Unfortunately, this is rare these days.
When I was at the post office the other day, I noticed that one of the envelopes was a statement from the credit card company. I looked at the lady who works at the post office and said, "I wonder what it is!" This must have taken her by surprise for multiple reasons. First, who is excited to get a statement from their credit card company? Secondly, it is usually only one thing... a bill.
NOT A BILL!
Since we rarely use credit cards these days, I knew it wasn't a bill, but when I opened it up, things became even more fun. I looked at the statement, looked at the lady, and then said, "Yup," and shook my head. "I should have known." At this, she asked me, "What is it?" I looked up and told her, "I've got a credit. I guess it is a credit card after all."
Personally, I don't believe paying interest. I think that debt is one of the worst things a person can choose for themselves. Whether it is a mortgage, a car loan, a student loan, a credit card, or anything else that you can end up paying a lot extra for just to use, I'd rather not. I think that far too many people spend far too much of their lives working far too hard just to pay interest! It is sad but true, and I'd rather not choose that for myself or my family.
The reason I started using credit cards was the instant cash back. Periodically we would get offers where if you signed up for their card, the company would give you $150 - $200 back once you spent $1000 within the first three months. We would spend the thousand, get the $150 or $200 back, and then basically move on. I know that the company was hoping that we would go crazy on spending and rack up much more than $200 in interest, but I guess we disappointed them. The basic rule was, if we ever have to pay any interest or a fee, we are done with that card.
When we got the next statement after the one that had the credit, the new amount was $0.00. I wondered where my credit went. The credit was probably due to an order that got cancelled, so I know how it got there, but now it had disappeared. Then, I noticed something else.
They had sent me a check for the amount of the credit. This is as uncommon as having a credit on your credit card statement these days. Ultimately, I think that you should be in control. Don't let a company control you. If you are able to be responsible with a credit card, then by all means use one if you want. If you can get cash back and pay all of your bills on time, go for it. However, if you have a tendency to purchase more than you can afford, and if you often have to pay interest on your purchases, you may want to get rid of the card all together.
I hope that my example can encourage some of you. There is no reason to choose to pay interest, or to invite a heavy financial burden into your life. If you do, freedom will be hard to obtain, you will have to work longer and harder, and it'll put a stress and strain on your wallet and maybe even your marriage or other relationships.
here's the proof:As always, I'm @papa-pepper and
proof-of-credit
Until next time…
Don’t waste your time online, invest it with steemit.com
I'm sure this made someone go up a few layers of management to find someone who new how to handle a credit balance. lol
LOL! Very funny!
Actually, it happens all the time, and they legally can't leave the credit on their books for too long. I think it is 90 days maximum in most states.
I can't wait for crypto-payments to be found as often as CC machines.
Crypto's better for you, better for the vendor.
You know exactly how much you gave, and they know exactly how much they got.
CC companies are in the business of making money out of thin air. Every charge you make comes out of nowhere. So, having a credit is a death to CC companies.
Proverbs 22:7 The rich rules over the poor, and the borrower is servant to the lender.
This is exactly what they want. Take a look at the biggest buildings in major cities, if you look closely you will notice a trend....banks and credit card companies. Geee I wonder how they can afford those large building???!!!!
I drive past the long line of Edward Jones buildings in St. Louis recently.... I guess if you can afford to retire, you can afford to pay them too.
Exactly! We are taught that from a young age that we are supposed to be in dept up to our eye balls and that is "normal" and "everybody does it" Why does that have to be the norm? For those of us of faith we should be diligent in teaching the next generation just how horrible debt is and do the best we can to give that next generation a chance to succeed in life without ever having to be in debt...debt of any kind!!
Haha cool!
This is our view of credit cards as well...
We have some we use just for rewards. We buy what we would normally, and pay it off entirely each month. The reward $$ adds up and is helpful for different expenses, or just for some 'fun' money. :)
Being in debt is no bueno!
No bueno!
And it’s not just people, it’s corporations, pensions, nation states, and more. There was a time when only banana republics had a national debt that was 100% of its GDP.
But now the United States is over 100% and Japan is at over 400%.
This will not end well.
That statement of yours is heavy and sound. I wish people could think same way. Rather than think and enjoy the short term offers which are usually liabilities, let's choose long term instead which are most times assets. Thank you sir @papa-pepper
Right, short term pleasure, long term problems!
Hi there. Hope you had a wonderful Christmas and a happy new year to you. I fully agree on the NO loans. I paid for my son to study this year at university completely loan free. I literally wrote my arse off but I was able to get him through his first year on crypto! I am so grateful for steemit. Without this platform he would not have been able to go to university.
Very cool and glad to hear. We plan on building a house debt free, and steemit will be used to accomplish that goal too!
Debt has so much control over people. We are working on Dave Ramsey's debt snowball to get everything paid off within 3 years! it'll be over 60,000 including our mortgage and vehicle. Once done we are free!
Do it!
credit cards, student loans, etc, etc, it's all a scam, especially student loans!
Nice to see someone get something back.
Good advice. I hate it when debts come calling. Paying interest had been a bane many people fail to avoid due to compounding debts.
Spend your money wisely!
Thank you @papa-pepper
good finance
hehehe nice one
money is everything for life
@papa-pepper you are awesome
Good advice! Especial when I am just about getting my first credit card
Be careful, be wise. It's okay to get rid of it if you are not using it wisely.
I'm liking your posts, papa-pepper!
