Financial Idiots

Today I've been thinking.....about money. Not the green kind, but the plastic that almost all of us have stowed away in our billfolds that most of us tell ourselves "is only for emergencies." Let me tell you, back when I was 22 and had six of these things in my wallet, there wasn't much that DIDN'T constitute an emergency; hunger, the dire need for that cute little mini-skirt, or a cd that I had to have in order to go on living. This, in turn, brings me to a theory that I got from my dad and thoroughly agree with. We are raising a nation of financial idiots.
When I got my first credit card application, I filled it out, sent it away, and had a really cool see-through card with a smart chip in it in my hands within two weeks. Obviously, the smart chip should have been implanted in me because I went on from there to get five more including one that I got because it had a really cute ladybug motif on it, and one to my favorite department store. Bad idea. The bank was also optimistic enough to give me a loan for a $27,000 car right about that time. I thought I was hot shit, but in the end lets just say, I went down the toilet like millions of Americans do every year.
I am not afraid to put this out there....in cyberspace.....for everyone to see. I can tell you that there were a lot of things that contributed to my financial suicide; some of which being my ex-husband and his access to my cards, the banks granting me to much credit, etc., but in the end it all comes down to one thing. ME. I was the cause of my problems. I had no idea what credit was and how to use it wisely because when I took consumer ec in high school, mostly we just learned to balance our checkbooks (which, BTW, I still wasn't great at then) and didn't even begin to touch how to maintain a credit card.
I spent and spent and spent and then, when the bill came, was relieved to see that they only wanted me to pay $20. Great! I can afford twenty bucks. No biggie, but with six payments of twenty dollars each, it got trickier. Then, after paying the minimums on time for three months, they upped my limit. Goodie, more shopping! That's how the viscious cycle continued for almost two years before I just fell apart. I couldn't sleep at night because I had a gigantic mountain of dept sitting on my chest that was to the point of almost giving me panic attacks. It was suffocating me and I just couldn't find a way out. It got pretty bad. I was sure by then that ALL my dreams were shattered....a marriage, buying a home, and just having a normal, semi-stressfree life. But, the good news is, it's getting better now in leaps and bounds. I have a new unsecured cc that I pay off each month, I got a loan for a car at a REALLY decent rate, and I'm on my way back to the mid-seven hundreds. Now, if you're wondering what that means, you're a financial idiot and need to read up about credit.
That bring me back to my point. There are so many consequences that come with bad credit, higher insurance rates, higher loan rates (if you can get them), and some professions require good credit too, that you can't screw this up, but do our schools teach kids about credit. NO! I think it's a conspiracy myself, but that's another entry. We just give them the plastic, tell them good luck, and send them on their way. Obviously that's not working. And the bad thing is, it's notjsut kids. Most adults don't know much about credit either.
-Did you know there are three different credit reporting agencies
-Did you know that they are required by law to supply you w/ a free report once a year.
-Did you know that you should check your credit report at least twice a year to help prevent identity theft.
See, I've been doing my homework, but the sad fact is that most people don't. Plastic is plastic....not real money, it doesn't hurt to swipe a card. On the other hand, handing over $50 cold, hard, cash, is a little more disturbing. I just think that we need to teach people about this stuff. You wouldn't let someone drive without making them take driver's ed, so why let them gamble with their financial future? That's all I'm saying. Hugs!