Monday, July 6, 2009

Money

I'm sure everyone is aware that we are in an awful economic crisis. The unemployment rate is at 9.5% and is predicted to be above double digits by the end of the summer.

At a time of economic crisis people begin to worry and the coupon clip, and they try to put more money into savings. The national savings average went up to 5% from almost 0%.

Why am I talking about this? Well, mostly because I need to vent.

It bother's me that so many people have no understanding about what money is. They have little knowledge of how the economy works, and they certainly have no idea how to manage their own family budget without living in credit.

I use a credit card to pay for almost everything. I love credit cards. I get to buy stuff without worrying that I have too much or too little cash in my bag. I get the great rewards from the points I gain with every purchase, and I also have a very easy way to budget my finances. Every month, the credit card company sends me a list of all the purchases I made, and If I overspend (went over my budget), I'll know exactly what to cut out from the next month. I'll also know approximately how much I spent, because since I hardly ever use cash, my cc statement is a very accurate money-journal for me.

Unlike most people who use credit cards, I actually pay off my ENTIRE balance at the end of each month. I have a few credit cards (a main one, a jic one, and a specific store one), and if I used more than one, I pay them ALL off. Why? Because if I can't afford something I just don't buy it! If only more people spent like me.

Everytime I speak to one particular lady I know in my office about credit cards, she always says "you should never use a credit card for the rewards, because thats how they get you in. Use one without the rewards and you'll think twice before making any purchases, because you'll only get the interest rates out of it."

So I told her "I pay off my full balance, every month. The rewards are like free cash."
She goes "No one does that!"
And I go "umm, yea..."

People like this irritate me. This same woman runs around and complains how its hard for her to pay her mortgage. Both she and her husband work. Her kids are grown, both have jobs and are hardly ever home.

Every few days she receives a package from Overstock, or Gap, or Macy's...
She charges those purchases...
She orders take out about 3 times a week for lunch and a few times a week buys already made food for home.

I don't care if people spend money on themselves, and they splurge a little. We're all entitled to some luxury. But if you're pampering yourself at the expense of having to pay high interest on your credit card, "take it like a man" and don't wander around and complain you have no money.

also, another girl at my office. Granted she's single and lives at home, so her life is pretty good, she wastes sooo much money I just want to cry for her when she complains. I feel like making her keep a money journal in which she has to record every expense for a week, and then having her add it up.

Its like "LADY, DO YOU SEE WHAT YOU"RE DOING?!"

I can't help but be bothered by the fact that people waste so much money and then have the audacity to complain about it.

like I said, we're all entitled to luxuries (especially if we work and spending hard earned money on fun things is a relief), but if the luxuries are overdone, its a bit annoying when PEOPLE COMPLAIN!!!

3 comments:

Pays in full said...

DAMN RIGHT.

P.S. Paying your CC balance in full also gets you the monthly float. IOW, you get to earn the interest on the money for the time between your purchase and the CC payment. Combine that with rewards $, and a smart CC user makes out like a bandit. Be smart! If you can't pay in full, DON'T BUY IT.

Originally From Brooklyn said...

AMEN!

Ookamikun said...

Say it sister! Can I hear an AMEN!

I always pay all my credit cards in full. I have one for food shopping which gives me 3%, one for pharmacy, 2%, and one for online stuff with no limit on how much you can redeem per year. Speaking of overstock, I get either 4% or 5% off with the third credit card. Also have an amazon card, 3% and an affiliate account.