Debt free and proud of it....
Yeah you are right we should not let company to control us either we should be in control. Secondly, the wonder is that you new account was zero. And late after they sent you at home... thanks for sharing.
Living debt free is a beautiful thing.
I completely agree. My parents have tried to fight me on this, saying I should build good credit so that banks will consider loaning to me. Somehow it’s ok to let a bank own your life but it’s not ok to busk on the street and accept kindness from strangers? Pop logic is strange...
Don't fall for it! (it's a trap)
Surely the day was very happy for you. You did not even know that it would be available
Wise words to live by....this is one of my goals for 2018 :) Thanks for the encouragement!
Good post, I've never liked debt either!
Debt is one of the primary mechanisms whereby the wealthy (by virtue of receiving interest) tie the non-wealthy into dependency.
In the UK I calculated a while ago that the average income earner (median income) in the UK with an average mortgage would spend nine years of their working lives paying off the interest, that's just the interest on that mortgage.
HOWEVER, much to my surprise what I found was it wasn't the high property prices, or the cost of the interest per se that performs what I, following J.L Fisker call the 'lock-in'.
Rather it's just having an ordinary level of consumption by UK standards - owning a car (costs 4 years for example), convenience foods, holidays, all this results in the average person only being able to afford about £600/ month towards their mortgage, which locks them into a 25 year debt cycle.
If you cut your expenditure, you can overpay the mortgage and escape the 'death tie' before you actually die!
NB - here in the UK there's very limited opportunity to escape high mortgages which are the main cause of our debt given the fact that most of the land's owned by the Queen or James Dyson*. There's not a lot left over for us plebs.
Being locked into debt is, unfortunately a deeply embedded structural feature of the UK physical economy. It takes an enormous effort of will, planning, saving, co-operation and luck to escape it!
*Of Dyson 'hoovers' - the patriot who moved his manufacturing base to China because the labour costs in South Wales were too high.
9 years just for the house interest? Ouch!
That's life in the UK for you!
This is brilliant Papa-p! We are like brothers from another mother! Except you got all the cool skills and I just know how to rearrange numbers on a computer screen. I love this way of thinking . No one should be a debt slave.
Your admonition not to waste time online is yielding many good results. Bills are no longer as much problems as it were before. Thanks
Yay! I wish that someday soon I can call ourselves debt-free too.
Very inspiring as usual, @papa-pepper!
No use for paying interest for things that you can't afford.
I also have a credit card but I always pay my bill in time to avoid any interest...
When a person sets some ground rules for the credit card use, then its beneficial but if one can't control his/her card spending , there is a fat chance that he/she will end up paying more!!!Well said @papa-pepper...
Such a rare and awesome occurance! Now we're curious as to which crypto you are going to buy with it....hmmm :D
absolutely right @papa-pepper it's a wise decision to cut your coat according to your cloth. After dealing with credit card you learn that these company are making a lot of profit from your pocket. It only make your life more tense if you can't pay back in time. Nice sharing
Yeah my wife and I only uses the credit card for things like bills and such and then at the end of the year use the points to purchase Christmas presents for those that we know.
Very inspiring to see you living this way.. you’re right. People don’t look at what they can afford, just what payments they can afford and it traps us. We don’t carry much debt but I would love to get to where you are and have none at all.
I hope that you can get there. At least you realize being debt free is an option !
We are older and it is my goal to become debt free this year...or at least a big part of it. One of my motivations on Steemit. It always seems when we save some money and then a major problem arises and sucks it dry. It seems like a never ending vicious circle...problem after problem. I have had enough. Time to take the lead.
A vicious cycle indeed. Best wishes as you aim for your goal!
Way to go! I don't go as far as you (student loans are worth the investment, in my opinion) but generally I think staying out of debt is the best thing we can do for ourselves :).
ha ha this is the bitter truth sir..but we all are victims of it..this is the system that we should change but we fail to change..anyway thanks for sharing this news
I completely agree @papa-pepper and my husband and I have tried to live by the same rule. The worst is gathering debt that your children would inherit. Our goal is to leave them with something tangible- good health and a working homestead! Very inspired by your posts. Im new here to Steemit and will be following you. My blog is @schoonercreek and I will be rambling about homesteading, nature, health, and more as well as offering some DIY How-To's to the community!
That is great advice @pappa pepper. Advise I am still learning the hard way, paying for poor choices when I was younger.
:) He is not really telling the whole story. He never wanted to play the credit game, I got sucked in.
Now don't spend all that loot in one place! I am surprised they sent you a cheque. I figure that with the cost of the employee to figure out what they have to do, perhaps involve the supervisor, Go to the bank and get the cheque book (you see any of these critters floating around? Not many here) then check with accounting department to see if it for real, take the cheque to the printer and find an envelop plus the postage. And let's not for get the office boy who needs to run the letter down to the post office. Don't forget the bank charges for writing that cheque too. So by now your refund of $30.21 has cost the credit card company at least $15.00 so the total they lost (beside you not racking up interest) is $45.21!
Great advice @papa-peeper ! To late for me though lol! Thanks For sharing ! Wishing you and your family all the best in the New Year 2018 !! 🎉🎉🎉🙋
Just saying, not everyone has the money to buy those two things with cash.
I stay positive and say : "One day" but at least no credit cards for now :)Excellent article @pappa-pepper , I'm also on my way of no credit cards, although it is difficult not to have debt when buying a house or a car.