Money and Me

A few weeks ago, I noticed a check in an envelope. I figured it was just one of those pretending to give you a VISA but non-negotialbe checks. But lo and behold, it was one of those real checks which I could have cashed.

The interesting thing is that it was classified as a loan with a 22.99% interest. Looking at the table in the back, if I had cashed the check, I would have five years to pay it off. But guess what! By the bank's timeline, I would have made a total of $9,900 in payoffs for a $5,000 loan.

That is the epitome of what America is. If you are a sucker, you can get suckered in. You have got to pay attention to all those interest rates. Otherwise, you will be paying mucho dinero for them. God knows that I was never one to pay attention to interest rates and such. But boy, do those things come up and bite you. At one time, I was wondering how I could pay off $4k in credit card bills. I would pay off $500 at a time and nothing happened. I finally figured out that I needed to stop using the credit card and then I could get somewhere.

So for those of you out there in credit card hell, you need to pay them off in $1000 drops if you are ever going to get out into credit card purgatory and heaven.