Wednesday, December 20, 2006
The not so tender trap
Credit card debt. Those three little words say volumes. Breathes there a man...or a woman...in this country who has not succumbed to the lure of 'buy now, pay later' he or she has not crossed my path. One of the great mysteries of life is the speed in which a few harmless expenditures can catapult into what seems like a rival to the national debt. In my latest attempt to curb my 'addiction,' I sat down and did some calculating to determine the length of time it would take me to pay off my debt.
The results were not only informative, they were horrifyingly so. Don't ever do this math unless you're in the best of health and not prone to manic-depressive episodes. Considering my present age and making regular minimum monthly payments, I should be debt free by the time I reach my two hundred and thirtieth birthday. I don't feel that at this time, such a goal is reachable. There's hardly a day goes by that there aren't invitations in the mail box to get on board with more credit cards and the folks that offer them don't care how old you are or how bad your credit is. They just love every mothers son and daughter of us. At those interest rates, can you blame them? The only satisfaction to be had here is that you know that you are not alone. I only wish that I was young enough to be around when they colonize Mars. Surely they wouldn't follow me there.
George Morin
Auburn, Ga.
The results were not only informative, they were horrifyingly so. Don't ever do this math unless you're in the best of health and not prone to manic-depressive episodes. Considering my present age and making regular minimum monthly payments, I should be debt free by the time I reach my two hundred and thirtieth birthday. I don't feel that at this time, such a goal is reachable. There's hardly a day goes by that there aren't invitations in the mail box to get on board with more credit cards and the folks that offer them don't care how old you are or how bad your credit is. They just love every mothers son and daughter of us. At those interest rates, can you blame them? The only satisfaction to be had here is that you know that you are not alone. I only wish that I was young enough to be around when they colonize Mars. Surely they wouldn't follow me there.
George Morin
Auburn, Ga.
