Got credit?

You know those commercials that portray people with credit card debt as victims of unscrupulous and mean credit card companies? The one's that imply it's not your fault for being in debt? Well, I once got a credit card statement that ran something like this:

Baseline Liquor
Baseline Liquor
Baseline Liquor
Baseline Liquor
Boulder Yellow Cab
Baseline Liquor
Baseline Liquor
Boulder Yellow Cab
Baseline Liquor
Baseline Liquor

It went on like that for at least one page (consistency is my trademark). True story. It was my first credit card and with it came a $500 credit limit, giving me a freedom I'd never known before. I told my roommates I wouldn't max it out and they laughed at me. To my credit (pun intended), I never maxed it out...but I took it to $495. After many years of brewing lattes for Boulder's pseudo-hippies, emptying bus tubs, cleaning deep friers, and eeking out tips, I paid that card off.

Here are a few things I would like to tell those who complain about credit card fees, interest rates, and creditors:

1) It's not your money and it never was; you borrowed it. In fact, you applied for a line of credit and said you were good for it.
2) When you borrow money, you're supposed to pay it back. That's how it works. Ever seen an episode of The Sopranos?
3) If you don't like the fees or the interest rates, then, well, perhaps you shouldn't have applied for the credit card.
4) If you were irresponsible enough to get into debt to the point where you can't pay it back without cutting back, then, again, maybe you shouldn't have applied for the credit in the first place.
5) Did you even read the terms of agreement?

As evidenced by the above confession, I wasn't exactly born a financial advisor. Before that first card, I knew nothing about interest rates, finance charges, or credit histories. I routinely skipped payments and often paid less than the minimum when I did decide to pay. I knew I had to pay the money back, but I was ignorant of the details. Two things saved me from Credit Card Hell: knowledge and lifestyle. My roommate, John, explained to me how it all worked. To this day, I still heed his advice: at the very least, always pay the minimum plus the finance charge. The second thing to save me was how I lived back then: I strove on every level and in everything that I did to "simplify, simplify, simplify". Most of my clothes came from friends' Goodwill piles, I didn't own a car, and prior to 2002 the single biggest purchase of my life had been a bicycle, around $500. Instead of nice things, I bought good times: Mexican food, pitchers of beers, pizza, hours of pool, concert tickets, shots, and, apparently, many twelve packs and cab rides. Memories, even when blurred and slurred, were cheaper than things, so I have a lot of memories and not a lot of things.

I wouldn't be where I am now if not for a credit card. What separates me from the "victims" of credit card companies, however, is that I never played the victim. Every charge on that balance statement I incurred and I did so for my own or someone else's amusement or benefit. Debt happens; it's the "I'm the victim" attitude that bothers me. You're not entitled to someone else's money, and when you signed that credit card application, you said you would pay it back. So, how about you quit complaining and pay it back.