On The Wings Of A Credit Card
61Once upon a time not too long ago, there were certain rules that most people played by. Many of them were unwritten but they acted like strong guidelines, keeping one on the straight and narrow. This was especially true when it came to money. We spent what we had. It was a shame to borrow. We used what we spent on. It was criminal to waste.
Somewhere along the line, these time-tested ethical boundaries became a bit blurred. First, it was the convenience - no more carrying wads of bills around. The credit card was just a plastic representation of the money you had in the bank. The changing ethical values crept in insidiously. Just a little short? Oh, we’ll cover you - all you need to do is pay a small charge for the short period till you get some money into your account. The wiles of Mammon are hard to spot so we never know till we’re so entangled that it seems impossible to get out. Let’s look at the temptations to which we succumbed when it came to credit and credit cards.
Temptation#1: Looks Good, Feels Good
Our feet left the ground – just a little bit but it felt good. We secretly felt superior to so many people we knew – we could flaunt a bit of plastic. At this point, it was convenience, yes, but it also defined us as belonging to a different stratosphere.
Temptation #2: Fly Now, Pay Later
The temptation to keep up with the Joneses reared its head – ugly? No! All it did was to paint beautiful dreams – dreams that we had the power to make real. Whatever it was we wanted had a magic key – that piece of plastic became our Abracadabra.
Temptation #3: No One’s Getting Hurt
We weren’t borrowing from anyone we knew – we were helping to keep the economy running. A faceless entity created a suspension of disbelief. Floating as we were above solid ground, it felt like a rush of adrenalin, making us feel all-powerful against the cards that Fate had dealt. Up there, there was no right or wrong – it was a different dimension. Where every want became a need and all it took for gratification was that little piece of plastic.
Temptation #4: So what?
How long do the winds of credit hold you up? Who cared? The view from up there was sooooo good – we never wanted to come down again. If walking on a credit cloud meant we could have anything or almost anything our hearts desired, so be it.
We never saw the shadowy figures of the puppet masters above us. Were we flying or were we just puppets on a string? How hard would we fall when the game ended?
Coming back to earth is never easy. We need to get acclimatized to the dust, the dirt, the practicalities. When we’ve singed our wings Icarus-style by flying too close to the sun however, it’s time to get back and grow our land legs. The great thing is that Mother Earth, in spite of the raping and the pillaging of her resources has her arms wide open. She’s got something for everyone. It’s up to us to reach out, take it and make it work. Like fallen angels, hanging up our wings (or were they marionette strings?) and our endless wants along with them and working our way up in the arena we were created for – the earth and all its goodness. This time around, within the framework of ethics, not yielding to temptation.
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I could not agree more with you both. Good subject, all people should be aware of the set up here.
I've been debt free for aprox. 5 years now. No credit card debt, no loans, no cars financed, only my home.
I had every example around me of what not to become, or get caught up in. I saw all of what is happening today, back in the 80's, when interest rates were like 17%, and people were ok with that!
I've been in the Credit, Debt, Legal, and Financial Industry my whole working life, and got to see first hand what happens to those who bury themselves too deep in debt. The old buy today pay later plan doesn't work for the people, or the banks. As we can see the results of the big spenders, that didn't have it to spend.
One of my favorite movies is "Other Peoples Money" with Danny Devito. There is a lesson in that movie. The moral of that movie is: Find a better way, that doesn't hurt the people. She sparked his love, got into his heart, and worked it that way. I think it was a great example of how well things can run, with a women in the drivers seat.
Great hub, I think more people need to be aware, and educated. Don't get tangled with the Credit Monster...it does destroy lives. I see it all day, every day.
Thanks for bringing attention to this, it needs constant exposure.
:)
P.S. Jewels, I think you should document how you feel, it's a warranted, accurate part of history, and I'd like to hear it. I'm sure many others would too. Lay it on us! lol
Jewels: Thanks for your comment -would love to read a hub of yours on credit cards - mine just skimmed the surface!
BrainFire: Thank you for stopping by - yes, the industry you are in must give you a ringside view of how bad it can be!
LOL! Brilliant title! "On The Wings Of A Credit Card" ... glide your way into the wonderful world of debt plus debt !!!
Hi Shalini,
You've put things very well in this hub. It's been a slow, growing sickness, spreading like ivy, taking hold, and gradually choking society. I've a friend who works as an advisor to people who are deeply mired in debt, and she tells me that she is supposed to report banks who have mis-sold loans to unsuitable candidates. This sounds a reasonable course of action, except that it's now the case with every other person she deals with, and the paperwork is piling up! The banks, it seems, have been too focussed on their commission and their bonuses to care what would happen when these loans failed to re-paid.
quicksand: Thanks :) head over heels in debt??!!
Amanda: Thanks - yes, it has gotten in so deep, hasn't it? Looking back, one wonders how we could ever have been swept away on a wave like this! But we weren't thinking - just too busy buying!
