I’m a Deadbeat, and You Need to Become One!

© Dr. Gary D. Lemmons, February 12, 2006

I am a “deadbeat,” and you ought to become one too!

Now, before you go rushing off to tell your spouse or significant other, “I always knew there was something about Lemmons,” hear me out. 

I am a “deadbeat” when it comes to the credit card companies! 

Virtually, no one, in our society today, can transact business, travel, or acquire those incidental necessities of life without a credit card.  Oh, I suppose it can be done, but life is much easier with “plastic magic.”

The difficulty arises in that all too many people become slaves to their cards.  They overuse their credit and fall into debt.  When they miss a payment or make a payment late (even if they have always been punctual) the credit card companies stick it to them by raising the rate of interest on their debt to usurious levels and the “snots” in Congress and the state legislatures around the country allow these companies to get away with it.

In October of 2005, the new Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005 went into effect.  No law was ever more inappropriately named.  A layman’s explanation of this law can be found at:

http://www.bankrate.com/brm/news/special/20050330a1.asp

While I do not intend to discuss the anti-consumer nature of this legislation so ably passed through the Congress by the corporatists who control both houses of that esteemed body, what can be said is that this law was written with, among other things, the credit card companies’ benefit in mind.

More recently, the government, through such agencies as the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, the Federal Insurance Deposit Corp., the Office of Thrift Supervision, and the Federal Reserve Board, has mandated that credit card companies require a higher minimum payment each month.  In fact, the minimum must be at the very least 1% of the outstanding balance of the account.  This does not seem like a lot; however, most individuals who carry large balances are cash strapped to begin with, and this action will only serve to make their financial situations even more precarious.

What I do as a “deadbeat” is to “use” the credit card companies for my benefit.  I charge purchases then pay off the balance at the end of the month.  Sometimes, I secure a hotel reservation with the card then pay off the bill at the end of my stay in cash.  On the occasions when I have to charge a major amount, I have a plan to pay off the balance in a certain number of months, thereby, reducing the amount of interest that these companies make on me.  Among the "leeches" that work for these companies, I and many, many others, who behave as I do financially, are known as “deadbeats.”

Another way I work as a “deadbeat” is to regularly open and close credit card accounts.  If I am offered a good deal on a credit card, I take advantage of it.  I transfer balances, if necessary, and, most important, I close an account for every new one I open.

Now, I am not tooting my own horn, but the key, main-most, number one rule for being a successful “deadbeat” is to be self-disciplined.  Be careful and do not pull that plastic out of the pocket at every turn.  Don’t think about money all the time…just when you spend it!

I don’t like big business and I like big government even less, but I acknowledge that we will continue to have both.  That being true, I intend in the autumn of my life to be as much of a “deadbeat” to both as I possibly can.

As Clark Howard would say, “Spend less, save more, keep from getting ripped-off,” and I would add, “Don’t re-elect anyone!”