People that know me know that I have not always been responsible with money (and that’s being really nice about it. I was downright irresponsible with life, bills and finances included. It took a lot of help from family and friends to develop any kind of financial discipline and overcoming the buy-it-now message that is so prevalent in our consumerism oriented world. When credit limits are high and finance charges are in the fine print it is easy to get carried away.
Some people treat credit cards like winning the lottery. A new 5k limit? That’s as good as getting a check in the mail! Let’s see what we can get for it at the mall. With all the online shopping and one-click buying, it’s no wonder the average American with at least one credit card carries about $8000 in debt. There is an entire industry created on repairing credit, and providing “financial counseling.”
What can we do to combat this growing problem of unmanageable consumer debt?
There are mandatory seminars before you take out a student loan. This teaches you the terms and conditions of the loan, what consolidation is and when to do it, defining terms like forebearance. There ought to be a mandatory workshop on responsible credit card use before being issued a card.
Or maybe it’s much simpler than that? Don’t Buy Stuff You Can’t Afford.
