wish I had never gotten a credit card.”

The Answer: “Only buy what you can pay for right away.”

The Answer: “I only have one credit card and almost never use it, but when I do, I pay it all off when I get the bill.”

The Answer: “Thank God I don’t have any credit card debt! I do this by spending frugally, buying only on sale, and by saving!”

The Answer: “Paying in cash generally helps keep the credit cards down. If I have credit card debt, I can hardly sleep because I am thinking about all the money I am wasting on interest. That is not good stewardship.”

The Answer: “When I was younger (i.e., when I came of age and could get credit cards), I grew to use and depend on them and accumulated some debt. After I wised up, I now have had years of debt-free living (praise God!). How do you avoid it? You don’t get credit cards! Period! If you like the feel of plastic, get a debit card where you know it comes straight out of your account and that you can only spend what you have.”

The Answer: “I don’t have a credit card, so I don’t have any credit card debt. If I can’t pay for something with the money I have in the bank, it’s not worth the hassle buying.”

The Answer: “I have 0% credit card debt. (If they want to give me 0% debt, I’m always willing to borrow money, baby.)”

The Answer: “Well, it was easy really. I got my first card and it was like ‘free’ money and I went shopping crazy, buying everything I wanted, but it became reality when the bill came. However, I just pay a little over the minimum due, and hopefully will get it paid off soon. I have more than one card. I control the spending on it; if I charge on it, I won’t use it until it’s paid off.”

The Answer: “Christmas! I had every intention of charging Christmas presents and then paying the card off in no less than three months. Then my car died and the money earmarked for paying extra (not just the minimum payment) on my credit cards was gone. Little by little; but praise God I just got a new job with more money and more hours. I still have no car, but my wonderful pastor and his wife are letting me borrow theirs until I get on my feet a little. Then I will pay everything off and give 20 percent in tithes and offering.”

The Answer: “I don’t have credit card debt, because I don’t charge anything I don’t already have money for (I basically only use it for airline tickets, etc.)”

The Answer: “I just recently put a trip to Greece and Rome on my credit card. I’m using my taxes, and my second job to pay it off. Normally, I’m very opposed to credit card debt (and any other debt other than the house I just bought), but that trip was worth every penny I paid in principal and interest, mon frere!”

The Answer: “1. I bought stuff. 2. I make payments. 3. Don’t buy more new stuff.”

The Answer: “I only buy things I can afford!”

The Answer: “I don’t have credit card debt. I paid it off a few years ago in order to buy a house (I am 26) and haven’t turned back since. I accumulated it when I was 19 and moved out of my parents’ house and couldn’t really afford it. So I moved back home and paid it off. If I can’t pay cash, then I decided that I don’t need it. With debit cards now working as Visa’s, there’s really no need for them. They’re nothing but bondage!”

The Answer: “Duh! Only buy what you can afford!”

The Answer: “Our credit card debt is on one card and amounts to $275.00. We don’t buy anything unless we can pay cash for it. We intentionally live a moderate lifestyle. If we don’t need clothes or shoes, we don’t buy them, no matter what the sale price might be. We are very conservative in our grocery shopping and also in eating out. We have learned to be content. That is the secret and it is scriptural, too! (The $275 balance on our credit card presently is for building supplies but we are sending in the full amount in payment this month. Just thought I should clarify.)”

The Answer: “No credit card debt—if we don’t have the cash, we don’t buy it. The only exceptions are cars and houses.”

The Answer: “We foolishly used it to pay bills, thinking we would just pay off the balance at the end of the month. And we didn’t. Our plan is this: to cash in our 401k’s and stock purchase plans to pay it off. Our retirement is important, but we do not want to continue along the rest of our life with this burden of debt on our backs. We’ve learned our lesson and are willing to sacrifice the hard work we’ve put into the 401k’s to solve the problem.

To avoid credit card debt in the future? We plan to save money for things we don’t have the good old-fashioned way instead of pulling out the plastic. Also, living within our means and (gulp) eating at home instead of eating out. If you are reading this and are on the path to living paycheck to paycheck—don’t do it! Big stress on your marriage and relationship with God.”

The Answer: “My largest credit card debt started when I was a nanny for someone I knew. Since I didn’t go through a company, it was considered self employment. Taxes are higher for the self-employed and I had not set enough back, so I put the balance on my credit card. After that, my car broke down. Some of my debt is from shopping or using my card to fill up my gas tank. My plan is to pay off the card with the lowest balance first, then apply what I had put toward that card to the next. If nothing major goes wrong, I should be debt free within the next 12-18 months!”

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