Credit Cards and Window Shopping: Bane of the Debt Problem

The country is increasingly falling into debt every year. What could be the problem? Why does everyone seem to be having debt problems even though everyone works so much? It seems that the reason for that is because it is far too easy to buy stuff nowadays. The way credit works is sneaky, you can buy stuff today that you’ll pay for tomorrow. Because of this, you won’t feel the effect of buying too much until it is too late.

It doesn’t matter how much money you earn, because the temptation of being able to buy will simply make you spend more. And once that happens, getting debt relief can be a painful process (if not done right). The best method is prevention in the first place. Don’t tempt yourself with expensive but pretty toys if you don’t have the money for it right away. If you buy on credit, then you’re doomed to forever have to work for money, just to pay off your debts.

In today’s world, everyone has a credit card. Even teenagers who barely even know how to handle their money yet. The temptation of using credit cards is so appealing and because it doesn’t feel like real cash, it sure feels easy to use it. With cash, you only have so much and you can keep using it till it’s all gone. With credit cards, you can keep using them even though you’ve several hundreds and even thousands in the hole. The only time credit cards don’t work is when you hit your credit limit, which doesn’t happen for a long time. By that point, trying to repay the debt will take longer than it should.

Have you ever calculated interest rates on a credit card? Sometimes the interest rates are crazy, over twenty percent interest and they start charging you the day that you buy something. And if you only pay minimum payments, then you will never get rid of your debt. The effort necessary in order to get out of overwhelming amounts of debt is monstrous. (But still possible, so don’t give up hope) And some of the terms on credit cards are very beneficial to the credit lender but not the credit user. It makes sense just to not use credit cards at all and only buy what you need.

However, why are we tempted by buying so many things that we don’t need? The answer to that is window shopping. Advertisements bombard us everywhere we go, which tempts us to buy things that we never thought we needed before. If you browse a store, problems that you never had before will pop up. It gets worse if the store offers discounts and coupons, as most people are apt to buy even if they’ll never need the item. After all, their justification is that “It’s cheaper.” In the name of savings, they must buy! Perhaps the item is “on sale” and so it is only going to be available for a short time. That’s silly.

Have you ever heard furniture sales commercials? Strangely enough, the stores are always going out of business and have to get rid of their stuff now! Or someone is selling something for the normal price of $1000, but you can buy it at a nice discount, the price only being $100! Oh what savings that you have saved. You have just bought a brand new item for much less then it was worth. It’s called “perceived value.” If someone thinks they are getting a really good deal, they’ll buy more easily. After all, they just saved a lot of money buying.

But how much would you save if you never bought the item at all though? It just doesn’t make sense to buy things just because they are at a discount but then again, people don’t often use logic when window shopping.

If you’re trying to look out for your future, do yourself a favor and don’t window shop. If you do, you’ll start finding things that are “deals” and then you’ll start buying stuff you don’t need. When your money runs out, you’ll start using credit cards until your credit limits are maxed out. And then you’ll really have a debt problem. Learn the difference between good debt and bad debt and don’t use your credit card for things you don’t need.

Don’t even tempt yourself. I don’t doubt your willpower but its human nature to want to buy stuff that is only going to be available for a short time, or its worth much more than its being sold for (it isn’t). If you want to stop having a debt problem, then start taking steps to assure that you don’t have bad habits that force you into debt in the first place. Take control of your life and get out of debt. As stated above, prevention is key.

Posted in Debt Relief