Comments on: My War On Debt: A Faulty Premise http://www.minthegap.com/2007/03/05/my-war-on-debt-a-faulty-premise/ Standing in the Gap in a Society that's Warring with God. Wed, 25 Jan 2012 19:17:43 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: MInTheGap http://www.minthegap.com/2007/03/05/my-war-on-debt-a-faulty-premise/comment-page-1/#comment-72538 MInTheGap Thu, 31 May 2007 14:14:33 +0000 http://www.minthegap.com/2007/03/05/my-war-on-debt-a-faulty-premise/#comment-72538 That's the message that everyone is given-- "Why put off until tomorrow what you could be using today. You can afford it!" And credit is easy to get! I have the same struggles that you have with budgeting after the fact, though, so you're not alone. It takes a lot of discipline. It really is a training issue. That’s the message that everyone is given– “Why put off until tomorrow what you could be using today. You can afford it!” And credit is easy to get!

I have the same struggles that you have with budgeting after the fact, though, so you’re not alone. It takes a lot of discipline. It really is a training issue.

]]> By: Rob in Madrid http://www.minthegap.com/2007/03/05/my-war-on-debt-a-faulty-premise/comment-page-1/#comment-72530 Rob in Madrid Thu, 31 May 2007 08:10:04 +0000 http://www.minthegap.com/2007/03/05/my-war-on-debt-a-faulty-premise/#comment-72530 What I was taught here was that debt was a reasonable way to get something that I wanted right now and not have to wait and save. Never thought of it that way very well put! My wife and I are doing something we've never done before, saving up cash for our flights home this fall. Always worked it in the budget but after the fact never before. What I was taught here was that debt was a reasonable way to get something that I wanted right now and not have to wait and save.

Never thought of it that way very well put!

My wife and I are doing something we’ve never done before, saving up cash for our flights home this fall. Always worked it in the budget but after the fact never before.

]]> By: MInTheGap http://www.minthegap.com/2007/03/05/my-war-on-debt-a-faulty-premise/comment-page-1/#comment-66912 MInTheGap Wed, 28 Mar 2007 12:55:58 +0000 http://www.minthegap.com/2007/03/05/my-war-on-debt-a-faulty-premise/#comment-66912 Though I never had to get paid in cash for working ( I got the check, deposited the check... ), I was much like you in card usage, Ann. Believe it or not, I was working before debit cards too, and so I would pay for anything I wanted to buy with a credit card and repay the balance with a check. I rarely had cash. When I got married, we got debit card technology, and it was nice to have the automatic transaction detail I could use with Quicken, and I had a line of credit on the account so I didn't bounce. What I found was that we could justify eating into anything we were saving, or even hitting the line of credit because we knew it was there, didn't know how close we were to it, and there was no real tangible reminder of what the balance was. Now that we've switched to taking out some cash (groceries, household items, fuel (gas, petrol, whatever), gifts, baby, childcare-- things where we have budgeted and want to have a hard limit) we can tell at a glance how much we have spent on how much we have left. It's like the kid going to summer camp. They know exactly what they have, and spend no more than that. I can only speak for myself, but if I have a card with imaginary digits that I can't remember the exact current status I'm tempted to go beyond the budget, but if I have cash in hand and know that "it's all I have" then I'm forced to live within the budget. Though I never had to get paid in cash for working ( I got the check, deposited the check… ), I was much like you in card usage, Ann. Believe it or not, I was working before debit cards too, and so I would pay for anything I wanted to buy with a credit card and repay the balance with a check. I rarely had cash.

When I got married, we got debit card technology, and it was nice to have the automatic transaction detail I could use with Quicken, and I had a line of credit on the account so I didn’t bounce.

What I found was that we could justify eating into anything we were saving, or even hitting the line of credit because we knew it was there, didn’t know how close we were to it, and there was no real tangible reminder of what the balance was.

Now that we’ve switched to taking out some cash (groceries, household items, fuel (gas, petrol, whatever), gifts, baby, childcare– things where we have budgeted and want to have a hard limit) we can tell at a glance how much we have spent on how much we have left. It’s like the kid going to summer camp. They know exactly what they have, and spend no more than that.

I can only speak for myself, but if I have a card with imaginary digits that I can’t remember the exact current status I’m tempted to go beyond the budget, but if I have cash in hand and know that “it’s all I have” then I’m forced to live within the budget.

]]> By: Stephen Kingston http://www.minthegap.com/2007/03/05/my-war-on-debt-a-faulty-premise/comment-page-1/#comment-66903 Stephen Kingston Wed, 28 Mar 2007 09:18:14 +0000 http://www.minthegap.com/2007/03/05/my-war-on-debt-a-faulty-premise/#comment-66903 Deborah, Well the chip is on the card at the moment, but RFID - perhaps on the right hand... that would be so convenient :whistle: Deborah,

Well the chip is on the card at the moment, but RFID – perhaps on the right hand… that would be so convenient :whistle:

]]> By: ann_in_grace http://www.minthegap.com/2007/03/05/my-war-on-debt-a-faulty-premise/comment-page-1/#comment-66901 ann_in_grace Wed, 28 Mar 2007 08:55:58 +0000 http://www.minthegap.com/2007/03/05/my-war-on-debt-a-faulty-premise/#comment-66901 Talking about "colors": there is a commercial on Swedish TV, about money feeling good in one of the banks, and the way it is made is very cute: the portraits of the people on the banknotes becoming alive, and thriving while riding a horse, bathing, walking, eating, etc. Well, it is cute and scary at the same time: money becomes personified, it is no longer a means, but it becomes a tangible goal, now in an actual human form. I do not know why, but I really felt the message of this commercial like no other. Talking about “colors”: there is a commercial on Swedish TV, about money feeling good in one of the banks, and the way it is made is very cute: the portraits of the people on the banknotes becoming alive, and thriving while riding a horse, bathing, walking, eating, etc.
Well, it is cute and scary at the same time: money becomes personified, it is no longer a means, but it becomes a tangible goal, now in an actual human form. I do not know why, but I really felt the message of this commercial like no other.

