Tuesday, February 24, 2004
Free at last!
Finally, I have freed myself from the tyranny that is my Target card. For a year and a half, the Target card has been the bain of my existence. I always said I would never get specific store credit cards, and now, after my experience with the Target card, I know why.
I never meant to break my "no store credit cards" rule in the first place. In August of 2002, when I first moved to Birmingham, I went to Target to buy stuff for my new apartment. It was not until the cashier had rung up $150 worth of merchandise (including a very cumbersome bookshelf) that she informed me that she couldn't accept the starter checks from my brand-new bank account. Faced with the embarrassing possibility of having to ask them to put all the merchandise back, I did what any normal person would do. I applied for the offered Target card.
I didn't think it was a big deal--I reasoned that, when the first bill came, I would just pay off the balance. After all, I already had that money earmarked for the stuff I was buying. But you know how bills are--they take a long time to get there. So by the time the bill arrived, I had already spent the money on other things. So I just paid the minimum amount due.
Which wouldn't have been so bad if I hadn't continued to charge things on the Target card. But it's not like I was going on wild and crazy Target shopping sprees every week. I was buying things I needed! Like groceries! And, OK, a Swell by Cynthia Rowley bath pillow. The charging got really out of hand when I was unemployed--I maxed out the Target card several times. So when I got a job, I decided I was going to pay off the card once and for all. But that's easier said than done. It was just so tempting to use the Target card when I got in a financial pinch!
Finally, I had to resort to drastic measures. When I bought my car, I realized I was going to have to pay off my Target card to be able to afford my car payment. So, with all of my friends watching, I cut up the evil card. But the battle was not over yet. I still had to pay off the balance (not to mention fight the urge to call Target and tell them I lost my card and ask if they could send me a new one).
Since October, I have been making small strides toward my goal. However, when my tax refund came, I decided I would do the responsible thing and use part of it to pay off my Target card balance, which I did just this morning. And now, at long last, I am free from the evil clutches of the Target card. And I am never, EVER getting another store-specific credit card again. Even if it means having to tell them to put the merchandise back on the shelf.
Finally, I have freed myself from the tyranny that is my Target card. For a year and a half, the Target card has been the bain of my existence. I always said I would never get specific store credit cards, and now, after my experience with the Target card, I know why.
I never meant to break my "no store credit cards" rule in the first place. In August of 2002, when I first moved to Birmingham, I went to Target to buy stuff for my new apartment. It was not until the cashier had rung up $150 worth of merchandise (including a very cumbersome bookshelf) that she informed me that she couldn't accept the starter checks from my brand-new bank account. Faced with the embarrassing possibility of having to ask them to put all the merchandise back, I did what any normal person would do. I applied for the offered Target card.
I didn't think it was a big deal--I reasoned that, when the first bill came, I would just pay off the balance. After all, I already had that money earmarked for the stuff I was buying. But you know how bills are--they take a long time to get there. So by the time the bill arrived, I had already spent the money on other things. So I just paid the minimum amount due.
Which wouldn't have been so bad if I hadn't continued to charge things on the Target card. But it's not like I was going on wild and crazy Target shopping sprees every week. I was buying things I needed! Like groceries! And, OK, a Swell by Cynthia Rowley bath pillow. The charging got really out of hand when I was unemployed--I maxed out the Target card several times. So when I got a job, I decided I was going to pay off the card once and for all. But that's easier said than done. It was just so tempting to use the Target card when I got in a financial pinch!
Finally, I had to resort to drastic measures. When I bought my car, I realized I was going to have to pay off my Target card to be able to afford my car payment. So, with all of my friends watching, I cut up the evil card. But the battle was not over yet. I still had to pay off the balance (not to mention fight the urge to call Target and tell them I lost my card and ask if they could send me a new one).
Since October, I have been making small strides toward my goal. However, when my tax refund came, I decided I would do the responsible thing and use part of it to pay off my Target card balance, which I did just this morning. And now, at long last, I am free from the evil clutches of the Target card. And I am never, EVER getting another store-specific credit card again. Even if it means having to tell them to put the merchandise back on the shelf.
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