OP - Do you have an actual budget where you provide an allocation amount for all expenses? You need to get one and follow one. We use an app (Home Budget) to track our expenses and we have money allocated for every category. This may help you on the control side if you know what you have allocated to spend on that category and whether you have money left that month.

OP here- I like the idea of paying it down half then calling and having them lower my limit .. 13K may not be terrible but it is a lot to me. We have a HHI of 235k and both work with 3 children I need to get this under control.
I am also going to employ the buy nothing month and see if I can break the cycle.

[quote=Anonymous]OP here... confession .. I shop a lot online .. and I know my CC number by heart and it is linked to all my accounts.. and amazon.. i mean any given day sometimes i pay down the CC and then use it to shop online.. not good .. [/quote]

OP, I think you need a Buy Nothing April.

Commit to buying NOTHING online for the entire month of April. Just get out of the habit.

[quote=Anonymous]I am 35 with 3 children and very bad with money. I can't figure out how to change the cycle. I have CC debt of $13,000 at 5.4% .. my husband is 37 and just defers to me to do bills/finances. We have the savings but I don't want use it to pay off the CC because I am afraid I will just then let it rack back up. Right now it is maxed out so I can't do any more damage. If I do pay it off how can I ensure that I won't let it happen again .. any advice. [/quote]

You are right, there is really high chance you will just charge it back up again.

$13K in cc debt is not really that bad if you have a reasonable salary. You could pay down half of it if it makes you feel better and then lower your credit limit on the card accordingly.

[quote=Anonymous]OP here... confession .. I shop a lot online .. and I know my CC number by heart and it is linked to all my accounts.. and amazon.. i mean any given day sometimes i pay down the CC and then use it to shop online.. not good .. [/quote]

Not good. You have a problem.

I agree about reading Dave Ramsey, both you and your husband need to. It helped us get out of debt and save our emergency fund.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here... confession .. I shop a lot online .. and I know my CC number by heart and it is linked to all my accounts.. and amazon.. i mean any given day sometimes i pay down the CC and then use it to shop online.. not good ..

Report it lost. Today. Don't open the envelope when the new one arrives.

I agree report it lost. But when the envelope comes, open it, activate the card, put it back in and then find a sealed place for it. Do NOT look at the account number. Some cards only give you a limited time to activate the card and then they will disable the card because it has not been activated.

Then erase the card from your amazon account and other on-line accounts. Your on-line shopping habit is one of the reasons you're in trouble. And the only way to get out of this shopping addiction is to eliminate the option until the debt is paid off. Think of this like shop-a-holics rehab.

This. And find something more constructive to do with your time. Are you a SAHM? If so, get a job. If you have a job, get a busier one. You sound bored.

Capital Area Asset Builders has some good free classes on money management--give them a try! http://www.caab.org/en/programs/financial-education

Agree with the others: cut up the credit cards--they are not working for you. Even if they make sense for other people, you cannot have them around (I can't have crackers around because I eat them all. My coworker is an alcoholic in recovery and he doesn't go to bars. You have to avoid the things that are bad for you if you can't control yourself with them).

There are other options for emergency funds, like CDs, opening a savings account and direct depositing some of the money from each paycheck into it but not getting a debit card from it (so you would literally have to go there to take money out), or buying savings bonds that you lock in a safe deposit box at a bank. If you feel like you need to have a little bit of money in your house in case of dire emergency, buy a visa gift card and stick it in a baggie and then put that in a tupperware of water in your freezer.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here... confession .. I shop a lot online .. and I know my CC number by heart and it is linked to all my accounts.. and amazon.. i mean any given day sometimes i pay down the CC and then use it to shop online.. not good ..

Report it lost. Today. Don't open the envelope when the new one arrives.

I agree report it lost. But when the envelope comes, open it, activate the card, put it back in and then find a sealed place for it. Do NOT look at the account number. Some cards only give you a limited time to activate the card and then they will disable the card because it has not been activated.

Then erase the card from your amazon account and other on-line accounts. Your on-line shopping habit is one of the reasons you're in trouble. And the only way to get out of this shopping addiction is to eliminate the option until the debt is paid off. Think of this like shop-a-holics rehab.

[quote=Anonymous]OP here... confession .. I shop a lot online .. and I know my CC number by heart and it is linked to all my accounts.. and amazon.. i mean any given day sometimes i pay down the CC and then use it to shop online.. not good .. [/quote]
Report it lost. Today. Don't open the envelope when the new one arrives.

Anonymous wrote:OP, this is why most poor people stay poor. They can't break the cycle.

Not can't. Won't.

If you truly see the problem and are able to fix it then fix it. You're not a child.

[quote=Anonymous]OP here... confession .. I shop a lot online .. and I know my CC number by heart and it is linked to all my accounts.. and amazon.. i mean any given day sometimes i pay down the CC and then use it to shop online.. not good .. [/quote]

I know my credit card numbers by heart too... You're just going to have to use will power.

OP here... confession .. I shop a lot online .. and I know my CC number by heart and it is linked to all my accounts.. and amazon.. i mean any given day sometimes i pay down the CC and then use it to shop online.. not good ..

OP, this is why most poor people stay poor. They can't break the cycle.

Or freeze it in a Ziploc of ice in your freezer. not easily accessible, but accessible in an emergency situation.