Plastic Surgery

My wife wanted plastic surgery, so I cut up her credit cards.

I think we all know the pitfalls of the credit card trap. It seems so cool at first, paying with the card. It's almost like getting things for free, and then the bill arrives.

We nearly keel over from shock. Once we recover, we finally look at the minimum payment and think it's not that bad. We can handle that. Piece of cake. We don't realize that if we only pay the minimum, we'll never pay the stupid card off. Ever. Then we get another one, only to be used in emergencies. Right. Emergencies turn out to be dinner out, gas, groceries, etc.

My father had many credit cards. I mean a lot! His wallet rivaled George Costanza's. I think he made payments on time, but I was never involved. The only thing I remember about the bills at home was the clipboard. That was the system. Every bill that ended up in our mailbox found it's way to the clipboard.

When bill payday came, off he'd go to the kitchen table, his office, and somewhere between all of the cursing and anger, he'd get them paid. While paying them, however, he would fall victim to the mail order flyers they put in with the statements. He was always getting something in the mail. It was yesterday's Amazon.

Since I don't get out much, Amazon is my store of choice. It's much easier to send a gift that way. They deliver right to the recipient home, gift wrapped, and all I had to do was push a button. Same principle. You have to have a payment source of some kind connected to amazon, or it just won't work. If you use your checking account, it's much better. No interest. If you use a credit card, you're back to square one.

Some people have the discipline to pay the balance off each month, but most do not, which is exactly what the credit card company is banking on. In my opinion, they are crooks, preying on the weaknesses of unsuspecting people who have little elsewhere to turn.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I just received an intriguing offer from Capital One.

I'll see you tomorrow.