Do you find yourself with a bit credit card debt that seems impossible to tackle? I get it; Life gets busy, and paying the minimum often becomes the default option. Let me share a little hack that can help you effortlessly make progress!
Long Story Short:
After the world reopened post-pandemic in 2022, I went on a wild spree of traveling. If you’re curious about how I accumulated this debt or want to know how I effortlessly paid off $800, keep reading!
Or click below to jump to the method:
How did this happen exactly?
Let’s rip off the bandaid: I got into a bit of credit card debt… but I’m not that upset about it.
Really! Hear me out.
A few key points about this credit card debt:
- I put this travel debt on a 0% APR credit card for 18 months. Then I transferred the remaining balance to another 0% interest credit card while I finished paying it off, to save on interest. It costed me a little bit, but honestly, whatever. That’s a price I was willing to pay to explore the world.
- I embraced the joy of traveling around the world a bit too enthusiastically after the pandemic.
- This is almost all paid off. The interesting thing about this post is the method on how I paid it off.
A chronological story of my travels from 2020 until the present day:
2020: The world shut down, and you couldn’t travel anywhere.
Even leaving your house was a whole thing.
I temporarily grew an herb garden and started telling my sad tales to basil plants.
2022: The world mostly reopened, and I traveled everywhere I could. I went to New York City, Montreal, Saint Augustine, Chattanooga, and Charleston.
2023: I visited NYC (Again), explored Spain, Portugal, and finally Peru to see my family – twice.
I attended comedy shows, discovered secret speakeasies, dined at a Michelin-starred restaurant in Spain, and experienced 3 of the best bars in the world listed on the 50 Best Bars Pellegrino list.
It was amazing!
I didn’t really budget like I normally do; I didn’t care to plan for my usual budget habits to have a fun but affordable vacation. I just wanted to run, travel, explore, and savor every bite and sip of it all.
How come I’ve lost my mind…?
After 2 years of no travel, not seeing or hugging my family, and drowning my anxiety with work and tequila, my head was screaming, “The world has reopened! Every experience that you had been wishing for and thought you may never have again is now a possibility.“
And so I ran and went to all the places…
*insert dramatic movie scene here*
I went on all the trips. I saw my loved ones; I hugged everyone I loved and missed… So many hugs and so much exploring.
NOTE: I didn’t stop paying my bills to go on these trips. I still took care of ALL my responsibilities. I didn’t quit my job and completely lose my mind.
I’m not living under a rock as a consequence of all my excesses. Never that dramatic, but I definitely spent some money.
Do I regret it?
Nope.
Would I do it again?
Probably.
Is this a personal finance blog post?
Heck no! I was all about excess and debauchery… and by debauchery, I mean desserts and sparkling wine.
How I Rationalized This…
While I often prioritize budgeting and responsibility, my husband and I, being young and childless, felt that if we ever wanted to be impulsive and splurge on travel, now is the time.
Or should I say, was the time? I already went for it.
My plan was to smoke cigars with gangsters and sip champagne in high-end strip clubs. No joke, that was my plan. I didn’t end up doing those things this time, but I wanted to.
Heck, I might still do it.
Because… why not?
Then, what did I do on these trips? Where did all the money go?
I attribute this to my ADHD and my overly enthusiastic nature: We became excessively excited too soon, befriending bartenders and attending live music and comedy shows.
We even sort of kidnapped one of these comedians after his performance, drank tequila from a flask and smoked a joint with him in the alley of the club (this happened in Chattanooga, of all places).
Bartending Side-Effects.
Honestly, I work ALL THE TIME (ask anyone who knows me), but when I travel, I become a bit more impulsive with my money.
And apparently, fearless: A couple of birthdays ago, I went to Halls Chophouse in Charleston, ignored the whole line of people out the door, kindly asked the hostess if I could get a drink at the bar, and just made my way there. My husband sheepishly followed me. I ordered a couple of glasses of champagne.
I saw four gentlemen wearing suits and looking super important, and one of them smiled at me. I approached them, and said, “Hey Gents, it’s my birthday; we should drink some tequilas.” I ordered six pours of very nice tequila, cheered with them, and flashed them a smile. They invited us to their table, and we had dinner and more champagne. I don’t quite know who these gentlemen were exactly, but throughout the night, lawyers and executives stopped at that table to “pay their respects.” I got some shiny business cards in case I ever need any help with anything: A very unique birthday.
