The single most over-rated “benefit” of credit is that it allows you to have what you want, right when you want it. We live in an “instant” society. We have instant oatmeal, instant pudding, microwave popcorn, always-on internet, universal cellular coverage. We demand, as a society and as individuals, that our wants be met on time, or even better, early. There is a tragic downside to this mentality. Stop, for just one minute, and try to remember the last 5 meals you ate, the last 5 conversations you had, the last 5 emails you answered, the last 5 people you hugged. SEE. We have so much going on, and we demand that so many of the things in our lives be NOW NOW NOW, that we rush through our lives. Knowing that we have this desire for instant gratification, credit companies make borrowing extremely easy. Walk into a store, see what you want, swipe a card, sign your name, and out you go. Bing-Bang-Boom. But, there is a sinister downside to the “convenience.” People are credit-spending themselves into deeper, and deeper financial holes. It’s so EASY to use a credit card. It is painless. I liken using credit cards to eating cotton candy. The next time you are at a state fair, buy a big bundle of cotton candy, and eat it as fast as you can. Trust me, an adult can eat an entire bag of the stuff in less that 15 minutes. Why? Because it FEELS light and airy, easy to swallow. Then, go ride a few rides, wait awhile, walk around a bit. That sinking feeling in the pit of your stomach? That my friends is the cotton candy doing its work. That sicky, sweet, nauseous feeling. It comes from eating too much, too fast, because it was too easy to consume. The same is true with credit. It will make you sick if you do not realize, QUICKLY, that it is extremely easy to over-endulge in its “sweetness.” So, the next time you want to use your credit card…STOP…Put your card back in your pocket, go home, read a book, watch some t.v., wait 24 hours, take a cold shower, take a walk…Now, do you really NEED what you were about to purchase, or did you just WANT it? Huh, huh, huh….well, if you NEED it, go out and earn the money for it. Stop the insanity of feeding your credit card obsessed financial sweet-tooth. Comments welcome…ncnblog
Archive for April, 2005
Posted in 
Visa Extras
April 26th, 2005 
NCN 
Found this neat site: Visa Extras where you earn reward points for using your DEBIT card. The key is to use your debit card LIKE a credit card when you buy something. In other words, use it and sign a paper receipt instead of entering your pin number. Visa has deals with various banks, so check your bank. My current bank, SouthTrust, was purchased by Wachovia, and they both offer this service. It should be FREE. If your bank charges anything for this service, then I would not sign-up.
Ship Shape Shopping
April 25th, 2005 NCN Do you do much shopping online? Of course you do! We’ll here are a few awesome sights that can help you find great deals on great stuff. Try to go to the forums and post deals that you find, in order to help the bargain community out.
- Fatwallet.com: The grand-daddy of them all, with great bargain and finance deals in the forums.
- Dealnews.com: An awesome “tech-centered” site with great deals, categorized and detailed nicely.
- Xpbargains: Another great bargain sight, with an awesome price comparison feature called xpricer.
BOOM!
April 22nd, 2005 NCN Well, our personal finances certainly took a hit this month. With the baby sick, and the wife away from work for a week, we will bring home about 600 dollars less than expected. SOO…The debt reduction plan will have to be adjusted. An interesting side note, however, is that I have found that simply THINKING about saving money seems to produce more money. The more we plan, the more we conserve, the more we budget, the more extra little bits of money seem to show up. We have received gifts, refunds that we had forgotten about, even a check for overpayment for a medical bill from LAST YEAR. We must be doing something right… Any of you ever experienced this FOUND MONEY PHENOMENON?
Quick weight loss update…I have removed the annoying tickertracker thingy from above each posts. I have lost 4 of the 40 pounds I want to lose…10 percent gone. Yay for me. Where’s the cake?
Satellite Radio(s)
April 21st, 2005 NCN I am a big-time satellite radio fan. We live in a rural community, and we do not receive any local talk-radio stations. I LOVE talk radio. My favorite shows are…
- Tony Kornheiser Show: SportsTalk 980 Washinton, DC and XM Channel 152
- Dave Ramsey Show: At his website, on XM, and on Sirius
- Covino and Rich: Maxim Radio 145 on XM
- Mike and Mike in the Morning: Espn Radio on the net, AM stations, XM, and Sirius
- Car Talk: NPR Radio and on Sirius
So, a few years ago I signed up for XM radio. I love it. Then, this past September, I purchased a Sirius receiver for my father-in-law but he was not interested. So, now I have both. They offer just enough different programming that I like having both services. I have a 1 year contract with each of them. I am hoping that they will consolidate before my subscription runs out, and I can have all of the shows I like via one service.
All of this leads to my latest project…I am installing both of the receivers in one car so that I can switch back and forth. This will be a custom install. This is the first time I have ever attempted something like this. Check back in a few days to see picks (hopefully) of my finished project.
Before I go, you might wonder WHY I am posting this here? Well, I have found that I spend less money, and eat less food if I keep my mind and hands occupied with a real, tangible task. This is my task for the next few weeks.
