Rebecca Bloomwood Meet Stacey Pagan!

Before reading, please note that this is a personal narrative, so be kind in comments!

I slowly walked by the numerous stands, wondering just what all the hubbub was about! There were several at the student union, the Fly Swatter, Teachers College, and even in front of the library! Each stand was crowed, and be, being a Curious George, finally bucked up and walked over to see what all the buzz was about. Little did I know that my short walk to the table at the Fly Swatter was going to cause me so much grief later in life!

There, at the booth, I happily handed over my drivers license, filled out a short form, received my 'free' gift (probably a t-shirt or umbrella) and waited a few weeks for the spawn of the devil to arrive in a plain what #10! My first credit card!

The emotions were so overwhelming! There I was, a freshman in college with a brand, spanking new shinny, silver VISA card! With a $1,000 credit line to boot! It was like easy money! I thought I had been deprived of so much while in high school -- this was how I was going to get those much desired items! A stereo, a new dresser, new pants, new cassettes for my new stereo. . .

The scene that I was growing to love was, "Will that be cash, check or credit?"

"Credit please," I said, handing over the card. . . That VISA was on fire the first month! When I received the bill I was OK because the payment due was like fifteen bucks! Sure, no problem, one night of babysitting would cover that. . .

It did not take me long to get another beautiful, shinny card! Yes! A JC Penny Card! Then a DISCOVER card, a BP Amoco, who cares if good ol HC didn't even have a BP store, I had a gas card! You name it I was probably carrying it! Yes, there was a plethora of plastic in my every growing wallet! However, I did not have a job to pay the balances, just my student loans and babysitting money. . . oh yes, bad decisions all around!

Did I stop spending? Naw, that would have ruined me. I did decline the others that came in the mail, heart wrenching as it was. . .

Soon, I got a job, yet it was still only paying the minimum payment. Why pay more if it wasn't required? The thoughts of a dumb college kid. . . Yes, a bad decision again.

I continued to rack up the charges. A trip to Michigan, more clothes, shoes, a new book bag, junk, junk and more junk. Seriously, looking back I was like Rebecca Bloomwood in Confessions of a Shopaholic! If I wanted it, I charged it! Yet, what did I have to show for it?

My fourth year in college I fell behind on my bills, which caused the wolves to start knocking at the door, and rather loudly. My mother found out, and yes, all hell broke loose! She took every single shinny card I had. She took my debit card, my paycheck, and at the time, I felt she took my life away. She gave me an allowance each week which consisted of enough money to get my gas and about $20 for entertainment. I was 20 years old, living at home, hoarding the tips from my waitress job in order to have extra money! It was so embarrassing! yet, my mom did a good job at managing MY money! She paid off a card and worked on others! I was miserable, but coming out of debt.

During my last year at Ball State I moved out, taking MY bills with me! I did not start charging right away. . . just a few things now and then. In 1998 I moved to Northwest Indiana and racked up charges! As hard as it is to admit, I started all over again! It did not take long for the wolves to start howling and I knew I had to get help!

By this time in my life I was married and had two children! I was working on 12 years of excessive charging! My husband had a few cards, but nothing like me! So, in late 2005 we enrolled in a credit counseling company. All of our cards were cancelled (there went our great shopping sprees), and we started paying them off, one by one.

In the late spring of 2009 we paid our last card off! It was an exhilarating feeling! The credit card calls have stopped, the accounts closed, and we are able to 'relax' a little. To one, this may seem harsh, but for us, having only one card with a very low limit solved our problem. No, we have a goal! Credit score recovery! Eventually, we'd like to have a higher score, but we know it is a long road of recovery (like a drug addict), but we're in it for the long haul!

Rebecca Bloomwood, meet Stacey Pagan!