I Had Plastic Surgery!

I went to see Dave Ramsey live this past weekend and returned motivated. I have been a slave to credit and my credit score. I love my credit cards. The hardest thing I have done is to really let them go. A savings account can provide for emergencies. It still feels like I am limiting my options. Can you really live without any credit cards? It hurts. McDonald's did a study on the use of credit cards in their stores and found that people spent 47% more when they used a credit card as opposed to cash. When I stopped using credit and started to be on a strict cash basis I encountered a cash crunch. It takes some adjustment. Now, when I want to make a $5,000.00 impulsive purchase, I have to think it through. Here are the things I have wanted to put on a credit card since I started: $4,800 hearing aids, $4,000.00 for dental implant, a new drive way at the triplex, and that is just in the last 60 days. I have not made any of those purchases. I realized that things do not have to be done the moment they come to my mind. I can wait and save for it. The other thing I have done which I have not done since I started working for myself in 1995, is put myself on a set draw. My budget was the limit of how much money I brought in, not a preset budget for which I had to plan. This has already helped me tremendously. I always said when you are self employed without a set paycheck it is impossible to budget. Wrong. I am not an employee on a set draw. More about that later.