]]> By: Stephen Kingston http://www.minthegap.com/2007/03/05/my-war-on-debt-a-faulty-premise/comment-page-1/#comment-66900 Stephen Kingston Wed, 28 Mar 2007 08:45:27 +0000 http://www.minthegap.com/2007/03/05/my-war-on-debt-a-faulty-premise/#comment-66900 And the good thing about not carrying much cash is that when your 3 year old daughter runs up to you, sticks her hand in your pocket and says "give me your monies"(!) you can make sure that all she gets (and consequently loses) is a few pence rather than 10 pounds. (Okay, for most of you reading this, I realise you don't use a nice colourful currency - just read "dollars" for "pounds", but imagine more interesting colours and pictures to a 3 year old mind!) And the good thing about not carrying much cash is that when your 3 year old daughter runs up to you, sticks her hand in your pocket and says “give me your monies”(!) you can make sure that all she gets (and consequently loses) is a few pence rather than 10 pounds.

(Okay, for most of you reading this, I realise you don’t use a nice colourful currency – just read “dollars” for “pounds”, but imagine more interesting colours and pictures to a 3 year old mind!)

]]> By: ann_in_grace http://www.minthegap.com/2007/03/05/my-war-on-debt-a-faulty-premise/comment-page-1/#comment-66898 ann_in_grace Wed, 28 Mar 2007 07:14:39 +0000 http://www.minthegap.com/2007/03/05/my-war-on-debt-a-faulty-premise/#comment-66898 Cash... When I got my first job, back in 1984 (yeah, I know it was before the Flood), in Poland, we had to stand in line in front of a tiny window in order to get our salaries in cash, in hand. I hated the procedure, it was so disrespectful. Later on they modernized the system and put the money into our accounts, but then I had to either write cheques in the shops, or go to my bank to get my money (no money machines back then in the streets). It was tedious. So the first thing moneywise I did after moving to Sweden was to get a debit card, just to be able to take my money in the ATM in the street. It was so much easier. And later on, I got Visa to my account, and now I rarely have cash in my pocket anymore. I am all for living debt-free, but cash-free as well. Cash…
When I got my first job, back in 1984 (yeah, I know it was before the Flood), in Poland, we had to stand in line in front of a tiny window in order to get our salaries in cash, in hand. I hated the procedure, it was so disrespectful. Later on they modernized the system and put the money into our accounts, but then I had to either write cheques in the shops, or go to my bank to get my money (no money machines back then in the streets). It was tedious.
So the first thing moneywise I did after moving to Sweden was to get a debit card, just to be able to take my money in the ATM in the street. It was so much easier. And later on, I got Visa to my account, and now I rarely have cash in my pocket anymore.
I am all for living debt-free, but cash-free as well.

]]> By: Deborah http://www.minthegap.com/2007/03/05/my-war-on-debt-a-faulty-premise/comment-page-1/#comment-66886 Deborah Tue, 27 Mar 2007 22:50:48 +0000 http://www.minthegap.com/2007/03/05/my-war-on-debt-a-faulty-premise/#comment-66886 Good point, MIN! But that is the line that all credit companies, etc. give you. Stephen...so last century...I'm thinking of getting the computer chip imbedded in my forehead...how about you?! :silly: Good point, MIN! But that is the line that all credit companies, etc. give you.

Stephen…so last century…I’m thinking of getting the computer chip imbedded in my forehead…how about you?! :silly:

]]> By: MInTheGap http://www.minthegap.com/2007/03/05/my-war-on-debt-a-faulty-premise/comment-page-1/#comment-66879 MInTheGap Tue, 27 Mar 2007 21:51:45 +0000 http://www.minthegap.com/2007/03/05/my-war-on-debt-a-faulty-premise/#comment-66879 Just don't keep it in a mayonnaise jar, Stephen. :biggrin: The amazing thing is that there's <i>no reason that you have to have a credit history</i>. You can even get a mortgage if you show that you've paid your rent on time and that you have good testimony. Not that you couldn't pay 100% on a house! So, there's really no good reason to have a credit card or any kind of debt device around your house. Just don’t keep it in a mayonnaise jar, Stephen. :biggrin:

The amazing thing is that there’s no reason that you have to have a credit history. You can even get a mortgage if you show that you’ve paid your rent on time and that you have good testimony. Not that you couldn’t pay 100% on a house!

So, there’s really no good reason to have a credit card or any kind of debt device around your house.

]]> By: Mary http://www.minthegap.com/2007/03/05/my-war-on-debt-a-faulty-premise/comment-page-1/#comment-66878 Mary Tue, 27 Mar 2007 21:43:23 +0000 http://www.minthegap.com/2007/03/05/my-war-on-debt-a-faulty-premise/#comment-66878 Dh and I never used credit cards...I mean for YEARS we paid cash till we realized we had no credit history except with what our bank loans gave us. We now have three that we've only used sparingly on low cost purchases and paid off right away. We both are scared of debt. Our families learned the hard way while we were kids, and thus the reluctance to even own a credit card. Dh and I never used credit cards…I mean for YEARS we paid cash till we realized we had no credit history except with what our bank loans gave us. We now have three that we’ve only used sparingly on low cost purchases and paid off right away.

We both are scared of debt. Our families learned the hard way while we were kids, and thus the reluctance to even own a credit card.

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