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Living Without Credit Cards takes more than just a pair of scissors and going cold turkey. This episode walks us through Step #3 to wean us off our dependency on plastic. Here is a recap of the steps so far:
Step 1 – Take your cards out of your wallet and put cash in your wallet instead.
Step 2 – Delete credit card numbers from your online accounts and use BillPay for online payments.
This Episode: Step 3 – Freeze your credit card accounts from any further charges and use the money you have been saving to build up your emergency fund.
Check your credit report if you have accounts that you can’t find or don’t know how to contact. To learn how to check your credit report for free, watch this Vid-torial: Annual Credit Report Vid-torial
Holla From The Impala: Buy Mutual Funds, not commercials
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Steve Stewart says
June 8, 2011 at 7:15 pmThat is a great question that I suspect will be brought up in one of the interviews I am going be on in the next few weeks. I will let you know where and when they have been posted in case you want to hear a more in-depth answer.
But the short answer is: Debit is fine once you have control of your money. This series is geared towards those who are dependent upon credit cards, but to give them a step-by-step process to break the habit without going completely cold-turkey. If we only substitute the form of plastic then we lose the important lesson of how to spend less, live on cash, and pay attention to the spending.
Thanks Alex! I hope you had a great trip.