"Why I Will Never Understand Credit Cards"

 

       Recently, a lot of talk surrounding my life has come about relating to credit cards and other such forms of money.  I want to explain the two aspects of credit cards- how they effect my life- and then also just examine this world we live in with money on a whole.

       One thing I've always found about credit cards is that they're funny.  Come on, I mean really, who under the age of 50 (or even 40 or 30) doesn't enjoy the occasional letter from some company saying "You're pre-approved for a gold card with a $10,000 limit!"?  I think when they send them to me it's hilarious, primarily because I am a student, and therefore I have no money to my name whatsoever, let alone a job or bank account, things which one would need were he/she to possess a credit card.

       My second observation about credit cards is just a simple question: What's the point?  Seriously, I never got credit cards.  They make money, and that's fine, but then you get your money stored in this special place and for that you can write checks.  Then, to take the complications one step further, you have this credit card, which isn't really any help, and in all cases more than not it just seems to be more of a hassle.  It's not like if you use a credit card you can get out of paying for something (unless you ruin your so-called credit), you eventually do have to pay the money back and in most cases, again, with interest, which just means more money.  S you really have to ask yourself, if you don't have the money to afford something right now, is it really worth paying someone to let you borrow the money?  Why can't it wait until you actually do have the money?  This is why I will never understand credit cards.

     But hell, I can't for the life of me figure out banks either.  What good does a bank do?  It gets robbed, say bye to your money.  And don't get me started about the fees.  You get over drawn fees, you get under drawn fees, AHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!  You go to ATMs to get cash, but can't take out less than $10.  Hey, you use ATMs, right?  I have $6 in my pocket, can you get $6 too?  Didn't think so.  You can get more, but not $6. 

       I once had a bank account, but I got sick of having to pay $1.50 or so every time I said "Hey, give me some of my money!".  What the hell kind of service are they performing here that we ourselves can not do?  They're holding our money, and we are no longer capable of this?  Wallets and pocketbooks were invented for a reason.  (And if you're worried about muggers, carry a big stick; losing it, tie it to your waste; etc.)  When I tried to close out my bank account, they wanted to charge me a $2.50 fee for closing the account.  What?  Is this for real?  How can anyone actually buy into this crap? 

       You know, this all says something for being grizzled.  I never knew a coffee can on top of my refrigerator that charged me any fees for holding my money.