The Fool of April

One of my credit cards was hijacked.  Calm down, I'm fine.  It happened on April 1st, and I caught it less than 48 hours later, so it's all good in the hood.  My biggest issue with this whole thing is that the fools who did it spent my money at Walmart.com.  Now, I love getting a bang for my buck at Walmart, and I can be found there every few months stocking up on paper goods (ear muffs, Whole Foods!), supplies for EJ, and fun toiletries (can I get a woot woot for Jergens BB Body Cream?!).  I just wonder what the thieves were buying from there with my money. Jaclyn Smith dress pants? A canteen for camping? AAA batteries? Maybe they just wanted to make an innocuous first purchase and then go nuts on another site when they thought they were in the clear...I don't pretend to know how the criminal mind works.  I guess they didn't know they were messing with an elementary school teacher who stalks her accounts to see when she can squeeze out extra money for important things like ombre highlights and gel manicures...I mean, swimming lessons and educational toys for EJ.

This whole thing got me thinking about how I use my credit cards.  I'm not going to lie, at the ripe old age of 34, I still use them like when I was 20...pretending that the items I'm getting are free and someone else will pick up the tab a few weeks down the road (ear muffs, Suze Orman!)  I really should know better because I just finally paid off the interest from a pair of Diesel jeans and flared black Express pants I bought in 2001.

I think these Walmart thieves came into my life for a reason (very zen buddha thinking of me!).  In reflecting on the situation, I'm the fool, not them.  I am now someone's mother, and my divorce has left me with a shaky financial foundation that must be rebuilt.  Faux Walmart.com trips, my Starbucks runs, "needing" a $20 Josie Maran lip gloss, etc. only chip away at that foundation.  Now, I'm a firm believer in enjoying life, but debt is not fun, and I think I need to close my purse strings a little tighter...at least for a bit.  Down the road, when I'm chasing EJ down the beach in Turks and Cacos, clutching my Louis Vuitton beach bag (or in reality, on the classy beaches of the Jersey shore), I'll feel a little lighter knowing that I'm evading the quick sand of credit card debt.  And, since I have to make a quick Sephora run tomorrow, I'll definitely start on Monday.