An update.

Hey Ali....I read all of what you wrote earlier, and also what you ended up doing. That is such a hard decision to make! We did that a lot of years ago....gosh I am thinking maybe 8? It took us a lot of years to pay off our credit card debt but it felt good. We lived with no credit cards for a few years, and in the fall, I got one for "emergencies". You'd think I would have learned my lesson.....and now I am cutting up that emergency card! Good luck! I am sure you can do it and it is the best thing!
Maureen

Ali - I read your comments earlier, and wanted to commend you for taking that first big step. It's a tough one, too! My husband and I have dealt with a lot of money problems over the years....and we finally are now at a place, after getting rid of the cards and learning how to make wise choices, that we can do some of the things we enjoy and not feel incredibly guilty about it when the bills come.
I'd recommend, if you haven't already seen or heard of him, checking out Dave Ramsey. www.daveramsey.com We use a modified system based on his, and it's really made a big difference. His motto is basically (and I'm paraphrasing badly) "Live like nobody else now, so you can live like nobody else later." I remind myself of that a lot when I'm feeling the call of some new thing somewhere.
Anyway...three cheers for you for making the first step. You can do it!!

Wow, good for you. You can do it Ali. You've got your "sisterhood" here cheering you on. :) Woohoo!

You go, girl! :-)

congrats on taking a huge step! it is so scary when things feel like they have gone too far! You can def'ly do this :)

go ali..go ali..go ali! or should we sing
we did it, we did it, we did it...we went and got the sissors, we got all the cards, we cut them up! we did it..please tell me simon watches dora :)

*sigh* debt.
Jeff just finished grad school. Just imagine our debt. A job for him would definitely help! I guess it is baby steps for us to eliminate it. Love to hear how everyone is inspiring each other.

Hi Ali ... frequent reader/commenter here. Cutting up your cards is a good idea, BUT ... do not close all of those accounts at once. You can actually do serious harm to your credit rating (bad if you plan on buying a house, getting a car loan, refinancining any time in the near future)if you start closing accounts (lenders view it as a sign of instability)and thus cause your loan rates to go up.
Just another piece of useless information clogging up my brain.
M

Wow- you go girl! I'm sitting here cheering you on - you can do it- go ali- go go go!! :)

Congrats on taking the first step, the hardest. Also cuddles to S! And SO glad to see that someone near my age likes Johnny Cash too! ;)

Hey Ali- me again- I found this link too(interesting take on simple life):
http://www.simpleliving.com/issues/issue1/issue1_fam_home2.asp?sample=49fj39fdgy39thc8e3k

WOW! You are a brave woman!

Brave, indeed!! Don't cut 'em all up - you'll need one whenever you stay at a hotel or rent a car -- NEVER use a check card for those things (they tend to hold large chunks of funds, which can cause problems when you're talking about your primary checking account). Nope, I've never had to talk to clients about these type things LOL!

Go Ali! I know my credit card number off by heart...it's a bad thing I tell you ;)

Good for you, Ali...you are a brave women. I did the same years ago. Now we only use one card, amex, for everything. Since it has to be payed off monthly, it keeps me in control (well, some months!) and I love those points we get.

You go , Girl!!!

Ali, I don't know if you've heard of the "FlyLady", but she posted a very good article on getting control of our finances yesterday. You can read it here:
http://flylady.net/images/FACE2004.pdf
Made me rethink my use of a debit card. I thought using it was good, since it was coming out of our checking account and not going onto a credit card. But now I'm thinking a true "cash" system may be better. Dunno, just thinking out loud here! Good luck!

Hi Ali,
One of my favorite writings about "possessions" is by Kent Nerburn, it's a bit long - but thought you might like the insight:
" Most of our possessions arrive in our lives almost by accident. Gradually, like falling snow, they accumulate around us until they form the basis for our identity. We do not intend for this to happen. Most things we acquire are meant to increase our happiness and sense of fulfillment. But their uniqueness is quickly subsumed into the ordinariness of daily affairs. We wake up one day and find ourselves surrounded by possessions that mean nothing to us. Our freedom is gone; our lightness of being is gone. In their place is a sense of responsibility and ownership. We have become curators of our own cluttered reality.
What has happened?
Unwittingly we have allowed ourselves to be trapped by the thrill of the hunt. In our excitement we have forgotten that the pursuit of most possessions is nothing more than that - a pursuit - and have allowed ourselves to believe that our happiness would be increased by the next possessions we acquire. But in fact, our lives have slowly developed a sense of physical mass, and we are bound to the earth like stones.
We must remember that most possessions are really butterflies that turn into caterpillars. They start with the wings of fantasy. We see them as freedom, as happiness. We believe they have the power to change our lives. We pursue them with energy and excitement. When we finally get them, they give us a moment of elation; then, like an echo, a feeling of hollowness comes over us. The thrill of ownership begins to grow cold in our hands.
Debt, not poverty, is the greatest enemy of financial well-being and peace of mind. They will dress debt up in a suit and call it credit. But it all comes down to the same thing: You have mortgaged your future to pay for your present, and this is something you don't ever want to do."
There's more, but enough typing. It's from his book, "Simple Truths" - great book BTW. Good luck!
Michelle

WOO HOO!! You go girl, get that camera back to take pics of those cards, I bet this would make a great lo (ever the scrapbooker) :-)

You inspired me. I cut mine up too! Must admit, my palms were sweaty and my pulse was thru the roof, but it's done! Thanks for the inspiration! We can do it! :)