I caved

I said I was going to pay off the rest of my credit card slowly in order to retain a healthy balance it the bank but I caved and just had to pay off the last bit. I got so annoyed with the interest charge ($143!), I think I ignored all the interest I was paying because if I really delved into it, I know it would have freaked me out to such a degree, that I don't know how I could have handled it. Without my recent windfall, I doubt I would have ever gotten out of debt, which is such a scary thought. I would have most likely had to declare bankruptcy. Living with that over my head, sigh... I never want to go back!! I did realize something over the weekend. I don't know how to live within my means. I set up my budget without taking into consideration the amount that I was charging each month, what a ding dong. So I went through and added up all the charges for the past 5 months. It's not pretty. I think part of that was due to the fact that I was paying so much on the cards, to keep afloat that I literally had no money to do anything. HOWEVER!! I still spend way too much on clothes and dining out. I need to reign it in and learn how to be responsible with my money, or else I will end up right where I started. I know some of these charges are my mom's I gave her a cc to use for emergencies and she has had a few emergencies over the past couple of months, to the tune of about $1000...ugh. I applied for a part time internet job, hopefully I get it. I want to save $10,000, then I think I will feel safer....will I?