financially onward and upward

[dchenes]

I paid bills this morning, and discovered that yes, Virginia, I really can pay off the credit card in six months and still be solvent. That's a very happy thing. I'm perfectly capable of wanting things and saying "no, I can't afford that" and not buying them until I can afford them. The fun part is that the "until I can afford them" period has been getting shorter.

I think that most of what I don't understand about The American Public and money is how it can spend money it hasn't got on things it truly doesn't need, when it knows it hasn't got the money and doesn't expect it's going to get it. And then it's shocked and dismayed when it has to pay for things anyway. (And no, I am not referring to the military budget. I'm referring to the public that goes out and buys the newest thing just because it's new, and then goes home and watches reality TV all night and sees a zillion commercials for a newer new thing and then goes out and buys that too.)

I have no idea what my credit score is. Moreover, I don't care what my credit score is. I care about being able to pay bills, and I do that.

Comments

credit cards = free, right?

[happyfunpaul.livejournal.com]

Some time ago, I was similarly shocked to realize just how many people my age (mid-20s, at the time) carried Permanent Floating Debt, not in a calculated or intentional way but simply because of what you mention above. (Previously I would've guessed it was some small percentage of folks, perhaps 10% or 15%, when in fact it was a majority.)

I eventually realized that most people just don't think of money the same way I do, as something to be kept track of. Credit cards for me are "convenience to be kept track of", and in a pinch "emergency high-interest loan without need to wait for approval". Credit cards for most people are "free money". Period. They don't think in terms of "can I afford this?" or "what is my balance?", they think in terms of "do I deserve this?" (and the answer is usually "yes").

As they get older, and they acquire negative experiences financially (once Daddy stops bailing them out, in some cases), many of those people seem to have gotten better at intuiting what they can and can't afford. And they may acquire "better" debt, like buying a house. But few ever adopt a habit of actually calculating finances.

Re: credit cards = free, right?

[enochs-fable.livejournal.com]

I'm like you, in that it's really hard for me to conceive of a mindset that considers credit cards free money. I use credit cards freely - but I never carry a balance. Ever.

dchenes, you know you can get your scores for free, once a year? here