News item: too close to home!
Nearly half of Canadians within $200 of insolvency
Man, this article hits close to home.
Financially, I'm doing better than I was a couple years ago, but that is primarily because my son got a most excellent job and now contributes monthly to the household expenses. It makes a HUGE difference. I was able to pay off one credit card and mostly pay off a second. I'm making a serious dent in the last one, and most important, no longer owe anything on those crazy high interest department store cards (Best Buy, Rona, The Bay).
You know what's really crazy? The closer I get to paying things off, the more online ads, paper letters and phone calls I get from the various companies, telling me they want raise my credit limit for greater financial security and flexibility.
*blink*
Wait. What they really mean is I've been paying down my bills, and soon I will no longer be one of their cash cows, so could I please do something crazy extravegant and spend so far beyond my means that it will take me years to pay it off and they will make tens of thousands of dollars in interest charges on me.
Like I have in the past.
I once tried to figure out how much I'd paid in interest charges, and had to stop. It was horrific.
So, bottom line. At the highest level, credit card companies don't give a rats ass if you end up destitue. They don't care if you have spending addictions or gambling addictions or self control issues. They just want to give you more and more rope so they can strangle you in debt forever.
I am not going to let them suck me in. Seriously! Why the hell would I need a 10K credit limit on my card? That is like an open invitation to my financial ruin!
This entry was originally posted at https://shaddyr.dreamwidth.org/429804.html. Please comment wherever you want.
Man, this article hits close to home.
Financially, I'm doing better than I was a couple years ago, but that is primarily because my son got a most excellent job and now contributes monthly to the household expenses. It makes a HUGE difference. I was able to pay off one credit card and mostly pay off a second. I'm making a serious dent in the last one, and most important, no longer owe anything on those crazy high interest department store cards (Best Buy, Rona, The Bay).
You know what's really crazy? The closer I get to paying things off, the more online ads, paper letters and phone calls I get from the various companies, telling me they want raise my credit limit for greater financial security and flexibility.
*blink*
Wait. What they really mean is I've been paying down my bills, and soon I will no longer be one of their cash cows, so could I please do something crazy extravegant and spend so far beyond my means that it will take me years to pay it off and they will make tens of thousands of dollars in interest charges on me.
Like I have in the past.
I once tried to figure out how much I'd paid in interest charges, and had to stop. It was horrific.
So, bottom line. At the highest level, credit card companies don't give a rats ass if you end up destitue. They don't care if you have spending addictions or gambling addictions or self control issues. They just want to give you more and more rope so they can strangle you in debt forever.
I am not going to let them suck me in. Seriously! Why the hell would I need a 10K credit limit on my card? That is like an open invitation to my financial ruin!
This entry was originally posted at https://shaddyr.dreamwidth.org/429804.html. Please comment wherever you want.