I'm an Adult! I'm Not Apart of Your System. I Don't Need a Credit Card!
I've been told by so many friends, family members and financial gurus about how we all need credit cards in order to get by these days. They say without a credit card we can't get an apartments, a house or other loans. More and more these days decisions seem to be based on your credit score. They say because of that we should get a few credit cards and just be very responsible with them.
I respectfully disagree. I believe the system is designed to make you think you need a credit card to survive because they want you to get one and fail. It's a flawed system so I say let's boycott it.
First, the whole credit score thing is a made number by the companies who give out credit. It's not even on your credit reports from transunion, experian and Equifax. Yes the score represents useful information such as whether you make payments on time, but all the checks and boxes that show whether you have good credit are designed by the credit card companies themselves. Think that's a little biased?
The same company that scores you based on your on time payments is the one who also decided that all payments must be made on this date by this time or they charge you a hefty fee. It's not impossible to do, but it's designed with very little leeway so that the average person will mess up form time to time. When you do mess up even just one late payment can lead to doubling your minimum payment and losing you significant points in your credit score.
Besides harsh punishments credit card companies also give out even harsher "rewards". You feel great about the free points you earned, but it's all designed to keep you in your spending habit. Every month discover gives a new 5% cash back on a certain set of retailers. So if you were going to get gas at arco, now you're getting it at shell with our credit card to get 5% cash back.
The problem is now your credit card is being used to buy every day expenses and you easily can loose track of not only how many times you used it this week, but also how much money you actually have left to pay it off at the end of the month. They know it's not impossible to pay off your card every month and be responsible, but they also know that 80% of the population will not be perfect at it. They take advantage of consumers, drawing them in with fake necessity and useless rewards, but they aren't there for you. This kind of credit nation is exactly how we got into our housing crisis of 2008 creating the greatest depression since the Great Depression! How is that responsible financing?
I had faith in myself to use credit cards responsibly. I did a lot of research on using credit wisely, I stuck to a plan, but in the end, like most Americans, my willpower was not enough.
See willpower is something that always will fail if you rely on it alone because like a muscle it tires out. You actually only have a certain amount per day as well and by the end of the day it is much harder to use it successfully. When are most purchases made? After work at 5pm or later. Plus throw in the tantalizing reward points and the false belief that you are doing the responsible thing and building credit, and you have a recipe for personal financial disaster.
But never worry! If you get into to much debt you can always get a second credit card and transfer the balance at 0% APR! What a great deal! Except if you don't pay off the entire balance by the end of the trial period you will owe back all the past interest at usually top APR percents. They really hope you can't pay it off.
I think it's a terrible thing that our society has allowed such crooked companies to steal and trick us. People always seem to think that debt is a personal problem and that a person with debt is weak and brought it upon themselves. People gladly give a dollar to a homeless man on the street, but if someone in debt asked for a dollar they think "why should I help you? You were irresponsible." Sadly just as in anything it's a slippery slope. The problem didn't start with a bad spending choice, it started with the choice to get a credit card.
I would love to see a change in the way our culture looks at debt. I would love for us to embrace the old fashioned ideals of buying only what you can afford and not relying on loans to get it. I would love to see cash and having money on hand valued and having a credit card seen as what it is, a lack of money and a loan that intends itself never to be paid off.
I believe that I we as a society can get debt free and find ways to meet our needs without credit cards. When our score comes into question we will say, do you want this cash in my hand or an imaginary number on a piece of paper? I'm betting most sales people will take the cash.
I want to start a revolution against credit card companies and their crooked greed. I want to convince as many people as I can to boycott credit cards and go back to a simple living and prove you don't need them to survive. If enough people say I don't need a credit score then it will no longer be something "required". I no longer will allow a company to judge who I am based on the behaviors they try to train me for. I'm not their pet and once I pay off my debt they will no longer be my masters.
Take up your cards, cut them up, bow to never use them again and then pay off your debt! For some great advice on how to do that check out any of Dave Ramsey's books. He has some great ideas for getting out of debt and into financial health.
I respectfully disagree. I believe the system is designed to make you think you need a credit card to survive because they want you to get one and fail. It's a flawed system so I say let's boycott it.
First, the whole credit score thing is a made number by the companies who give out credit. It's not even on your credit reports from transunion, experian and Equifax. Yes the score represents useful information such as whether you make payments on time, but all the checks and boxes that show whether you have good credit are designed by the credit card companies themselves. Think that's a little biased?
The same company that scores you based on your on time payments is the one who also decided that all payments must be made on this date by this time or they charge you a hefty fee. It's not impossible to do, but it's designed with very little leeway so that the average person will mess up form time to time. When you do mess up even just one late payment can lead to doubling your minimum payment and losing you significant points in your credit score.
Besides harsh punishments credit card companies also give out even harsher "rewards". You feel great about the free points you earned, but it's all designed to keep you in your spending habit. Every month discover gives a new 5% cash back on a certain set of retailers. So if you were going to get gas at arco, now you're getting it at shell with our credit card to get 5% cash back.
The problem is now your credit card is being used to buy every day expenses and you easily can loose track of not only how many times you used it this week, but also how much money you actually have left to pay it off at the end of the month. They know it's not impossible to pay off your card every month and be responsible, but they also know that 80% of the population will not be perfect at it. They take advantage of consumers, drawing them in with fake necessity and useless rewards, but they aren't there for you. This kind of credit nation is exactly how we got into our housing crisis of 2008 creating the greatest depression since the Great Depression! How is that responsible financing?
I had faith in myself to use credit cards responsibly. I did a lot of research on using credit wisely, I stuck to a plan, but in the end, like most Americans, my willpower was not enough.
See willpower is something that always will fail if you rely on it alone because like a muscle it tires out. You actually only have a certain amount per day as well and by the end of the day it is much harder to use it successfully. When are most purchases made? After work at 5pm or later. Plus throw in the tantalizing reward points and the false belief that you are doing the responsible thing and building credit, and you have a recipe for personal financial disaster.
But never worry! If you get into to much debt you can always get a second credit card and transfer the balance at 0% APR! What a great deal! Except if you don't pay off the entire balance by the end of the trial period you will owe back all the past interest at usually top APR percents. They really hope you can't pay it off.
I think it's a terrible thing that our society has allowed such crooked companies to steal and trick us. People always seem to think that debt is a personal problem and that a person with debt is weak and brought it upon themselves. People gladly give a dollar to a homeless man on the street, but if someone in debt asked for a dollar they think "why should I help you? You were irresponsible." Sadly just as in anything it's a slippery slope. The problem didn't start with a bad spending choice, it started with the choice to get a credit card.
I would love to see a change in the way our culture looks at debt. I would love for us to embrace the old fashioned ideals of buying only what you can afford and not relying on loans to get it. I would love to see cash and having money on hand valued and having a credit card seen as what it is, a lack of money and a loan that intends itself never to be paid off.
I believe that I we as a society can get debt free and find ways to meet our needs without credit cards. When our score comes into question we will say, do you want this cash in my hand or an imaginary number on a piece of paper? I'm betting most sales people will take the cash.
I want to start a revolution against credit card companies and their crooked greed. I want to convince as many people as I can to boycott credit cards and go back to a simple living and prove you don't need them to survive. If enough people say I don't need a credit score then it will no longer be something "required". I no longer will allow a company to judge who I am based on the behaviors they try to train me for. I'm not their pet and once I pay off my debt they will no longer be my masters.
Take up your cards, cut them up, bow to never use them again and then pay off your debt! For some great advice on how to do that check out any of Dave Ramsey's books. He has some great ideas for getting out of debt and into financial health.
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