Becoming Coco

I've been told by so many friends, family members and financial gurus about how we all need credit cards in order to get by these days. They say without a credit card we can't get an apartments, a house or other loans. More and more these days decisions seem to be based on your credit score. They say because of that we should get a few credit cards and just be very responsible with them. I respectfully disagree. I believe the system is designed to make you think you need a credit card to survive because they want you to get one and fail. It's a flawed system so I say let's boycott it. First, the whole credit score thing is a made number by the companies who give out credit. It's not even on your credit reports from transunion, experian and Equifax. Yes the score represents useful information such as whether you make payments on time, but all the checks and boxes that show whether you have good credit are designed by the credit card companies themselves. Think t...

I used to be like many girls enjoying shopping with their friends or alone. I loved buying new clothes and new things. I spent the majority of my paychecks or any other income on new things for my closet or bedroom. It became something ugly though when I did not have enough money left for things that mattered more to me like going out, bigger ticket items or gifts for family members. In the worst moments I did not have enough money for things like groceries, bills or the mounding credit card debt. I started to feel guilty whenever I spent too much money or purchased something I did not really need, but I could not stop. I love pretty things, I love having new clothes and I love the fun experience of getting something new. It makes me feel alive, until I get home and have to put it all away in my overflowing closets. The issue of materialism, shopping and clutter became so troublesome that I have now come to a point where I don't care for it anymore. I'm sure many people ...