Everybody deserves a vacation every once in a while. However, vacations are not usually cheap, and if one does not have his or her finances in order, a vacation may not be possible in Florida or in any other state. This is what one man found out just as he was planning a summer vacation with his family. While planning, he discovered that it would not be financially possible for the family to take a vacation due to overwhelming credit card debt.
It was June 2010 when the man was forced to tell his wife that they could not afford to take the family vacation they had planned. Not only were all five of the man’s credit cards completely maxed out, he also had no cash available. This was surprising to the man since he earned a high income working as an IT manager. He usually brought home approximately $120,000 per year.
This was when he knew he had to do something about his finances, especially the $109,000 he had racked up in debt from credit cards. The man recalled that his parents had taught him some basic personal finance, such as how to balance a check book. However, they never taught him about how debt and credit work. The man then decided to teach himself what his parents hadn’t taught him.
Eventually, the man was able to learn what he needed to know to pay off his credit card debt. He even wrote a blog about his story in order to keep himself accountable as well as inspire others. However, not everybody facing large credit card bills in Florida may be as fortunate as this man. If a person is not able to get his or her head above water, he or she may want to consider filing for personal bankruptcy, which could potentially discharge all credit card debts.
Source: Business Insider, “How This Family Got Into $109,000 Of Credit Card Debt While Earning 6 Figures — And Paid It Off In 4 Years“, Libby Kane, Sept. 29, 2014