Nevertheless, I was still a little reckless with how freely I would accumulate debt on it and while I would pay more than the minimum, would always fail to pay off the balance in a timely fashion. For this reason, I had almost always carried a balance on these cards. At least that was the case until October 2014.
It all began near the end of July 2014. I had a $2,300 balance on my credit card and had just begun committing to track my spending more diligently when my latest statement popped up. And there I saw it with my own eyes.
My monthly internet bill costs me around $47.
But for the month, my interest costs ate up nearly $50.
That's right, I was paying more money for the right to owe over $2,000 to some giant faceless corporation than a service that I and my roommates not only use constantly, but viewed as a necessity in the home. And it made me think.
In so many ways, one's values are represented by how much they're willing to pay something. We spend a lot of money on shelter and food because we tend to need these things to survive. We spend a decent amount of money on transportation because we need to be able to go where we need to go in a timely fashion. We spend money on good clothing because we want to be able to be presentable when interacting with others.
The more valuable an item is to an individual, the higher the demand, which can drive up prices relative to its value to the consumers. (It also tends to create a market in which people then try to compete for your patronage)
Everyone in my household uses the internet I pay for. It covers so many of our needs and wants as far as where we waste our time down to where we do our banking. The credit card debt was all me and in some ways I find I don't enjoy half of what I spend as much as I should. So how is it that I'm willing to pay more just for the right to owe money?
Fact is, the right to owe money... isn't worth a cent to me. In fact, as far as its place in my life, it's worthless. And I don't want to spend any of my hard earned cash to something that I often find dangerous and contemptible as far as the way it can prey on people.
It was that moment, I desperately wanted out of it.
Everyone looks and responds to debt differently. In my case, I didn't feel as if short term gain is worth me having to pay for the right to pay later. Because regardless of when I pay, the fact is, it will have to be paid eventually, and how much more you pay for it depends on how long you procrastinate it.
And plus, the fact the interest of my credit card was more than the cost of my internet was just downright absurd math.
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