Article Contributed on: 10/27/2006 12:29:28 AM
There I am - standing in the store or staring brainwashed into the computer screen at that one thing suddenly I feel I can't live without. Usually it is a completely irrational want, certainly not a need. But there it is no doubt ... that longing in my gut that says if I don't purchase a 20th Anniversary die-cast metal Optimus Prime action figure with talking display stand (Or fill in the blank with whatever might float your boat) my life will never truly be complete.
What's my checking account looking like? I start to think to myself. Damn ... Not enough to buy the great leader of the Autobots in all his die-cast greatness and pay the cable bill, and eat before I get paid next Friday. Then that dirty little thought rolls through my head. Well, I can just put it on Mr. Visa. Yeeeeah, Mr. Visa is always there. Just like that sketchy friend my mom never liked in middle school... He's got my back. Yep, Mr. Visa is always willing to lend a hand. Always willing to pick up the tab. As long as I eventually pay him back in full. But not to worry, at interest rates somewhere between seventeen and twenty-five percent, Mr. Visa always gets his and then some.
It is a vicious circle ... I buy, I regret, I pay what I can. See, I have an acute case of an illness I like to refer to as financial diarrhea. I frequently spend more than I make. Pay only the minimum due and move on.
You know though, it really is the credit card company's fault anyway. Every other day they are sending me letters congratulating me for being such a marvelous human being and as a result my credit limit had just got raised. They tell me on TV every night to go run with the bulls in Spain, add a new wing onto my house, get hip and buy a surf board, or just start my own small business - the good folks at Visa got me covered.
So that brings me back to my dilemma. There I am, starring at my prize. Do I get Optimus or just walk away? Do I bring home the Autobot leader so he can sit on my shelf starring at me daily as a reminder of the poor judgment I frequently have when it comes to my finances? Or do I leave him in the store and take with me the satisfaction of knowing I do have some discipline and can avoid bad decisions by simply keeping my wallet in my pocket and walking away. But... Come to think of it, ya know, next month's statement isn't due until...