I blame Johnny Depp and Robert De Niro for this. They both visited the fine dining restaurants in Savannah where I bartended. So, I was like: “Whatever. Johnny, what do you want to drink?”.
Hey, everyone is a human being who enjoys a nice drink and some nice food, right?
These are the side effects of being a bartender for 10+ years at fine dining establishments—the inability to be starstruck by anyone. Sometimes you might feel out of place, but mostly you look like you are at the exact right place at the right time.
Paying My Cards the Classic Way:
I once had $946 in my account and had planned to make a lump sum payment on my credit card. But then I stopped and thought, “Maybe I could take a little trip to New Orleans? How much are flights? Maybe next weekend? NO! BAD! STOP IT!! Must…pay…debt…off…..arrrgh…”
DING! I received the email:
“Congratulations! You have made your credit card payment successfully.”
Oh God. That was rough. What about that trip to New Orleans? I need a drink…
NOTE: As you may have noticed by now, I am THE WORST person to give you any kind of financial advice whatsoever. You will not have an emergency fund, just a million photos and memories of yourself around the world. You will be broke and super happy and satisfied with life.
An Argument of Me vs. Me:
2022 Smart Me: Wouldn’t it be better, easier, and WAY smarter to simply save for the trips?
2022 Impulsive Me: Sure, but life is happening RIGHT NOW, and we have been shut down for endless months.
2022 Smart Me: You have to stop drinking and going on Expedia. Girl, seriously. Credit cards are evil, and interest rates will eat your soul.
2022 Impulsive Me: My credit card is putting me on a flight to go hug my mom and toast with champagne with her. That’s priceless. Remember those “priceless moments Visa commercials”? Maybe I should start working in advertising for Visa…
2022 Smart Me: You can still do those things if you save some money! Interest paid to you, instead of you paying interests. Doesn’t that sound better?
2022 Impulse Me: Let’s enjoy life now, while we can. Life is short. You’ll never be this young again. That’s just a fact!
2022 Smart Me: GAH! STOP IT, YOU RUTHLESS BEAST.
Attempts at Self Improvement:
After reflecting on my past trips, I realized that it was time to make better financial decisions.
Boring, right? Where is that champagne again?
I started listening to podcasts and reading books about personal finance and psychology. That’s when I stumbled upon a YouTuber named Rose, who made a statement that resonated with me: “I love using credit cards because of all the travel rewards I accrue…”
~That’s me! Are we secretly best friends, Rose?
She continued, “…but every time I buy something, I pay it off immediately, as in within minutes of the purchase.”
Compulsive Payments?
At first, I thought that sounded tedious and absurd. Come on, Rose, you must have some self-control and wisdom to just pay it off at the end of the month. At the end of the week maybe?
NO.
Right-freaking-now. Immediately.
Did you buy a banana with your credit card? You better pay it immediately. Do it. Don’t get distracted. Do it quickly. (Who the F… buys just one banana with a credit card? Doesn’t matter. Pay up.)
I have discovered that paying off debt is like losing weight: When you look at the road you need to travel, it is often way too overwhelming and depressing at the beginning. There is nothing fun or exciting about it.
Your head gets filled with laments: “Oh dear me, 40 pounds? I’ll never lose that in time for bikini season.”
But then again, how do you eat an elephant?
One bite at a time.
Allow me to be very clear here: Going around the world and having those experiences after the shutdown was priceless and fun and exciting. I’m way happier, and my heart feels fuller because of it. I have no regrets.
However, after listening to Rose, something clicked in my brain, and I decided to make a change. So I set up Face ID on my credit card apps and moved them to my main screen to make them more accessible.
If this tedious new habit of paying instantly for all my credit card purchases was going to stick, I had to make it as easy as possible for me: I wanted to create a new habit with superpowers.
This Is How It Began:
I visited the gas station, filled up the car with gas, spent $31.73, opened my app using facial recognition, and paid $35.
Next, I went to the coffee shop, purchased a croissant 🥐 and an herbal tea, and settled in to work on my computer for a bit. I spent $11.42, then immediately opened the app and paid $15.
