How to wean yourself off credit card dependence

If anybody tells you habits are easy to break, don’t believe them. In the Fidelity Investments New Year Financial Resolutions survey, of the more than 2,000 people polled, 29 percent say they plan to pay down debt in 2019. Paying down debt is laudable, but the bigger goal should be to end your dependence on credit cards. Here’s how.

Make a commitment: Decide to control your spending and reserve credit cards for real emergencies.  “Begin to phase out daily credit card use from your life,” says Steven Millstein, founder of CreditRepairExpert.org. Acknowledge that it won't be easy, but resolve "to stick it out and see it through," he says.

Look at the numbers: Review your credit card statement to see how much interest you’ve paid, and how long it will take to pay off your debt if you only pay the monthly minimum. “These numbers can be eye-opening. Let this motivate you,” Millstein says.

Be proactive about impulses: Leave credit cards at home. “If you must return to the store to purchase something, you'll think twice about whether you need or want it. If leaving the card at home doesn't stem purchasing, cut your cards up!"  says Joyce Blue, a money relationship expert and owner of Empowering You Life Enhancement Coaching in Boise, Idaho. But don't close your account,  she says: "Doing so hurts your credit.”

Set rules: Rules save you from negotiating with yourself.  Set rules, such as: Don’t open new cards.  “Inner negotiations deplete your willpower, and the only one who loses is you," says Talya Miron-Shatz, CEO of buddynsoul.com, a personal development site. Consider too, a rule to use cash or debit cards only.