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Judith's Blog |
| "Interview with Robert D. Manning" I just interviewed Dr. Robert Manning, author of CREDIT CARD NATION; but, importantly, he is founder of an organization called Responsible Debt. And in talking to Dr. Manning, who's an economist and sociologist -- kind of a behavioral economist -- I realized that so much of our debt comes from the attitude. How you feel about what you should spend. He brought this up. Like, how do you feel when you use your credit card? What are the thoughts that go through your head? Do you say to yourself, "Ummm, maybe I can't afford it right now, but I'll be okay. By the time I have to pay it, I'll save some money. I'll be okay." Or, I sometimes say, "Oh, I've been working so hard, you know what? I really deserve to treat myself. This is my gift from me and I charge it." Sometimes you see a sale and you say, "Gee if I buy this now, I'll save so much." I learned my lesson there. Somebody once told me -- well not once -- recently told me, "Never buy anything on sale that you wouldn't pay full price for." And that's certainly worth remembering. Sometimes you'll say, "Okay, I have plenty of money left on my credit limit, so I'll do it." Or sometimes you're just disgusted, you've worked hard, you look around and you say to yourself, I mean, what is that idiot doing -- that. He or she can afford those designer clothes and I can't. I'll never have enough money anyway; I might as well just spend it. That cumulative stress can be very much reversed if you could start to think about the difference -- the other side of the coin -- the flip side of the coin. I got to tell you -- instead of saying, "I deserve that", how about saying, "I deserve to be free of debt. I deserve to be free of the burden of the stress of the bills." Or, "I'm going to spend all the money I make on me and not on throwing interest away." I mean the interest rates -- especially if you're paying only the minimum payments -- the interest rates go on and go on and go on. We said it -- you could have paid for a $15 pizza -- by the time you're done, if you're only paying minimum payments, you could own the pizza store. The other thing is, how about looking in the mirror and just saying to yourself, if you could get to that point, "I enjoy. I'm proud -- I'm proud that I have learned to live within my means." Credit is an addiction like any other addiction and, honestly, one of the best ways to rid yourself of a lot of stress is to simply say to yourself, "I'm paying this off and I'm not buying anything other than absolute necessities until I can afford them. Send me your thoughts on the use -- or maybe in the lack of use -- of credit cards. | ||
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| Themes: Finance, Consumer | ||
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More about "Getting Your Money's Worth"
As the title of the show, "Getting your Money's Worth" implies, the show concerns itself with gaining value as a consumer of education, health services or, indeed, as a tax payer. Everyday consumer spending will be included. The dialogue may not present solutions, but certainly will present alternatives in an entertaining and colorful way with experts in their respective fields. |
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