I Am a Credit Card Deadbeat...

...and you can, too!

All kidding aside, I am a credit card deadbeat, and have been for over 17 years. In fact, from the first moment credit was issued in my name, I've been a deadbeat.

That is to say, my credit card company never makes a penny off of me. In fact, I make money off of them. It's too easy. Choose a card that offers cash back on all your purchases. Only buy things you would buy if you didn't have credit. Pay off the balance, in full, every month.

I know it's opposite what most Americans have been taught, but I was brought up with this bizarre, unamerican ideal: if you can't afford something you don't buy it.

Radical. I know.

Now, clearly this does not help folks with unexpected, unavoidable expenses like medical bills (that's another post) but at the same time, Americans' use of credit, and our desire to possess expensive things is ridiculous. If you have $6000 and you need a car, it's just stupid to blow it all on a down payment for a fancy new car and then add thousands of dollars to the price of the car and hundreds of dollars to your monthly expenses. You're much better off buying a decent $5000 car and using that extra money to fix it up so it's completely reliable. No monthly payment. No interest payments. No debt.

That's how I roll. Plus, I've been driving the same car for 11 years.

Don't buy crap you don't need. Don't pay more than you can afford for the stuff you do buy. Don't use credit to give yourself the trappings of a live you don't live. Don't accrue debt to maintain a "lifestyle."

I've heard that credit card companies hate people like me, but I receive, on average, three solicitations a week, all from major credit card companies, practically begging me to take out a line of credit. They all want my business, although I have always lived below the poverty level.

In addition, my credit card company is a good friend. When I do, occasionally, make a late payment, I simply call them up and apologize, and they check my record, see that I always pay my debt, and they erase any late fees I've accrued. It's true. Further, if I ever have a dispute with a merchant regarding something purchased with my credit card, I call the credit card company and they solve the problem for me. In fact, on occasion, all I had to do was threaten a merchant with my credit card company, and they fixed a problem they swore could not be fixed.

Now that I'm in the process of buying a house, some people have tried to encourage me to borrow just a little bit more money. How much easier the process would be with a little extra. It's true. But I won't do it. I've borrow the exact amount of money I can afford. My mortgage payment will be similar to my rent. My house will not be a mansion. It will be a house I can afford. It will be the first debt I've ever taken on.

A lot of people are cutting up their credit cards, declaring, "Never again." But most of us have the power to take control over our own finances. Be stronger than the desire to consume.