Of Debt and Anger
When I paid off my first card, I thought a lot about what to do with it. First there was the matter of not wanting to let it go, because what if something comes up!
After I got over that, my thoughts turned to cutting it up. That’s what you’re supposed to do, right? But, I had no strong desire to take out my aggressions on a piece of plastic.
Now that I’ve thought more about it, I think I will be quite relieved to be rid of that piece of plastic with no option of picking it up again and using it to abandon reason.
It’s just that I know a lot of people who have both rational and irrational anger toward credit card and loan companies. And it’s not like Sallie Mae is my best friend and my experience with Bank of America has made me not want to have any experiences with them in the future, but I’m not angry.
It would be easy to say that the anger I have is with myself, but that’s not really true either. I blame myself for the debt I am in and I know it’s my responsibility alone to deal with it, but I’m not really angry at myself. I made some mistakes and they are embarrassing—super embarrassing—but still I’m not angry.
Not that that’s any great feat. Really, I’m just not an angry person except when I’m in waiting rooms. Left alone in a waiting room with that piece of plastic, I would surely take my aggression out on it.
I’m taking scissors to the card. I’ll let you know if it takes a surprising turn.
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I think that’s probably a good decision. And don’t be too embarrassed; people make mistakes, and largely they understand when others do the same.
I’m proud of you
I thought about cutting mine up too and cancelling it but then my Mom who’s an accountant told me not to since it’s best to leave the account open so it builds up your credit history since you need a history when buying a car or purchasing a house, etc. Even the oldest credit card is the most important thing that lenders look at when checking your history. I know cutting up a card doesn’t have anything to do with this but sometimes you need it when it comes to credit history check. I have mine all in a ziplock bag stored in the house so I won’t use it.
Here’s an article I found about this: http://credit.about.com/od/toughcreditissues/a/closecards.htm
Wow, do people who pay off cards really still get angry with the companies that let them have them? Surely they realise it’s only they who can be blamed for the spending?
I would definitely cut it up and cancel the account. Avoids temptation and so long as you have at least 1 account active and running (which you still do with your other Visa) then your credit history will be grand. It will also help you in the future if you need to take out any other finance to show that you are a responsible payer and can clear balances.
I don’t know if it is the same in the US but in England credit checking companies look back over the past 6 years of your credit history to get a picture of your finances
I find it better to cut up the cards once you make that decision to no longer use them and pay them off. Sure, you can hide them in the house or freeze them in a block of ice, but they’re still sort of accessible. Once you cut it, it’s gone. For me, that’s a HUGE weight off my shoulders knowing I can’t use them even if I wanted to.