Afterward, I went to the grocery store and bought a pineapple, some cat food, celery, and toothpaste. I spent $18.47, then returned to the car, turned it on, let the AC cool me down for a few seconds, opened the app, and paid $21.
Total immediate debt payoff: $9.38. Time to pay it off: A couple of hours. Pain experienced: NONE.
Although this was a little tedious and felt super dumb at first, I promised myself I would not spend money on anything unless I paid it off INSTANTLY and added a few extra dollars.
PRO TIP! Some credit cards only allow one payment a day. In such cases, I would calculate my daily expenses once I finished spending FOR THE DAY (don’t let it be 2 days, or a week) and make a consolidated payment with a little extra. However, this method wasn’t as effective as making per-purchase payments, as adding an extra $10 to my daily purchases was more noticeable than adding one or two dollars incrementally. In this scenario, I also utilized 3 or 4 credit cards for specific purposes: AMEX for groceries (earning 3% back), Capital One for coffee shops and restaurants, and another card for gas. This approach allowed me to pay off balances on three credit cards gradually.
Soon I was doing this automatically, without even a second thought, and I started looking at my money more closely since my rent was coming out of the money where all those coffees and Target trips were coming out too. But it was not a big problem for me personally, since I am mostly spendy during vacation.
After a week, I added an extra rule to my little payoff game: every time I spent money on non-essentials, like restaurants and coffee shops and Amazon purchases – I guess a “believe in yourself” unicorn 🦄 t-shirt is not an essential… as much as it feels like one- I would have to add $5 to my instant payback. So, I gave myself a “fun tax” to make it hurt a bit more and curb my fun spending.
That’s right. That $5 coffee just turned into a $10 coffee for me.
A New Super Habit.
I subconsciously tried to spend mostly on essentials, knowing that spending on fun purchases would cost a little extra. And it worked marvels.
After three months, I realized that I had paid off a bit over $800 from my credit card without even noticing. I didn’t have a plan or give it much thought; I simply inflated the cost of my purchases and paid off dollar after dollar.
I’ve discovered that developing good mini habits is key to achieving financial goals without feeling the pain. Just like debt and extra pounds can creep up on us without noticing, good habits can have the same effect.
I can already hear Dave Ramsey calling me financially fat and “where is my gazelle intensity?” (if you know, you know).
But, come on, Dave, I know you love spending money on fancy cars, and I love spending money on champagne and desserts.
Being rich when you are older sounds great, but being a little irresponsible and going all out when you are young just has a different taste.
You can get back up faster, your body aches less. Your last night’s makeup still looks kind of cute.
It’s been surprising to see how well this approach has worked for me. It has been, in fact, SO PAINLESS, that it surprised me to the point of wanting to write about it.
While I could use cash for all purchases (the envelope system) and save that amount in a more classic way, I know myself too well and could easily end up spending all the savings on a weekend getaway to Miami.
Good (?) Habits That Help Me Out:
Staying financially afloat has its secret sauce, and I’ve got a few personal hacks.
We all have that one financial Achilles heel, right? Mine’s not fancy designer stuff (yet anyway #futuregoals), and definitely not spending on drugs (saving all that cash). Skip the pricey gadgets, sports extravaganzas, or lavish dinners; I’m the queen of cooking at home and hustling at work.
But here’s where I can’t resist: Travel and unique experiences. That’s my Achilles heel. No regrets. ✨
Tons of Judgement and None of the Guilt:
I imagine many will say: Girl, have some self-control. Cut up those credit cards. Don’t spend money you don’t have. Stop buying cookies. Stop being so dumb.
And you know what?
You are right! Yes! 💯
But money is never just logical. If that were the case, everyone would be super rich and boring.
Dave Ramsey might not be applauding my financial acrobatics, but I’ve discovered a nifty way to pay off debt that doesn’t suck the joy out of life. And it could work for you too!
You can try it and see how successful you are: See your monthly progress and be marveled at it.
Instantly paying off every purchase might sound a bit crazy, but trust me, it works. It is a way of tricking your core brain to not spend money you don’t have.
There’s a delicate art to balancing the thrill of the present with the responsibility of the future. But you should always indulge a little bit for the sake of pleasure because life really is short.
And a life without pleasure… is just no life. At least to me.
What is your experience with travel and credit cards? Have you ever overspent while traveling and regretted it? Are you a natural saver or spender?
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