Op/Ed: Credit Cards Aren't Evil

Credit cards are not the enemy. Credit card companies are not big, evil conglomerates hell bent on world domination and your slow destruction. How do I know this? I work for them and I see everything you are doing!

Okay people, here is the deal. For every single person out there who has a credit card and feels as though Conglomo credit is out to get them, you are probably way off base. I used to think the same as you, and then I went to work for one. Credit cards are not evil. Visa is not the boogeyman hiding in your closet waiting to get you. Odds are, if you are paying a rate that is over 28%, one of two things happened. The first is that you applied for a card without reading the terms and conditions. Now I know what you are going to say, that you aren't a lawyer, and that it is a lot to read, and y'know, who reads that stuff anyways? The people that read that "stuff" are the ones with good credit who genuinely care about the programs and how they work. Credit can be a great thing if you are literate. The terms and conditions are not made to destroy you or work against you, but rather to inform you. If you disagree with the program, don't use it. Please, Puh-LEEZ read your terms and conditions. Know how your cards work. It really isn't rocket science. If you are offered a card with a 28.24% APR, don't take it. This important piece is contained in the terms. Also in the terms is how the card should be paid. This is the minimum payments, finance charges, intro APR periods and any other important pieces of info. I will get to those in a minute though, as we need to hit the second reason. The second reason you are probably paying anything over 18.24% is because you don't pay your bill on time. I hear this all the time. I was travelling (the most popular one), I didn't know it was due, I work too much... the list goes on and on. Here is the deal. If you don't pay your electric bill, what happens? You have no lights. Same with your credit card bill. In that big box in the middle of the bill, it tells you in really big letters the default rates if you are delinquent or over your credit limit twice within a twelve month period. This really isn't complicated, so for the life of me, I will never understand how people fail to grasp this concept. You NEED to pay your bills on TIME. There are so many people out there who simply do not adhere to the billing dates and send their accounts into upheaval when all they have to do is pay their bills on time. Almost every credit card company offers you some form of online payment service, along with a pay by phone, so if you are travelling, and you are a responsible person, you just phone in or log on and pay your bill. "I don't have time for that... I am a busy super (self) important person..." No sir... you do have time for that. You make time for that. Here is the sad part. Credit card companies make everything clear as day in their agreements, yet people still fail to get it right. Companies mail out a physical statement and offer free online reminders, telling you your bill is due on it's due date. People still fail to get it right. So, just like any CONTRACTUAL AGREEMENT, which is exactly what your credit card is, because if you read the bottom of every single receipt you sign when you whip out that magical piece of plastic and say "credit", it says in the same print as the amount "I agree to pay this amount as per my cardmember agreement, the credit card company invokes its default rates. "But that's not fair! You... you can't do this to me just because I am the little guy and you are big bad Conglomo credit... that's... that's unfair! That's... that's... immoral!!! Charging default rates to poor little old me! I didn't do anything wrong. What, because I ran a little late once or twice, you are going to raise my rate to 30.24%?! That;s absurd! No sir, that is not absurd. We gave you the chance to purchase something with a clear agreement that if you failed to pay that item back or make a payment to that item within the allotted time that we CLEARLY made available to you on statements, Internet, text messages and email notifications you would be default. Mind you, it usually takes two or three times of you not following through for your credit card company to react. The moral of the story is this. Credit is not evil. Maybe at one time, things were a little iffy, but things are not like that and they haven't been for about ten to fifteen years. Pay your bills on time, you will have no issues. Hell, if something happens to you, like say you get sick and you can't pay your bill, credit card companies for the most part will look out for you and forgive all past due notices. If you just don't pay your bills on time because, and this was a real excuse "I don't pay bills when I am on vacation", well, you probably aren't going to find that much sympathy. Do yourself a favor. Read your agreement. It takes all of five minutes. Then, sit down, and pay your bills. Pay your bills, and all will be right with the world. Make excuses and you have nobody but yourself to blame for the mess you are in.