Debt! (Im not free yet)

I used to tought that I’m the kind of person who can manage my financial planning well but my current codition shows that I’m wrong.

I’ll scrutinize one by one and the first one is my debt condition!

Currently I have couple of debts and some of them are the highest possible interest bearing debts. Unsecured loan and credit card debts. Those are my current indebtedness that burden me.

Unsecured loan, or in bahasa Indonesia marketed as Kredit Tanpa Agunan (KTA). I know myself that this is one kind of loan that I should avoid as far as I could. I assured myself that I should never ever try to even get close or near this loan ever. With no security scheme let banks charge high interest as high as 2 or 3 percent per month or maybe even more. Repayment of this debt usually already set in some term of repayment installment every month for a certain period of time. The scheme of repayment usually in ammortized principal. At least with this loan, I know exactly how much shoul I pay everymonth.

I applied one for some limit that I really need around 2010. No other source of fund and It had to be done that time. There it was. Packed with certain installment until the end of 2012. This one the first debt that I have to bear.

Next debts are Credit cards and this kind of debts is even more evil. Everybody knows already how the creditcard works. I knew it all along and I swore that I would never let myself fall on its trap but money is sweet.

Ive got a lot of benefits from my credit card these past years. Cheaper prices, discounts on branded clothings. Access to executive lounges and having an up to date gadgets. I know, kind of consumptive life style but why not? The trap began ti work on me when my logic started to work against me.

Started from electronic buying. I had cash to pay the transaction, but why should I pay cash if I can delay the payment. I shopped after the billing date so that I thought I don’t have to pay yet until next billing cycle. Up until here my logic is still correct.

Stuffs acquired, my money still sit nicely on my account and bill has not yet billed while other stuffs popped out. I used the money to pay those newly popped stuffs while the bill had not billed yet. What happened next is ofcourse as certain as sun rises from east every morning, the bill came out and I had no money to pay.

I paid minimum amount for couple of times and it cost me alot. The interest that I had to pay reached quarter of million rupiahs and the amount of my credit card bills piling up. Lesson learned in a hardway.

Wanted to start everything debt free, I used all necessary effort to repay my credit card debts. I borrow money from less harmful sources, use my saving that initially meant for financial cushion and concentrate my salary to repay credit card debts while I left the unsecured loan as the installment goes.

I cant say that today I’m debt free yet but at least I can see the light on the end of the tunnel.