Shocking

I don't use a credit card very often. I don't have a good reason, the free flights and Disney dollars are great when I actually do use them, I just have my debit card in my front wallet pocket and it's become a habit to grab and swipe that one. Probably a good thing in the end. Other than big purchases that I know I'll just pay off the next month and get granddaddy size rewards, I'm a debit girl. Anyway, I've been using my Disney card recently because we are planning a trip to D-land in August and I want the bucks. It's nice to not have to pay for food on these trips.

I'm mentioning this because while paying bills I saw that I had a bill from my Disney credit card...a little unusual for us.... and for a moment I forgot I had been using it all month, for groceries and our trip to Vegas. I honestly wondered if someone had stolen my card.....not a great feeling. No worries, I quickly remembered and all is well. But as I opened the bill, I saw an interesting little grid. I hardly ever open my credit statements when they come, I remember what I bought and pay it off, no need to review it. But I am positive this is a relatively new graph they have added to their statements. I don't think I've ever seen it before. Do you know what I'm talking about? It tells you how long it will take to pay the entire balance if you only pay the minimum required payment. It's INSANE.

You may all know this. Surely we've all been warned about consumer debt, but this really did shock me. For a balance of $533.72 it would take me 8 YEARS to pay it off! And if I paid double the minimum balance (whoopee) it would take 3 years! That's a car loan, folks.

So, I paid the full amount, and then I gingerly placed the bill in my "paid" file and made a silent vow to only charge to a credit card what I know I can pay off the next month. Scary stuff.