I love credit cards. They are so wonderful and convenient. When I was a kid (early twenties) I had a terrible time getting my first one though, it was a mess. Everybody sent me apps, but nobody would approve me. Slackers.
Finally, some pathetic company gave me a very sad little Mastercard. It wasn’t worth much as far as credit limit, but it got me started with a credit record. And before too long I began to get approved by the big boys!
But this first little card introduced me to the wonderful benefits of buying stuff with plastic! I soon figured out that I could spend several hundred dollars in a month, and all they wanted in return was FIFTEEN DOLLARS!! Amazing! Where do you go to beat that?!
I added other, better cards to my collection. I eventually ditched my first one, it was really pathetic and they wouldn’t upgrade it much. With the smokin’ powerhouse cards I have now, the purchasing power available to me is unbelievable.
I got another new one a few months ago, and it had a sticker on it that said “Use it wisely.” Oh, I do. Trust me. I’ve given this area a lot of thought. When I go out to eat I just put the bill on my card and it’s like eating for free. I honestly can’t remember the last time I paid for gas with cash. Groceries, car insurance, I only wish my landlady took Mastercard!
I just don’t understand people who pay with cash or check. I could never afford to do that! I hate paying full price for stuff, it’s a no-brainer! Paying with plastic is like always getting an 80% discount!
Especially now that I’m married. We’ve been hit with some pretty hefty bills (with a few more right around the corner) and if it wouldn’t have been for my substantial collection of credit cards, we’d have been sunk.
Update: Additional Illumination
13 Responses
August 13th, 2005 at 1:04 pm
I suppose there will come a day when I too will slip that piece of plastic into my wallet but until then (the day I can’t live without it) I will remain a true fan of cold hard cash. I was in a mall once with my debit card and no parents and realized I’m incredibly dangerous with plastic. It was so easy. Just zip it across, punch in the number and they, the wonderful store people, give you whatever you want. You don’t even have to show them the green. It’s fantastic. But once again, Dangerous.
-Kaitlyn
August 13th, 2005 at 6:20 pm
Okay I’m kinda mixed up here. Is this written tongue in cheek or for real? I hope it’s not for real.
August 13th, 2005 at 7:03 pm
since you have always heeded my advice and welcomed it with a grin in the past, i’ll give you some of my wisdom and insight after being married for 18 years. i think that newlyweds should not even entertain the thought of such a slippery slope as plastic in the wallet or purse for at least a year. Any other questions? Douglas
August 13th, 2005 at 8:52 pm
tom, that was quite possibly the most enlightening piece of blogging i’ve ever read. Clark Howard doesn’t even give as good of financial advice as i can receive on ITF. thanks bud!
rande
August 13th, 2005 at 9:33 pm
“I hate paying full price for stuff, it’s a no-brainer! Paying with plastic is like always getting an 80% discount!”
And you have been doing this for….how long? I must have missed something here?! They must handle plastic different in Hoosier Land! {;^)
August 13th, 2005 at 10:05 pm
Auggh! This post is scarier than a ghost story told around a camp fire! Thomas, you’re going to drown in the depths of financial despair if you keep going at it thatta way.:)
–Delia
August 13th, 2005 at 11:06 pm
Tom,
This can’t possibly be the whole story?! Please tell me that you always pay those cards off every month and not just the 15 bucks or minimum payment. Or perhaps you only use the 0% cards like I do. They are great! I have made use of them for the last few vehicles I have purchased. Haven’t paid interest on a credit card in years. When our mortgage got within reach of a credit card or 2, we actually moved the mortgage amount to a 0% card and saved at least 100 bucks a month in interest!
August 14th, 2005 at 3:59 am
Tom, you are scaring me. Credit cards are dangerous. Yes, i got two, and I only use them to buy anything if I know I will pay it in full when the statement come. For bigger items, I plan of how many months I will pay it off without adding anything to the balance while I am paying it off.
Credit card companies want you to use it for everything and pay just the minimum so they can lend you to thier “traps.”
The bad thing about carrying a balance is something else happens that force you to pay it off longer and one thing lead to another and will have water up to your nose.
I am not saying that you are using your cards foolish, but they way you wrote it sounds awful of the way you are handing them.
Sounds like I am not the only one in here that is scare of this post.
August 14th, 2005 at 7:40 am
That HAD to have been written tongue in cheek. Tom, I hope you make a posting identifying it likewise, because some people (like myself) don’t know you too well and to entrust my precious cousin Jewel to that kind of lifestyle would be hard.
Credit cards are an icey, slippery slope. The only way to navigate that slope is with the tough ice picks and footholds of knowledge, wisdom, and self-restraint. I speak from experience on this – difficult experience too. Please be careful.
August 14th, 2005 at 8:22 am
Yes Ed, like you we all hope this is one of Tom’s “TIC” tounge in cheek monologs! We sure don’t want to see them crash and burn on the rubbish heap of the credit card tragedy.
August 15th, 2005 at 11:42 am
Great parody post!
August 15th, 2005 at 12:56 pm
Tom, based on your interpretation of credit card use, how do you interpret the sign that says, “Shirt and Shoes required.”
It seems that you have an assumption problem here maybe!?
TIC is firmly in place! {:^)
August 15th, 2005 at 10:14 pm
HA HA, Tom! Way to go!!!