Post-Japan Trip: My Credit Card Discipline Crumbled. Is It Time to Give Up on Cards?

A Reddit user is feeling very frustrated about his credit card situation. The poster indicated that he has historically been careful about avoiding debt because he grew up in a low-income family, and he saw the damage that debt can do. Unfortunately, his resolve to avoid debt went out the window when he went on a two-week vacation to Japan.

While he was on vacation with friends, he was pressured into spending much more than he could afford, ending up with big credit card bills. While he’s managed to bring his statement balance down to $350 and is hoping to pay off the card with his next paycheck, he says he no longer trusts himself to use cards because he put himself into debt despite resolving not to.

He’s currently tempted to cut up his cards, given that he fears he’ll put himself into a position again where he borrows more than he should, despite his plans to stay debt-free. So, what should the poster do? 

Should the Redditor give up on credit cards because of one bad trip?

While there’s no question that it is a bad sign that the Redditor poster ended up finding himself in financial trouble due to the vacation, several other Redditors pointed out that this incident may not have been the end of the world.

For one thing, a trip to Japan is a once-in-a-lifetime experience for many, and some posters suggested the Redditor stop beating himself up over allowing himself to cut loose a little, given that he took the debt issue seriously and worked hard to pay back the amount he owed as soon as he could. 

Other Redditors also pointed out that this poster’s disappointment and frustration with himself make it very unlikely that he is going to give in to such a big splurge again.

He got into debt, and he was upset with himself and worked very hard to get out of it, so the experience only served as an object lesson that reinforced his belief that he doesn’t want to live a life where he owes money to credit card companies all the time.

Since the poster didn’t just sit back and accept that he’d gone into debt, it’s very unlikely that he’s going to do the same thing again. And, if he does, he’s already proven that he will do what it takes to get out of it.

Giving up on the potential benefits of credit cards, including credit card rewards and credit-building perks, would be a shortsighted move given this one big mistake under unusual circumstances.

Making a budget for future vacations can help to avoid temptation in the future

If the Redditor is truly concerned about the fact that he overspent so much, the best thing for him to do is to realize that vacation and travel spending is obviously important to him, and to make a budget that allows him to do more of that in the future without going deeply into debt. 

The poster may want to look at other areas where he can sacrifice so that he can spend more on his next big trip without having to borrow. That way, he doesn’t have to worry about leaving the cards at home since he will have allocated money to spend guilt-free.

A financial advisor can provide the poster with invaluable help in making his budget and in exploring the best way forward to avoid debt while still getting the benefits that credit cards can offer.

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