The Credit Card Trap Continues
June 9th, 2006 | by Molly's Brother |There comes a time when you have to say, “Enough is enough.” I sometimes feel like a lone wolf in the wilderness howling against the continuation of the credit card trap. These cards dangle carrot after carrot in front of your face hoping to get you to lunge forward and take a bite of it. And once you’ve devoured that orange veggie, they just dangle another larger, juicier, crisper, carrot that is even more vibrantly orange than the previous one.
Don’t Fall For the Trap
Ignore the incentives! We know that cards offer rewards points that you can apply towards big-ticket purchases or hotel stays or airplane flights. We know that the actual worth of these incentives is highly debated. In my opinion, it all boils down to this simple fact: behavior. If you are able to pay off your credit card in full at the end of each month, then you should think about signing up for a rewards program. You have a level of financial responsibility that some Americans don’t have.
Behavior Rules!
Be honest with yourself. Is it possible that you credit cards will get out of hand? If so, don’t jump at the most potentially dangerous of all credit card incentives: the Zero Percent Balance Transfer. If you have a proven track record of being current with your credit cards, then this 0% balance transfer might help you out financially. (But please don’t start using that card though!) However, if you don’t have the discipline to stay current on your payments, you might find yourself right back where you started in no time flat. Read the fine print, because usually these 0% balance transfers only retain the rate for a certain period of time and you only maintain that APR if you stay current. (If you miss even one payment the APR can explode to 30%.) A fellow blogger who is trying to get out of debt just acquired her 7th credit card because of the 0% balance transfer. I love her blog and I am really pulling for her. But I am nervous for her, too.
These companies are ruthless with trying to garner new customers. They’re just as bad as Big Tobacco, in my opinion. Seriously. We have to wake up and stop our dependency on bad debt.
2 Responses to “The Credit Card Trap Continues”
By KevinsView on Jun 9, 2006 | Reply
very good post, an excellent read. I seen that you had commented to one of my posts and had to come and check you out. Again very excellent points.
By Molly's Brother on Jun 12, 2006 | Reply
Thanks for stopping by Kevin.