Every Little Victory Counts

This morning, I paid off one of my credit cards.

This is a big deal for me. A huge deal, actually. I'd wanted to pay this particular card off for some time--not just because it would decrease my overall debt (which it has, of course), but because I bore this card a particular grudge.

You see, they cut my limit. Twice. The first time when I was unemployed (and leaning more on my plastic than usual), and I was doing a not-so-smart thing: Using balance transfer checks to stay afloat. I decided to pay off a large portion of one of my cards with a balance transfer check from this one, only to find they'd cut my limit, a move that not only restricted my financial movements, but also caused me to default on my payment to that other card. (That card has since closed my account; this incident was no doubt one of their deciding factors).

The second time came when I was using the card in question to pay Ms. Christopher's medical bills, which were, as you might imagine, quite extensive. The notice that they were cutting my limit (again) arrived just days after Christopher died. To say that I took this personally, at a time when I was emotionally raw, would be a vast understatement. It seemed then (as it does now) like they reviewed my account and said, "Hey, this guy looks likes he's down. This would be a really good time to kick him, don't you think?" And so they did.

I cut up the card that night.

It's taken some time and determination, but yesterday I was ready to finally shovel dirt onto this account. I stopped at the bank, drew the funds, and bought the money order on the way home. When I got there, I celebrated thusly: Two Italian beefs with American cheese and giardiniera from the newly opened Al's Beef at Wabash and Jackson (in the spot where the Burger King had been back in my Columbia College days).A low-key celebration, to be sure--to Olivia, it wasn't much different than any other Thursday night--but for once, I wasn't merely content, but happy. And I still am today.

That's one credit card down--only four to go.