Tea Party For One

Do not feel sorry for me. I am broke.

As of Friday, I discovered that I had maxed out one of my two remaining credit cards. (One, unfortunately, was shut down on me as a result of economic downturn. I had plenty of credit on that card and was easily making my payments, but the company just decided to shut down my account - mostly because I think they were close to bankruptcy at the time). Now, I've never maxed out a credit card before. Suddenly realizing that one half of your credit is gone shines a light on the fact that the party is over. And now that the booze are gone, it's time to tell the freeloading guests to go home. When I get into this situation where belt-tightening is called for, my radical brainless side comes out and I start my own little slash and burn tea party for one.

What does that mean? I'm going cold turkey. No more spending. Period. End of story. No donations. No dutch treats. No treats. No movies. No books. No nothing. If it ain't free, it ain't me.

Oh sure, some bills I don't have any option over. I still need gas and car payments and insurance and stuff. And those pesky credit cards still need to get paid. But don't ask me out for dinner any time soon (unless you want to pay) and don't expect me to be knowledgeable on current movies after this weekend. Cold Turkey! It's not just for the day after Thanksgiving anymore...

I could give you 100 different reasons for being in this situation, but the truth of the matter is, I saw this iceberg coming a long ways off and I didn't turn from it. I kept hoping that it would shrink or the current would push it aside, but that iceberg kept coming. Well, it finally hit me. And I'm finally taking on water faster than I can bail it out. I'm not ready to man the lifeboats just yet, but I am starting to sink.

Nope. I have no money. Reality has not just settled in, it's foreclosed on me. I have no choice but to stop spending money.

Of course, if there's a silver lining to all this (one that's not easily removed and sold on E-Bay that is) its that now I have a lot of time to spend getting projects done. My novel will no longer languish from a lack of attention and other projects will get the time they deserve as well. So... good timing, I guess.