Sunday, November 18, 2007

Charging Zero

There's a class I want to take that starts in January. I didn't want to charge it; I wanted to pay for it properly. But I didn't have the money in my checking account and it was more convenient to charge it.

What to do?

I charged it. Yes, I did. But immediately after registering, I transferred money from savings to my checking account and wrote a check for the exact amount to send as a payment on the credit card. It is in an addressed envelope awaiting the completion of my savings transfer.

So I get points on my credit card without incurring more debt. Win-win. Yay! Finally.

I'll probably do the same for the materials for the class -- and for anything else for which I use the card. Mind you, as much as I can I will avoid using the card. But for those things that I do use the card for -- like my upcoming car inspection and oil change -- I will follow this process.

Also, I have to say that it's much harder for me to spend when I'm spending real money than when I'm shopping with theoretical money. This fact will keep my spending in check, certainly.

So the big date is December 1, 2010.

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