IT'S ONLY MONEY

A newspaper article reported that consumers could be in debt from purchases made during the holidays in an average of $1,000 per family. At 19% or 21% periodic finance charges, that would amount to approximately $45 per month if the person remits only the minimum payment required. These minimum payments of $15 or $20 are tempting as a quick and easy solution when the person has other essential bills to take care of.

I am not against the usage of credit cards. I appreciate the convenience the service offers. In September when we had the sewer back-up problem and had to enlist the service of Rescue Rooter, we were able to pay with Discover Card instead of running to the ATM machine to withdraw cash at midnight. My husband puts his Discover Card (DC) to use as often as possible at places that would accept DC. Currently I carry three cards and rotate the cards when making purchases as I try to accumulate enough points for rewards.

A few months ago I was lured into signing up for a MasterCard with Barnes & Noble (B&N) by the promise of a $50 Gift Card after the first qualifying purchase. B&N MasterCard offers one reward point for every dollar purchase and for every 2,500 points, I will automically receive a $25 B&N Gift Card.

Earlier this year, I was sweet-talked by a sales person at Target to sign up for their Visa card. I do my shopping for household items such as detergent, shampoos, toothpaste etc. at a local Target store. That particular month my total at checkout was almost $250. I was offered a 10% off (=$25) the total purchase if I agreed to fill out an application for Target Visa. The incentive for this card is that I will earn one point for every $1 spend at Target and one point for every $2 spend elsewhere. When I accumulate 1,000 points (equal $1,000+ in spending), I will automatically receive a Rewards certificate good for 10% off a full day of shopping at Target.

Over the years, I have different cards during stages of my life. When I was young and foolish, I was willing to pay $150 annual fees to carry the Gold American Express (AE) card. I fooled myself by believing that the AE card was proof of my social status and that I was an important person. My other cards were from Citibank, department stores such as Bloomingdale's, Steinbach, Fashion Bug and a few others that no longer in business.

In 1995, my husband and I attended our first Notre Dame (ND) football game. As we walked around the campus, on impulse, we signed up for a ND Visa card. As a joke, I put down that I was unemployed (I was a graduate student at Saint Louis University) and that I have zero in my bank account. The next month, I received the Visa card. The reason must be that I had good credit records and the company was willing to take the risk.

There are many offers such as $25 Starbuck gift card from Chase Visa, $50 gift cards from Citibank or 25% off from department stores for purchases over $500. Advertisements from this weekend's newspaper showing purchases of furnitures or appliances could be deferred until January 2008 with 0% interests. These are offers that are very hard to refuse! The moral story is it's only money, and money will not buy happiness unless it is someone else's money and you don't have to pay for the purchases!