This morning I converted my phone and internet bills from credit card auto-pay to plain old online bill pay via my bank.  

In my recent travels to Portland, I used a money belt to carry cash so that I wouldn't have to hit strange ATMs.  I own the belt for international travel purposes but it works great for domestic travel if you like to carry an ATM with you.  I locked it in the hotel room safe while there.  Good time saver as well.

Credit card usage is now limited to the following:

• Online purchases and donations
• Travel
• Gasoline
• Whatever Liz charges (mostly groceries).

I hope Liz starts grabbing some of the excess cash I leave at home before going to the grocery store but I appreciate her getting things for us all the same so I'm not too picky about this.

My friend Karl is really baffled by this project but I am sticking with it.  Yes, it's inconvenient.  But the things you do habitually change your brain and I consider this detox.  It's about choosing to not pollute my brain with habit patterns that don't directly serve me or my community.  It's about being aware of the hidden cost of things that seem free.