How to Pay For a Laptop for The Rest of Your Life
Monday, December 7th, 2009 at 5:10 am
Credit cards have revolutionized our spending habits. In the old times we could only purchase things if we had money to pay for it outright or if you were willing to render your services in exchange for a product. Globalization and materialism led us to a new era of debt and credit.
Having a credit card or two can come in handy during a shopping emergencies or even life threatening ones. Anyone can survive a week or two or even a month without cash, as long as you have a credit card with a big enough credit limit.
Plastic Loan Sharks
Today a credit card’s monthly minimum payment is at 4% of your total balance. Let’s say that you decided to purchase a brand new Mac Book Pro priced at $1,199. You decided to pay for this in credit, after receiving a hard to resist offer that will allow you to pay $20 per month for it. This deal sounds good but for whom?
You may not be aware that a big chunk of our monthly payment will go to pay for the interest; only a small part of it will pay for the amount you borrowed. If you only pay the minimum monthly charge this $1,199 purchase may take up to 30 years to finish. And the interest can cost you up to $5000 for an item a little over $1000!
Human Instincts
Humans naturally desire for more wealth and a better life. Some of us cannot resist the temptation of buying items and goods that are in trend or new. We even set aside the fact that we can’t afford it and rely on using the good old plastic credit card to pay for our doodads (as Robert Kiyosaki refers to it).
We all have our wants and needs depending on our lifestyle. There is nothing wrong with buying something that you want so much as long as you don’t intend to kill someone with it – and that includes yourself.
Promotions are usually full of overstatements if not understatements. Watch out if it sounds too good to be true. They usually present only the good part of the offer. We have to face the reality that company’s main objective is to profit. That’s why they are called “company” – not “charity”.
However, if you happen to find yourself in a sticky situation, there is someone who wants to help you. Credit and debt counseling can help you gain control of the situation. Even better, you can get credit and debt counseling at no charge, as many are now not-for-profit organizations.
Tags: credit, credit cards, credit counseling, debt, debt counseling