Credit card companies SUCK

There are people still out there that think that credit cards are so darn convenient and awesome.  They're there when you need them in an emergency, right?  You can pay it all back later!  Well you know what?  THEY SUCK!!  

As you know, I've been working my ass off trying to get my credit card bills paid off, and get myself out of debt.  Well, it seems easier said then done, because one step forward is always two steps back.

I'm trying to pay off the highest interest balance first.  Which is hard because the amount is barely inching down every month because I still have to pay the minimum balance on the other cards to avoid fees.  So I'm only paying about $50-ish extra towards the high balance every month because that's all I can afford!

Next - one of my smaller "no interest" bills decided to surprise me with deferred interest charges today.  What are deferred interest charges do you ask?  OH, I'm SO glad you asked.  They add up all of the damn interest that you weren't getting charged, then without telling you BAM!!!  They tack it onto your account.  Apparently you have a certain amount you have to have paid off by a certain time, otherwise they charge you ALL OF THAT BACK INTEREST AT ONCE!!  It's complete bullshit.  I thought I had my amount paid down, but then they said "Oh, you still owed $21 on that amount".  So I got charged $200 of back interest.  How does that make any fucking sense???

Sorry - I probably should have warned you that I'd be cursing a lot in this post.

Anyway - I called the company and because I have a good record he reduced it by half (as long as I got the $21 paid by today).  It's still bullshit, but I guess it's better than nothing. 

I just don't understand ANY OF THIS!!  Our country is up to our neck in debt, but the credit card companies just keep making it worse!!  I guess I can't put all of the blame on them since it's our fault that we're spending beyond our means, right?  Maybe not... the price of living is so high right now, and to stay in competition we almost have to spend beyond our means.  I dunno - I could philosophize about this forever, but in the end I've come to two conclusions.....

IF YOU DON'T HAVE A CREDIT CARD NOW - DON'T EVER GET ONE. 
If you can't buy it, then you can't buy it.  Simple as that.

IF YOU HAVE CREDIT CARDS - PAY THEM OFF AND CUT THEM UP. 
That's my goal anyway.... if the fucking companies would LET ME!!

Ugh - needless to say I've been in angry frustrated tears today.  I see my total number inching down little by little, then one day goes by and it jumps up by $200.  It's unbelievably frustrating, and really does make me want to throw up my hands and say "fuck it - I'm just going to be in debt forever just like everyone else".

But I can't do that, because I've done that for ages and it always puts me back in the same place.  I just don't know how to do this.  It's taking so much of my energy, and I feel like I'm working towards the right things and the right goals, but it doesn't seem to be changing anything.  The part-time job is helping a little with getting money towards my debt (I'm pretty much putting all of it towards that), but that's another frustrating thing in itself - I have to keep a second fucking job just to get my debt paid off!

Sigh.

That's all for today.  Hopefully things will look better tomorrow...

*all images found on a google image search for "credit card evil". appropriate, eh?