I continued to carry a balance on that card as well, noticing the closer I got to owing the full amount, they'd either raise my limit a few hundred bucks or send me offers for new cards.

Too gun-shy to get rejected, my credit was really shot, I just ignored those offers, ripping them up before I gave into temptation. I did however use more money when they upped my credit. Luckily, the one thing I did right was, continue to pay the bill each month. It may have been the minimum, some months it was may have been more, but I always paid.

Now that reached the end of credit card debt, I've been looking ahead a bit and will one day work to clean up my credit report. As I searched for credit related info, I found a few stories on how my experience w/capital one wasn't that unusual, matter of fact it was by design.

The idea is, to give people w/limited credit, 4-5 cards w/low balances. Why? Well, if they default on 1, it's only $29 late fee, but if they default on 5, you do the math. Ka-Ching!

That is so disgusting to me. Yes I know people have a choice and no one forces them to sign up for, much less accept, more credit cards. But shouldn't there be some sort of built in system where Jane/John Doe are not allowed to get further in debt b/c it's almost always a given that once they juggle payments on 5 cards, all it takes is one ball to drop for it all to come crashing down?

I dunno, being new to being credit card debt free, I'm extremely sympathetic to others. Like overeating and the abundance of food, there is so much pressure to spend spend spend.

In my current financial situation, I tend to put blinders on when I go out to face the world. Besides, most things I want, I can't afford. But it's not that simple for everyone. Between the TV, movies, radio, magazines, newspapers, we are over stimulated to spend and eat. And if anyone doubts advertising work, just take a look @ the amount of overweight, in debt people walking around.