Dont Trade Your Future for Todays DooDads

"Easy Low Down Monthly Payment," "Buy Now Pay Later," "You Deserve the Car Today and We Can Finance It for You," & "Spend Today, 0% APR until Next Year!" We see those statements above every where today, on TV commercials, car dealership, banks and magazines. Those statements have put a lot of people into a financial disaster, because the statements make a lot of people believe that acquiring bad debts is an ok thing to do.

One of the main reasons why a person gets into a financial disaster is because he/she can't wait when it comes to buy the things she wants. They keeps buying doodads and liabilities (things that lose values/luxury that goes beyond your current means) because they have no control of their spending habit.

For example, I have a friend who loves to use her credit cards to buy jewelry when she is depressed! Today she has over $20,000 bad debts. Every month, she can only pay off her interests from her credit cards only! Her office looks nice and well decorated but her financial statement looks very grim. She only lives from paycheck to paycheck to pay her debts.

Another example is if you buy a $500 computer with your credit card that has 18% interest, within a year you will pay approximately $300 interest from your card if you only pay the minimum payment every month for 12 months. A $500 computer + $300 interest = $800. So you pay $800 for a $500 computer. That's not very smart move to make. Someone who is smart won't pay $800 for a $500 computer! In a year, that $500 computer won't even sell for $500 anymore on eBay or a garage sale.

A luxury car is another good example, a friend of mine decided to buy a luxury car because he thought he could afford the monthly payment, but what he didn't realize was, a luxury car requires a luxury maintenance cost! It's called the true cost of owning a car! The month payment of a car is not the true cost of owning a car! Go to edmuds.com to find out the actually true maintenance cost of your car. The car that he bought ended up owning him. He had to pay the repair cost, gas, waxing it, cleaning it, and other maintenance fees. Don't even think of owning a luxury car is you can only afford the monthly maintenance.

So this is the wisdom key that I want you to remember "Don't Trade Your Future for Today's Doodads." It's not worth it & wise to buy something that will lose values by using your credit card. Think long term instead of short term. Think of what will happen with your financial future before you buy things on credit. Think of the amount of the interest that you will pay to the credit card company.

The next time you're tempted to buy liabilities or thing that you know that you can't afford yet, wait, take the time to wait! Say this to yourself "I will not trade my future for today's doodads."

Go to www.pebden.com to find more information about financial education products.

Entjik Jeffrie

MORE RESOURCES:

RELATED ARTICLES

Will Inquiries Lower Your Credit Score?
What are inquiries?When you apply for credit the creditor or lender checks your credit report to verify that you qualify for the credit or loan you are applying for. The "inquiry" is then reported to the credit bureaus and shows up on your credit report.

Warning: Todays Non Profit Credit Counselors Are Yesterdays Bill Collectors!
Here's a dirty secret, today's "non profit credit counselors" are often just front organizations paid lucrative commissions by creditors to keep consumers from declaring bankruptcy!In the "debt collection biz", creditors will sell your outstanding debt along with the debt of hundreds of others to a collection agency for cash up front.The collection agencies will work this debt until they've made all the money they can.

The Advantages of Credit Cards
There are many evils associated with credit cards, but there are benefits that are hard to ignore. One benefit is having the credit card company act in your behalf to recover funds from a disputed transaction.

Small Business Credit Cards
So what do you look for when applying for a credit card for your small business? One thing is for sure, wasting money isn't an option because it can make or break your business. Things to look for are low interest rates and good customer service.

The Top 5 Secrets to Managing Your Credit Cards-So They Won't Manage You
You've probably never heard of Frank X. McNamara, but he revolutionized the way you shop on a daily basis.

How Do I Establish A Good Line of Credit?
A line of credit, roughly defined, is the amount of credit that can be given to a borrower from a lender. Usually a contract or note of promissory is exchanged between the two parties, in which both parties agree to the line of credit amount, as well as the annual interest due to the lender at the end of the term.

Beware of Falling Minimum Payments
If you opened a credit card statement recently and were pleasantly surprised to find that your minimum payment due was lowered, don't be so quick to "jump for joy". What may appear as a small boost to your monthly budget is actually the rock that can weigh you down in debt for a lifetime.

5 Ways To Prevent Credit Card Late Fees
Paying a credit card late fee is the same as throwing your money away. Late credit card payments can also hurt your credit score.

Maximizing Credit Card Rewards
In their quest to get you to sign up for their credit card, banks and financial institutions are coming up with more and higher incentives to entice you. Frequent flyer miles gave way to gas miles which opened the door for cash rebates and reward points to be used at 'our fine member merchants'.

What Are the Most Common Ways to Commit Identity Theft or Fraud?
It's the number one source of consumer complaints at the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), and unfortunately, it's one of the simplest crimes to commit. Identity theft involves information from your daily life, from shopping, bill-paying, and even applying for a job.

10 Signs You May Need Credit Counseling
Debt management programs can be of real help for people that discover they cannot face their debts. At first, they will attempt to solve the situation all by themselves by cutting down on spending and keeping a close eye on accounts.

Credit Counseling -- Why It Doesnt Work For Most Debtors
"Cut Your Payments in Half!" the headline screams. "Consolidate Your Bills into One Low Monthly Payment!"When you see ads like this, they are often from Credit Counseling firms.

Rebuild Your Credit the Right Way the First Time
If you are one of the millions of people out there with bad credit you need to step up and start doing something to get yourself back into credits good graces. Having good credit is the only way to assure that you will get the best interest rates on any loans and credit cards that you apply for.

Credit Traps Snag Consumers
Nearly 20 years ago I worked for a small consumer advocacy organization in Washington, DC. Each week we received sacks full of mail from consumers across the country requesting our list of credit cards with low interest rates and no annual fees.

Why Credit Cards are a Bad Idea
Credit cards are just so convenient, aren't they? There's no need to carry any money with you ever again: you can just take one with you to the shop and pay the exact amount just by handing it over. If you haven't been paid yet, then you don't need to worry, because the money will still be there.

Credit Counseling: Could it Work for Me?
In the face of financial hardship, many seeking a responsible solution turn to credit counseling. Credit counseling is, all too often, the last stop before bankruptcy.

Know Your Credit Card Rights
When you apply for a credit card, the application that you sign is also a legally binding contract laying out all the termsbetween you and the bank, such as the interest rate and how its calculated, the grace period, whether there's an annual fee, etc.While you have to agree to the terms and sign if you want the credit card and while the lender will certainly hold you to the terms, the lender doesn't feel similarly committed.

What is a Credit Report?
Ever wondered what is a credit report? If you've ever applied for a credit card, a personal loan, or insurance, there's a file about you. This file is known as your credit report.

Tired Of Being Broke?...Learn How To Force Banks To Give You Money!
Imagine..

Identity Theft Exploding: Here's How You Can Avoid Becoming A Victim
Americans are more concerned about identity theft than unemployment or corporate fraud, according to a survey of 2,000 people conducted by Star Systems.Nine out of ten Americans demand new federal legislation, while two-thirds say the financial services industry needs to do a better job of verifying the identity of customers who open bank accounts (66 percent) and credit card accounts (72 percent).