Shalini, Thank GOD no! However credit cards ARE useful at times, most of the time. :)
Yes, absolutely quicksand - as long as they're used as convenience or debit cards and not credit cards :)
Nicely done, Shalini! Fortunately, my first piece of plastic was a debit card so I quickly learned that I needed to save before spending, and not the other way around.
Shalini Kagal, very well put. Now if we could only realize that we have to pay cash for everything we buy, even our healthcare, then maybe people will live truly balanced lives.
Thank you Melissa! Yes, we need to think debit card rather than credit card though the huge global money machine will always tempt us to think otherwise.
Aya: Thanks! How true - 'truly balanced lives' should be our mantra!
'Keep them out of sight' is my mantra...but darn...there are times when I have to air them! Trying to outgrow the habit...wish me luck! :P
Wishing you luck then....:) But you're not as bad as I am FP!
I have just received my very first credit card in my life! I was really surprised because i was black-listed for soo long..
I have a debit card too and do not even use t to pay for any bills and have to pay up-to £20.00 charges-penalty which needs to be changed very soon!...Im glad i popped by this hub!
ps..I too loved the film mentioned by BrainFire "Other Peoples Money" with Danny Devito.
:)
Thanks for your comment compu-smart - yes, I loved the movie too!
Its very informative and good hub. You can get new information from Mortgage Caculator visit this lens.
Thanks for your comment nancydodds1 :)
great hub shalini
a german aupair told me that it is not common to have credit cards in germany. She said business people who travel alot would have them but not everyone.
How very wise! Now of only that became more popular!
I've learned to resist the temptation of credit cards, but it still has the draw off crack cocaine to my wife. I wonder how many marriages have gone down the tubes arguing over credit cards?
Many I'm sure barranca - guess it's so important to be money-compatible as well :)
If we use our Credit card for needy purpose we can benefit a lto..If you got addicted to use the card for addiction then it is danger for your credit ..
How true Trsmd - thanks for reading!
Great Hub, I hope every student reads this, they are easily trapped with credit cards. I follow Dicken's quote:
"Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure nineteen six, result happiness. Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure twenty pound ought and six, result misery." Charles Dickens, David Copperfield http://cmadras.com/100/m136.html
Thanks cgull - yes ol' Dickens had all the right ideas, didn't he?
Interesting Hub Shalini. Just one little tentacle on the capitalist monster.
Credit isn't really credit in the capitalist system, it's debt. The entire economy is based on debt and the assumption that sooner or later someone will have to pay.
Judging by the current state of the "economy" I'd say the bill has come due.
It would be nice if this "crisis" would put an end to free market capitalism once and for all but I fear that's too much to hope for.
Yes, CWB - it would be nice of that were to happen - maybe the situation will force it to happen - here's hoping! Thanks for reading!
Shalini- I use my bank of america card check/debit card for less than 10$ (as it rounds off to the nearest whole number cash back I.e, if I charge $4.01 then I get 99 cents in return). Besides that I keep three cards having different cut off dates i.e., From 1st to the 10th one card, 11th to 20th another card and third card for days beyond 21. So what it does is if i charge a card on 5th of a month and 1st day of the month is the cutoff then till the next month 1st I get 25 days of credit + another 30 days for payment due date hence total 55 days without paying any interest. Good hub.
Now that CW is incredibly smart - oh wow! Now me, I hardly ever use mine - I just take my husband along LOL!
Thanks for the fan mail :)
Well Iam still single hence gotta use mine..hehe. Glad you liked the fan mail.
Thanks CW - you're the best :)
Excellent ideas, good solid common sense. I just watched a TV news special on young people who were sent credit cards just because they were graduating college or university, sometimes 2 or 3, or more. And how, because they do not have the common sense boundaries you describe, and are not alert to the traps you outline, they quickly "max out" their cards, and the card companies up their credit lines -- and, suddenly, they are tens of thousands of dollars in debt. Very scary!
Ah yes Bruce - it's so easy to spend like there's no tomorrow when you have that magic bit of plastic in your hand, isn't it?
I tend to be old-school...I have one debit card with cash down and only use it to order online. I have zero debt and cash down on every thing else.\,borrowing only one time from the family estate to buy a moderate house and currently paid for...
I agree MA - cards should be a matter of convenience, not a way to spend money we don't have!
You're right about credit cards being tied to puppet strings. A very good analogy.
Thanks for reading, Silver Poet.
Shalini, you are scaring the financial powers of greed!
Would that I could, bgamall :)
wow.. Interesting hub.. Voted up
Thank you, winbo.
Jewels Level 3 Commenter 3 years ago
I was tempted to write a similar hub, but I get way to passionately angry about the lure of credit cards on the unsuspecting innocent. That was of course many many years ago that people could be seen as unsuspecting. Now it's an expected right that a person have a credit card. And it's all twisted in a terrible bind of consumerism, commercialism and materialism. The lure to have things is now of primary importance, especially to Generation X and Y and having a credit card is a normal adornment in your wallet.
This whole way of life needs to change and the buck stops at Government administration putting ethical regulation on credit providers. Leeches are no different to skin cancers, and greedy credit providers are definitely in this category.