My friend and neighbour – the genius behind 17 years of http://www.supernova.com, Elliott Hurst, suggested I post this quick story (tip) we used for getting me out of debt.
When I first met my wife I had an okay entry level job and with that came an entry level wage. I had recently purchased a car – A Saturn SL1 and was paying down the car loan.
Besides that $300 a month, I was racking up credit card debt – which I could always pay for (or I would not buy something) but my bank account was dwindling, because I was buying junk like hockey cards for me, going out for lunches (treating people) and buying stuff for her, like an engagement ring.
I could not resist. Man I loved Shoppers Drug Mart and Pusiteri’s…
But one morning I came to the kitchen, grabbed my lunch, kissed her goodbye at which point I realized that my wallet was missing.
I turned around and saw it sitting on the counter.
Inside the wallet was a $20.00 bill, but none of my credit cards were present. I asked her if she knew where they were and she responded by telling me to look in the freezer.
Puzzled, I opened the freezer only to find them frozen solid in a giant block of ice.
The plan was to use that $20.00 for the whole week and not buy anything.
Guess what…
6 months went buy without me charging anything. My debt went down and I learned to say no to temptation.
So if you are struggling or in debt, or a friend is…freeze the culprit on the spot! It works, it really, really works… Brrrrr…
Urban Mummy froze your cards?? I love it.
I’ve heard this, but i thought it was an urban legend…. so the ice doesn’t affect the magnetic stripe?
Not at all. Once I was free of my spending habit, I thawed the cards and used them only in an emergency.
I actually remember the first time I used it after the ice age – we were out for dinner – and I said to the waiter that the cards may not work as they were frozen in ice for 6 months.
I’m sure he thought I was crazy, but it went through…
One of my room mates in university tried this trick. It lasted until the next time she wanted to make a purchase, then she had a large ziplock bag of frozen credit cards thawing under the tap in our sink!
LOL.
That’s awesome!