In my last video, titled "The costly habits that  might drain your wallet", we talked about credit   card interest being one of those possible  things. I was reading through the comments   and I saw THIS! "Credit card debt is so stressful  easy to swipe it hard to wipe it." and I was like   Jackie that is GENIUS! I even added some  choreography to this quote because it just   felt so right it goes like this and I've got to  make a face ready do it with me you gotta make   a face like girl really easy to swipe it like and  you'd be like this hard to wipe it like get right   in your face with it so ready everybody together  easy to swipe it hard to wipe it don't do it Thank you Jackie for that beautiful quote I love  it it is the inspiration for this video I haven't   carried a credit card balance in a little over  a decade or so so this is how I got there I hope   it's helpful for you the first thing I did was  I got uncomfortable with debt at one point back   in the day I was just using my credit card like  it was free I had about ten thousand dollars in   credit card debt this is pre-kaden and it made me  feel anxious it made me feel indebted because I   was and I didn't like that feeling in the words  of the great Florence and the Machine in the   chart topping song Shake It Off and it's hard to  dance with the devil on your back so Shake It Off   uh oh that's what it felt like whether it be a  devil a monkey a burden in however way you want   to say it I wanted to not owe anyone anything you  have to get uncomfortable with debt and commit to   not creating more remember easy just swipe it  hard to wipe it the second thing I did was I   saw what that debt was costing me I think at its  worst probably my minimum payment was two to three   hundred dollars a month just the minimum payment  bare minimum two to three hundred dollars when   I let that sink in I realized I was basically  putting in a car payment each month to pay for   things that I was no longer even remembering what  I purchased like it was months ago and decisions   I made months ago were costing me two to three  hundred dollars out of my budget each month and   it just hit me wow imagine if I was taking this  two to three hundred dollars and putting it toward   my actual car balance in paying that down so not  only would I not have the credit card payment I   wouldn't have a car payment and I wouldn't have to  be putting that money toward debt each month what   would that look like and I liked the way that that  felt and the way that sounded and I was willing to   do what it took to get there easy to swipe it hard  to wipe it next I made paying off the credit card   my priority I chose paying off the debt over my  immediate wants now you have to remember this is   for a season you don't have to live like this all  the time but I really thought twice every single   time I made a purchase turns out kind of later  down the line I still think a lot before I make a   purchase but especially during this time if you're  serious about paying off your credit card debt   you have to have this as your single priority  financially temporarily until it's done always   put the extra money or save yourself could I go  without this thing and take that money and put it   toward the credit card debt it might even be like  ten dollars here twenty dollars there if you're   serious about this keep your eyes on the prize and  throw it all at that debt until it's gone it feels   so much better you feel lighter and then you can  put that money toward things that you are looking   forward to in the future and not just continue  to pay for your past ugh just thinking about   it just it makes me uncomfortable and if you're  feeling the same prioritize it and make it happen   got to be patient it's not gonna  be overnight but you'll get there   easy to swipe it hard to wipe it let me  know in the comments do you have credit   card debt right now that you're working on  or are you credit card debt free let me know   okay great so you decided I'm uncomfortable with  this I'm not doing it anymore you have seen the   light you have seen what this is truly costing you  and you have committed to making a difference and   you have prioritized it you have gone diligently  at this goal and you have gotten to the goal you   have paid off all your credit card debt how do  you stay there these last two are the things that   I do to maintain this status of credit card debt  free so they don't get into this position again   I'm over it I'm done with it this is how I got rid  of credit card debt for good and didn't go back I   use my credit card like a debit card meaning if it  is not immediately in my checking I do not swipe   I am committed to paying off that credit card debt  when it is due with no exceptions no exceptions   I will not carry a balance again I personally  have made it a personal policy if it is not   in my checking I will not utilize a credit card  period because I know easy to swipe hard to wipe   not doing it and I know a lot of people think  like well that takes a lot of self-discipline   it does but it's also part of my routine if I  don't have the money I have no business spending   money I don't have it's just like it sunk in with  me and I'm not doing it and I hope that's helpful   to you to just know if it's not in your checking  you don't have it you're not swiping easy to swipe   it hard to wipe it right Jax the second thing I've  done to prevent overspending using the credit card   not having enough to cover purchases is I have  built my budget buffer I talk about the budget   buffer on this channel all the time because I am  a huge believer in the budget buffer the power   of the budget buffer what's the budget buffer  the budget buffer wow I just said it a lot of   times it is one month of expenses in your checking  account at all times to cover everything this is   my additional Safeguard just in case I can't even  really imagine what I could say that would get me   into this position except one time I double paid  my mortgage because I didn't know my auto pay had   already kicked in and then I got worried that I  hadn't paid it so I paid it so I double paid it   but did I panic no because there's not one single  bill that I have that my budget buffer can't catch   not one bill that is so large that it would  over take my budget buffer it's always under so   I don't sweat it but it's taken time to  build that budget buffer and get into that   situation where I don't have to panic if I  did make a mistake but like I said those big   mistakes are very few and far between but it's  nice to have that safety net should it arise   as a k Squad as a community here I'm gonna  encourage if credit card debt is stressing you out   maybe take some of these steps to get rid of it  for good and then don't backpedal stay out of it   I like to support getting you guys into position  where you can sleep better at night and not stress   about money that's part of what we do here in  the community so if you want help in building   your budget buffer I'm going to leave a video for  you right here to watch next that will help you   build that so that you have your Safeguard because  as you know if you've learned one thing in this   video you know it's easy to swipe it it's hard to  wipe it and sometimes we all need a little help