Debt sucks, yet people go into debt like they’re the ones earning the interest!!! Think about it for a moment. Financing purchases means paying interest to a creditor in order to acquire things. Whether it’s buying the latest flat-screen TV or acquiring a vehicle or upgrading one’s wardrobe or taking a vacation, a great many people have no trouble using credit to finance their purchases.
The credit card comes out, the purchase is made! The bother of paying off the debt is pushed aside to a later and more convenient date… Of course, there really is no convenient time to call yourself an idiot for using a credit card at 18.99% interest (or more!) to purchase whatever it was that had to be acquired at that very second. The creditor, whether a bank or another financing company, is always happy to help people scratch their instant gratification itch because the creditor knows who is really earning the interest on each and every one of those transactions.
(If you’re one of those people who saves first, buys with a credit card and pays off the credit card in full every single month, then I’m not talking about you. You’re one of my people and I salute you!)
Why would right-thinking people borrow money at very high interest rates to acquire items that are not necessary to their survival? My personal theory is that people would rather be poor than look poor, so they use credit to go into debt in order to create the illusion that they’re doing quite well financially. A new car every two years – extravagant holidays each year – magnificent home renovations! These are all wonderful things and we’ve been taught by the Ad Man that we will feel better about ourselves and that the world will think better of us if we buy these things because then no one will think that we’re poor. If we buy the stuff that’s being marketed to us, then others will think we have money and that we’re doing well financially. Having the latest and greatest must signal to the world that we’re not poor!!! Psychologically, the Ad Man has perfected a very seductive message. Who doesn’t want others to value them highly? Who truly enjoys feeling bad about themselves? Why wouldn’t a person want to feel good, to be admired? Who wants to be thought of as poor?
Unfortunately, the Creditor stands alongside the Ad Man and offers anyone and everyone the credit needed to finance any and all of the enticing offers put out by the Ad Man. Truth be told, the Ad Man doesn’t care if you finance whatever he’s selling or whether you pay cash for your items. His sole purpose is to sell you dreams packaged as stuff. How you pay for it really isn’t his problem…but he definitely benefits from the presence of the Creditor. And the Creditor’s sole purpose is to earn interest off of your debt. The Creditor doesn’t even care what you buy, so long as you borrow money to do so. It’s a financially destructive combination that traps a great many people!
The unfortunate debtors who succumb to this two-pronged attack fall prey to the highly successful plots of the Ad Man and the Creditor. The Ad Man creates the psychological fear that you might not be as happy as you could be, that others might think you’re poor or they might think badly of you because your whatever-it-is-that-the-Ad-Man-is-selling-right-now isn’t the latest and greatest. You decide to remedy this situation by making the purchase, but you don’t have the cash to do so. However, you’ve decided that you don’t want to live with the psychological fear so you decided to borrow money from the Creditor to fund the whatever-it-is. Whether you know it or not, you’ve made the decision to be poor rather than look poor.
The reality is that people who rely on credit to satisfy their desire to purchase things immediately have agreed to sacrifice their future financial autonomy to the Creditor – in other words, they’ve committed all of their future income to paying for yesterday’s purchases. The Creditor wants loan payments, even if they are only minimum payments. Failure to make the payments means that credit is eventually withdrawn, which means no more money to buy things to satisfy the seductive call of the Ad Man, which means that the psychological fear of being though of as poor stays firmly in place. Sadly, the withdrawal of credit doesn’t mean that the original debt goes away. The interest on that debt steadily and relentlessly grows until it dwarfs the original loan amount. The debt stays in place until it paid or eliminated through bankruptcy.
So what is the remedy, you ask? The solution to this pervasive problem is complicated, but it starts with each person identifying their priorities and figuring out what really makes them happy. Each person has to figure out how to feel good about themselves without going into debt. Could you volunteer with an organization that supports something you believe in? This is a way to feel good about yourself that doesn’t involve borrowing money. If it’s time with family and friends that you crave, is it possible to host a game night at home? What about a movie marathon in the comfort of your own family room? How about a picnic with those whom you love best?
Trust me when I say that there are many, many, many ways to feel good about yourself that don’t involve digging yourself into a pit of debt.