“Credit cards are evil.” “Credit cards are a trap, causing millions of Americans to become burdened with debt that they will never be able to pay.” “Congress should start to investigate credit card companies and should limit the amount of interest they can charge.” “As soon as I pay off these cards, I am going to cut them up and never use another credit card again.” These are just some of the opinions that a majority of us feel about credit cards. We enjoy the spending power that they give us but resent everything else about them. Don’t take my word for it, perform a Google search on “evil credit cards” and look at the 8 million results.
But are we right in dismissing credits cards as something we need to remove from our lives? Let us return to this question later.
Instead of thinking about all the damage credit cards can do to your personal finances, I would urge you to think about how you can damage the credit card companies profit statements. That’s right, I think we all need to start thinking about credit cards as a zero-sum game. Either you will become yet another victim of the credit card companies by paying interest and late fees, or you will take them to the cleaners by always paying your balance in full and take full advantage of any points, cash back, or first day discounts they offer. If we get our competitive juices flowing and think about every credit card purchase as a battle, I believe we will be much more likely to emerge victorious. For a real good time, track how much money you make from those credit card companies every month and every year.
Yes, the millions of people in credit card debt are giving me dirty looks through their monitors right now. Here is some idiot telling me how to win a game that I have already lost. Of course, unless you have an uncle named Doc Brown, you can not change the past and erase your debt. Furthermore, you are not dumb nor should you feel ashamed that you lost round one. However, starting today, you can play the credit card game differently. Consider it as starting you payback tour against the credit card companies.
So don’t cut up those cards just yet. Don’t be afraid to open up a new card in a store to get that first day discount. Just remember that it’s all a game. There will be one winner and one loser.
Which one will you be?
This post was featured in the 19th Money Hacks Carnival hosted at the Money Hackers Network. Click here to check it out.
Nice story!
I have to say i have never been one for credit cards! being a woman its probably not the best idea for me to get one all those shops you can visit it must be so easy to rack up a debt on them, so far I have avoided getting one, have no intention of getting one either!
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Credit card debt is a problem for many people and is a major contributor to personal debt. Funding your lifestyle with a credit card is easy but the hard part is paying it off and clearing the debt.
Kevin, I liked your take on this – make credit cards a game, and WIN by paying every month in full and taking them too the cleaners! There are a few things credit card companies could do that even a pro-credit card blogger like me think are “evil” like universal default, but like you said, we need to pay them off in full, and at least we won’t have to do with a problem like this if we do that. We’re no longer hostages to the credit card companies, now they’re hostages to us!
If used correctly, credit cards can be a great tool to build one’s credit. However few people do this. I have never been a huge credit card fan myself, as it can cause you to live outside of your means.
Credit cards are our life saver in terms or emergency spending or when we don’t have enough cash to pay for our purchases. But just make sure that you have to pay on time to avoid higher interest rates.
Thats really nice piece of information. As girl i never thought it can be handy for me. but there r so many opportunity in credit cards. now i think it really worth having a credit cards. Thanks for sharing this with us.
The credit cards aren´t the evil. The evil are, the malls, the alcohol and the luxuries.
That main thing is we should never misuse of credit card. We always try to use credit card according to our requirement.
Well your all crazy I’m only 5,000 in debt now and I plan on getting more debt by the end of 2010. Because I say forget about it, the banks stole our money numerous times and well now I will be stealing as much of theirs as their willing to give me.
LOL! I think that the reason why credit cards are getting such a bad rap is that nobody is willing to admit that they are financially irresponsible. Hence blame the credit card!
Having credit card is very useful, if we don’t have cash or saving, we can rely onto it. But, having credit card will make you worried. If if you think you need to avail credit card for deep reason, then go ahead.