The Evil of the Little Plastic Credit Card
Since 1951 when the first credit cards hit the New York streets, people’s relationship with their small plastic cards continually swings between love and hate. Credit cards are the all too convenient way to borrow money, instant cash with no thoughts. No thoughts, that is, until the bill comes around and the credit card payments are due.
Credit cards gave people financial power and independence for the first time more than 50 years ago. Today there are store credit cards added to the mix of what seems like the trillion choices of credit cards from all types of financial institutions and lenders. All of them vying to lend you money. Can you imagine living without your instant cash reserve?
Credit Card Devils
We are all so used to dropping our credit cards on the counter to buy whatever we like. What we forget is we are actually accessing an instant loan. A loan we have to repay at exorbitant interest rates. And, if we are not using cash – does that mean we don’t have the cash? Usually. But too many of us use our credit cards as a substitute for cash. This may be alright if you don’t pay interest on the credit card and pay it off at the end of each month.
http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=ct3OsJacTSs
Before we know it, the credit cards are maxed out and we start panicking about paying the credit card payments. Do you find yourself paying for your groceries and other household necessities on your credit card? This is not a good sign. Get some advice if you have to use your credit card to live.
Sell your Soul for Credit
Are you someone who has, or still sells their soul for an instant credit fix? The cycle of instant credit begins the day you fill in that first form. Do you even know how much easy access to instant loans has cost you over the years? I am too scared to work it out. I just know I want to make my devilish credit card plastic work for me instead of letting it take over my life.
So, don’t sell your soul for credit but use it wisely. Do not ignore the credit card interest
rate. By ignoring the credit card rate, you are remaining oblivious to your growing credit card debt. And what are you going to do if you lose your job and are unemployed for awhile?
What Credit Card Debt can really Cost
Are you one of the few who has never fallen victim to the ‘shopaholic’ mentality? If you are, then you are smart. Too many more of us have at some time or another and then paid the price.
More than half of today’s society has at least one, if not more credit cards. If you think of the magnitude of this unsecured debt then it is quite interesting to look at how unstable a country’s economy may be. All it may take is a couple of interest rate rises and too many people may not have the money to pay their credit card debt, let alone any other loans they may have. Then the banks lose on credit card defaults. This gets passed on down into the economy in the form of more interest rate and price rises. Then increased inflation follows. Employers are forced to increase wages which then drains them of their resources. Can you see how the cycle works?
It may be time we took a long hard look at the way we use the instant loans that come from credit cards. Try only using your credit cards in an emergency or do without. Remember, credit card plastic can bring out that shopping devil in you, but you will always pay the price later.