I used to have a high amount of consumer credit card debt years ago, but am very proud to have been debt-free (other than a reasonable fixed home loan) for over six years.

There are many ways to approach and look at life. One includes a notion that there is much to learn from past mistakes, and that this learning process is evolutionary throughout life, providing for a firm foundation from which to build wisdom. From every stumbling point, I feel there is something that can be learned that makes one stronger and wiser.

And this is a normal part of the learning process of life. Not everyone is the same, nor should they be. Everyone has a different background, and goes about his or her path in life in a different way and pace.

Such is how it works with handling money, and if you have found yourself getting into debt. If you are swimming in a deep hole with regards to owing a large amount of money in consumer debt, then it will help you tremendously if you put aside any negative feelings, look at the present and toward the future, and commit to a plan to paying it off as soon as possible and feasible. You will get through it okay, and you will find that in the future, you may have learned a tremendous amount from your experiences, which will only help you toward a sustained and successful financial future.

So what did I learn from being in debt myself?

1. First and foremost, I learned the importance of living within my means.

Credit cards make it easy and tempting to spend excessively. The lender gives you a credit limit which can be high, so without the proper tools or experience, it can be remarkably simple to buy the coolest stuff, without putting much tangibility on the dollars you actually spend. The dollars seem like they\'ve been given to you, but almost like they\'re not real, since you\'re not handing over actual cash every time you make a purchase.

So therefore it\'s easy to just swipe the cards without consciously realizing how much you spend, until those pesky bills come in every month. But then, they make it even easier to not attach a tangible aspect to the dollars you spend, because you can just pay the minimum payment, and it doesn\'t seem like much.

Going further, you just keep accumulating more debt, because the monthly payment seems affordable, so you can just keep buying cool stuff.

I think that this is all psychological, and changing that aspect of your psyche by understanding that it is very important to realize that every time you swipe the card, you are spending your money, and not something from an endless pool of credit.

That is the primary thing that I learned from being in credit card debt - how to attach that tangible aspect to my spending when using them.

So I have re-attained credit cards over the past few years, but a healthy mix of them. Since I was able to change this part of my psyche, and staunchly associate every dollar I put on a credit card as money flowing right out of my checking account, I have never used credit irresponsibly or excessively again.

Once I paid off all of my debt, I told myself that I would never, ever get into that situation again. I gained a whole new outlook on credit cards in general.

2. I realized that, just as with anything, credit cards themselves, when used responsibly, are generally not the issue. It was how I initially approached them and understood them that was.

When I first applied for credit cards, it was primarily due to curiosity and the desire to build credit. But when I got my first one, it felt like someone had given me money to burn, and I wanted to get more of it. So I applied for other cards, and was actually quite surprised at how high of a credit limit companies would give someone with relatively no credit history.

So I\'m not entirely taking the burden off from the credit card companies. Many of them use less than desirable marketing tactics, and I\'m sure they have conducted as much research as possible to see how they can make the most profit by getting people to use them excessively. And especially in regards to the booths that they put on college campuses. They are targeting a crowd that generally may not have good spending habits, so that they can get them using them at an early age, when they are more likely to frivolously spend.

Do I agree with their marketing tactics? Definitely not. But that\'s a whole other issue, and entirely blaming them for a person getting himself into debt does not look at the whole part of the story. So hence, I am not one to label credit cards as evil or bad. What matters is how they are used.

Again, it\'s all about putting the sense behind every purchase on them, that you are exchanging something tangible (like your own cash), even though you are not actually handing over dollar bills. It\'s about attaching meaning to the amount the register at the store charges to it when it is swiped. It\'s about thinking of it in terms of the dollars actually coming out of your checking account. It is most certainly not free money.

3. I have learned to use credit cards like a debit card attached to my checking account.

What do you do when you use a debit card? Don\'t you track the expense in your checkbook register and subtract it from the balance you have in there? Well that\'s what I do whenever I use a credit card. I keep the receipts from every purchase, and every few days subtract the expense from my checking balance, so that I can see the amount I spent, like it is already gone. Then, when the bill is due and ready to pay off in full, I won\'t have to make a new debit from my checking balance in the register, so there\'s no surprise when the bill comes.

4. I learned that they can be useful tools, with many benefits attached.

Currently, I have three credit cards, and I have never carried a balance on any of them for six years. I plan on keeping them that way. Now that I know how to use them, and only live within my means, they have become useful tools, rather than a debt trap. They have allowed me, along with having a mortgage, to build up a very high credit score. I have been able to cash in on the rewards on my Amex, and allow for a good back up for emergencies, rather than having to keep a lot of cash on hand.

But when I say \'back up,\' I do not mean that their funds are what I would rely on in the case of emergencies...

5. Being in debt has taught me the importance of putting aside money for savings.

This has been achieved by developing a budget, and living within my means. It feels so much better to know that, in case of an emergency, I have funds in savings ready to go.

6. From being in debt in the past, I am reminded of the importance of not being wasteful.

I have learned to appreciate my hard-earned dollars more, and that frugality really does make sense, for many reasons.

7. I have learned the importance of staying on top of all my bills, and the impact that being just one day late can have on a credit report.

Through budgeting, and knowing the billing cycle that all of my bills are on (credit card, utilities, mortgage, etc.), I am very strict with staying ahead of the game, and making it a point to pay the bills as soon as they come in. This way, I have budgeted for them in advance, and get the payment sent off through bill-pay as soon as possible after they arrive. This helps maintain peace-of-mind knowing that there are no \'surprise\' bills or ones that are just lingering out there.

8. It reminded me just how important having a good credit history is.

This is so valuable. You need it to buy a house, to get a good interest rate, get a good rate on many kinds of insurance, etc. And many prospective employers pull your credit before they consider extending a job offer to you.

9. Most of all, being in debt in the past has ingrained in me how to maintain overall financial fitness.

I take much pride in keeping things financially in order, and it is so ingrained now, that it is like second nature. And it\'s remarkably easy too! I have tried to simplify things as much as possible, and it works!

So in the end, I can look back on my debt experience as an extraordinarily humbling time which helped pave the road toward a sustainable financial future, and if you find yourself in a similar situation, keep up the confidence that you can too...