Credit Abuse Like Alchoholism?
I received an interesting comment in response to my post earlier this week about credit card use being a lifetime habit:
When we attend parties with my husband’s coworkers, there is one young woman who spends a lot of time talking with me. She is a Dave Ramsey zealot and loves that I will pretty openly discuss money matters with her.
As she launched into a “credit cards are evil” diatribe, I had a realization like yours that, for some people, credit addiction really is like a disease.
So, just as it makes sense that a recovering alcoholic would be foolish to keep a basic bar in his home for guests (something I can do with no negative consequences), it is a great idea for these credit-addicted people to destroy their credit cards and always pay cash.
Of course it would be nice if they didn’t feel the need to evangelize and try to convert those of us who are effective and profitable credit card deadbeats. I’ve never had an alcoholic try to convince me I need to go to AA because I drink a half a dozen drinks a year!
The reader brings up a great point. Like alcohol, credit cards can be extremely useful when used responsibly, yet in credibly harmful when abused. The analogy only goes so far, as credit is more of a tool, where alcoholic beverages are essentially recreational.
I bet if one were to do a study (perhaps someone already has), they would find a high correlation between credit abuse and various other addictive behaviors such as alcoholism, drug abuse, and gambling. I don’t really wish to put credit card abuse in the same category of drugs or alcoholism. Drugs and alcoholism are physically destructive, where credit abuse is merely financially destructive.
On the other hand, abusing credit can easily destroy relationships between the person with the problem, and the people who they often go to for help such as parents, spouses, and even children.
One of the big problems with credit abuse, is that there is no clear line as to where it occurs. In my family, we were taught that anytime a credit card balance was not paid in full, that was a big problem.
When I write this, I often get angry responses about how unrealistic that idea is. The responses are probably similar to what people hear when they advocate sexual abstinence.
Clearly, people who are borrowing from one source to pay off another have a problem. I could say that people who are using credit to live beyond their means have a problem, but that might include most of the United States.
Yet it is a problem. Clearly, living beyond your means is not sustainable. Using credit to enable that lifestyle will eventually result in disaster.
Can People Change Their Credit Habits?
I know the answer must be “yes”. If you have been using credit cards as a method of finance by paying interest on your purchases, have you been able to become a “deadbeat”; someone who pays off all of their balances in full every month?
I am very interested to hear your story. Did you just cut up all your credit cards and go to cash (or debit cards) only? Are you able to use credit cards as a method of payment, and not carry a balance?
How did you do it? What prompted you to change your behavior? Have you ever fallen off of the wagon?