Recently I got my very first credit card. One might ask, "Jamie, at 25, you never had a credit card before?!" And I would respond, "Yes, dear reader, that is correct." My parents were always adamant about de-mystifying the idea of money as we were growing up -- explaining to us why things cost what they do, communicating the concept of financial self-discipline and deferred gratification (which I never really absorbed), trying to give us examples of why we couldn't buy rollerblades with the chore money we got from raking the lawn, etc. When my sister and I went off to college, we were instructed NEVER to apply for a credit card from those random kiosks (or on the UIUC campus, card tables on every corner on campus) giving away free t-shirts in exchange for financial information.
So, like the good little girl that I was, I obeyed. Then I graduated college and couldn't get a credit card. WHUH?! I was told that my lack of a credit history (albeit not BAD credit, but the absence of credit altogether) was hurting my ability to establish a credit record. Kind of a viscious cycle, if you really think about it.
So the arrival of my new credit card a month or so ago prompted the age old question...How quickly can I get to a mall?! (just kidding...that's the second most prominent question, duh) I asked myself, what is really worth this ridiculous interest rate? Vacation? Car maintenance emergencies? The annual, massive sale at my favorite boutique? (Turns out the answer to that question was a resounding YES) Medical emergencies?
All these questions, and no good answers. I suppose I'll just have to be responsible, which is no fun at all. Thank you, credit card company, for believing in my ability to manage my own finances, and thereby prompting me to question every purchase I make. Being an adult blows.
So, like the good little girl that I was, I obeyed. Then I graduated college and couldn't get a credit card. WHUH?! I was told that my lack of a credit history (albeit not BAD credit, but the absence of credit altogether) was hurting my ability to establish a credit record. Kind of a viscious cycle, if you really think about it.
So the arrival of my new credit card a month or so ago prompted the age old question...How quickly can I get to a mall?! (just kidding...that's the second most prominent question, duh) I asked myself, what is really worth this ridiculous interest rate? Vacation? Car maintenance emergencies? The annual, massive sale at my favorite boutique? (Turns out the answer to that question was a resounding YES) Medical emergencies?
All these questions, and no good answers. I suppose I'll just have to be responsible, which is no fun at all. Thank you, credit card company, for believing in my ability to manage my own finances, and thereby prompting me to question every purchase I make. Being an adult blows.
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