Here we go again. I wrote the epistole for this date and it locked up my web site and disappeared in to the writers abyss. So I am going to do it again. Margaret pulled me to safety.
I have a mental agenda that I have been following and I hate to deviate but what the hell, a one time rant won't hurt.
I previously idenitfied car salesmen as bottom dwelling scum suckers. They were in the company of real estate and insurance sales people and graphic designers. Just kidding about graphic designers. I wanted to see if you were reading carefully. The worst bottom dwelling scum suckers are the FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS THAT OFFER CREDIT CARDS.
Every household gets offered 50 credit cards per year. It seems like more. 73% of all households hold credit cards. 65% of all credit cards are on a revolving balance (they don't pay them off monthly). AND the average household has 7-8 different cards. That last statistic just blows my mind.
Okay, okay, okay, here is how it works. Some smiling BANK or FINANCIAL INSTITUTION lets you know that you are elgible for $3000 credit, no questions asked. You respond and say ME? Sure enough in the mail, you get a personalized card and 10 pages of terms and conditions. They care about YOU.
And then you use it. Amazingly the balance is beyond what you can pay. So you pay the minimum. You also pay up to 28% interest charges. You pay late fees and penalties and if you read the fine print, they can take you first born. The real bottom dwelling scum sucking people have showed up. Wait a minute. That almost sounds like a car salesman.
ANDREWS RULES (the first one will surprise you):
1. NEVER CARRY MORE THAN 2 CREDIT CARDS. Notice I did not say
destroy all cards. They are convenient and if paid on time,
they let you use your money for up to 50 days.
2. DON'T USE CARDS IF YOU CAN'T PAY IN FULL when due.
3. The corollary to paying in full is NEVER, EVER PAY INTEREST ON
A CREDIT CARD. Charging up to 28% interest to use the card
along with penalities and other hidden fees is insane.
You are all looking for the magic key to getting rich. I just gave you a key. Paying charges on any credit card is not the way to do it. You can't earn 28% on your money so why should you pay the bank that much. The Bank pays you 1-2% on your savings account. Why can they earn 28% and you earn 2%? So the next time you are offered a credit card by a nice loving company (they live on the bottom sucking scum), say no thanks just like you did to the car salesman.
There I feel better. I finished my rant. I use credit cards. Your mother uses credit cards. WE DON'T PAY INTEREST CHARGES.
So for those of you out there that think I don't know what it is like to live moment to moment, you are wrong. How often have you heard "I don't know how I would have survived with my cards". You didn't survive. You were being pulled into a financial quagmire.
I'm waiting for someone to argue with me. This is open forum!
Dad (Just Chas.)