Tough Lessons, Real Consequences (Credit Cards in general)

Member Name: ft934

Product:	Credit Cards in general
Date:	16/07/01 (38 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: ease of use, helps get airline, hotel, and car reservations

Disadvantages: can become overwhelming, too easy to get too much credit, hard to stop using once you're addicted

When my wife (who was a girlfriend at the time) and I were going to college, we had no real income of our own and no support from our parents. However, as university students, we had many offers from banks to receive credit cards. We got applications in the mail at our dorms. There were tables manned by banks at the student center. Needless to say, we managed to open over fifteen credit card accounts over a period of three years. When I was forced to move out of the dorms into an apartment, my wife-to-be moved with me, and we survived by charging everything from groceries to our nights on the town.

We were very careless and naive, but we hardly knew better. Credit cards are easy to use and forget. It took some time for the payments to become too much to handle. I eventually had to drop out of school and get a job just to start making money to meet the minimums. After my wife graduated, and we decided to buy a house, we knew it was time to stop the damage before it went any further.

We transferred all of the debt into her name so my credit would be good enough to buy a house. We contacted a Credit Counseling Service to help us with the credit cards. They negotiated with the banks to drop our interest rates (most of them down to 0%) and set up a single monthly payment that would be deducted automatically from our checking account. All the accounts were made inactive, and we cut all the cards in half.

That was three years ago. The staggering sum that we had built up has been cut by two-thirds. We've paid off more than half of the cards and have never missed a payment. Of course, after spending freely, it was very hard to pay cash for everything. Many sacrifices were made. Although, in reality, the sacrifices should have been made while we were in college. They had to be made, but we just delayed them.

When you're young and need instant gratification, it's hard to turn down what seems like free money. Cr
edit cards can be a habit-forming crutch for young members of the World of Life. However, it can be hard to see the consequences of this dependence. Luckily, we found out before it was too late. I'm quite proud that we were disciplined enough to do what needed to be done. We didn't declare bankruptcy even though we seriously considered it. We did the responsible thing.

For some people, it may not be possible. I hope that parents teach their children about debt, credit cards, and financial responsiblity. In today's world, there are too many people willing to give out too much credit. It's hard to resist, and it can be as addictive and destructive as drugs or alcohol.

When we're all paid at the end of next year, we probably will get another credit card. It's very hard to get by without one in some circumstances. It's almost impossible to get airline tickets, hotel reservations, or car rentals without one. We do have a Visa that's tied to our checking account, but you need to have money in there for it to work. So, yes, we will have to get one. But we've learned our lesson. It's hard to go through what we have and not learn anything.

Please, be responsible and cautious. If you have kids, teach them the ins and outs of the whole business. If you've got problems yourself, I recommend checking out a Credit Counseling Service. It'll be hard work digging yourself out the hole, but you'll feel much better when you do. We already feel a freer and more independent than we have in a long time.

Good luck and safe spending!

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