Credit card debt has a way of taking over — slowly, then all at once.
If you’re stressed, juggling payments, and wondering how your balance keeps growing, I’ve been there.
I once believed I’d be in credit card debt for life. I wasn’t just overspending — I was completely disconnected from the money I was using.
It wasn’t until I stood in line at a bank, handing over cash just to cover a minimum payment, that the reality hit me. That moment shifted everything.
In this post, I’ll share exactly how I got into thousands of dollars of credit card debt — and how I broke the cycle for good.
How I accrued massive credit card debt
I started young in my credit card debt journey.
I was 18 years old when my bank sent me a pre-approved credit card in the post.
The limit was $2500 – a heck of a lot more than I had ever had in my life.
At the time, I was working in a cardboard box factory and earning between $350 and $500 a week, depending on overtime.
To a spendaholic 18-year-old with a love for bars and nightclubs, it could only end badly.
If you’ve ever been in credit card debt, you know that it’s not really about the money.
Credit cards allow you to inflate your lifestyle to a level you can’t sustain. I took full advantage of my card and purchased lots of vodka & diet cokes, and taxis home.
As you can imagine, I quickly maxed it out. My parents offered to bail me out by allowing me early access to the funds they had saved for me since I was born.
I paid that card off and tried to be better.
But I’d learned nothing.
I’d spent money I couldn’t see and then eliminated my debt with money I didn’t have to work for.
Not to mention being so wasteful with the money my parents had eked together for my future while I grew up.
As my earnings increased and I moved to a new country, the bad habits crept back.
It got to the point where I had maxed out my credit cards to about $10,000 and had no idea how I had spent the money.
Each weekend, I’d go shopping and come home with a new handbag or pair of shoes. It never occurred to me to pay with my cash or even eftpos (debit cards weren’t a thing back then).
I always got out the plastic, swiped it, and was on my merry way with my new purchase.
After a couple of years of running up balances on multiple credit cards and transferring between cards to access more cash, I finally came to my senses when I had to fill out a loan application to pay my tax bill.
It had never really occurred to me that banks wouldn’t look favourably upon credit card debt.
I figured since I could manage the monthly payment, I was doing OK.
The truth is that my credit card debt was stopping me from making important moves toward my financial future—my credit cards were managing me.
How I Tamed My Credit Card Debt for Good
I knew it would take something drastic to change my credit card habit.
I realise that for me (and a lot of people), using credit cards doesn’t feel like using real money.
There’s only one thing that feels like real money: cash.
The feel of notes and coins in your hand brings to life the amount you’re spending.
There’s a very good reason many personal finance gurus advocate using cash.
So I had to find a way to translate in my mind that the cute little piece of plastic that let me buy cool things I couldn’t afford was actually a bunch of cash that I was literally burning each weekend.
The idea came to me when I was late making my minimum monthly payment by internet banking and had to pay in cash at the branch.
First, I had to leave my office at lunchtime and head to the ATM at my main bank to withdraw enough cash to make the payment.
I then crossed the street to the bank that issued my credit card, took my place in the line and waited. I stood in line, clutching my minimum payment in notes, waiting for the bank teller to call.
As I handed her the card and the cash, I realised that I was giving this woman (ok technically, the bank she worked for) money for nothing. The penny dropped.
After that, I vowed to always make my credit card payments in cash. Every week on payday, I would deposit whatever I could afford.
Sometimes it was $20, $30, $150.
It depended on my earnings from my job and side gigs.
The amount wasn’t important.
It was the repetitive act of paying my debt in cash.
That constant reiteration finally started to make an impact, and within a few months, I’d cut up my credit card.
I still had a balance to pay, so I would bring the paper statement with me each week to make my payment.
It took me a year, but I finally paid that card off and then applied the same principles to my personal loan.
Within 4 years, I was completely free of all consumer debt, had learned to live frugally and cured my addiction to spending on plastic.
If you’re struggling with credit card debt, I urge you to hold that cash in your hand.
You should really feel it and think how lovely it is to physically hold the money you’ve earned, and then hand it over.
It stings, but you’ll feel it.
Which is the main thing!
Note: It took a few years, but I now use credit cards as a life tool.
I appreciate that some people need to cut up their plastic permanently to get their life back on track, but I couldn’t forgo all the rewards that credit card users benefit from.
I needed to train myself to be a smart card user, and I’ve finally got there. I’m constantly aware of my history, so I track each purchase, and then I’m not in for a shock when the statement arrives each month.
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