"Plastic" Not So Fantastic

"Let us all be happy and live within our means, even if we have to borrow the money to do it with."

     - Artemus Ward (1834-1867), American humorist

Bob Herbert, N.Y. Times columnist, has written an interesting op-ed about Americans' penchant for spending money they don't have. He's pretty tough on the credit card companies for their sometimes usurious interest rates and their willingness to continue extending credit to people who are already in financial difficulty.

"It's common for the annual percentage rate on your friendly Visa or Mastercard to approach 30 percent."

He goes on to say that families are increasingly using their "plastic" to bridge the gap between household earnings and the cost of essentials.

Perhaps much of this is true, but I wonder where personal responsibility for incurring all this debt enters the picture? I would imagine that all of us, at one time or another, have borrowed money. I know I have, but I've done so knowing it had to be repaid, so I've tried to exercise some discipline about how much I borrowed.

I think with credit cards, it's easy to forget that discipline because having one, or more, is akin to having cash in your pocket. As Mr. Herbert says, "Few things are easier than flashing the plastic and saying, 'Charge it.' " You do so at your own peril, however, for the day of reckoning always arrives.

While there may be some who truly do have to buy their food with a credit card, I have a sneaking suspicion that most who run up huge balances, if they're honest with themselves, are buying a lot of things they want rather than need. That, my friends, will catch up with you.

Liz Pulliam Weston has written an excellent tutorial for MSN's Money Central, which can help a person get his spending and credit card usage under control. Check it out.