If you know it is going to be difficult for you to pay your credit cards off each month, then you need to select option number two. Take out a pair of scissors and cut them up! And then, don’t apply for any more. We get about 50 unsolicited credit card offers every year in the mail.[i] When those offers come, just tear them up.
A good friend of mine is a financial consultant. He had an interesting spin on credit cards that has stuck with me for years. He said, “Ed, you know about the surgeon general’s warning on every pack of cigarettes, right? As far as I’m concerned a similar warning should be required on every credit card issued: “Warning! Overuse can be dangerous to your wealth.”
That is a good warning for all of us. Credit cards, if not used properly, are a danger to you wealth and your family’s future. Don’t let the Plastic People Eaters rob you of your financial freedom. Begin today to take the necessary steps to escape the clutches of the credit card monster. If you don’t, it will eat you alive!
The Media Monster
Another manifestation of the Creature from the Cash Lagoon is the Media Monster. If you’ve ever been to Times Square in New York or have seen it on television, then you can probably picture the mass advertising that is present there. Everywhere you turn in Times Square you see neon lights, ticker tape LCDs, and big screen billboards that broadcast advertisements for every product ranging from shoes to soft drinks, and from clothing to cars. Times Square is the epicenter of commercialism.
What’s the drive behind all of these commercials and advertisements? Why do advertisers expend so much time, energy and money coming up with these creative angles and ideas? They do it for one reason, and one reason only—to get us to spend money. Advertising is all about selling you more stuff you don’t need. And the Media Monster uses our desire for more, more, more to pull us out of the zone and in the Land of Ing.
[i] startribune.com, “The Higher the Credit Limit, the More Americans Spend,” by John Reinan
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