The wife and I decided to go out last Friday to Belk. They had some pretty good deals on dress shirts and ties, so we figured we would go check it out.
First of all, even though it was at 10:30, people were crazy. The store looked as if a bomb had been dropped inside of it with clothes thrown everywhere. The lines to check out were unbelievable. I really considered not even buying the two things I had in my hand, but I liked what I found a lot and we had saved our Christmas gift cards from the year before.
So, as we were checking out, the cashier has to ask if you would like to sign up for a Belk credit card and save 15% on your total for opening the card. The couple in front of us had not spent a lot of money. I think their bill was $60. But, to our disbelief, they obliged and opened the card! I was shocked. I couldn't believe they had opened a credit card with Belk to save $9 on their bill! I wanted to shake them and ask them what they were thinking. Is this the problem with America? People will open a credit card account at the drop of a hat to save $10 on their bill? I might would sympathize with someone spending $1000 or more because the 15% might be worth it, but I would not do this. If they think think about it, even for a second, most companies will charge interest around 25% (some way more) on their cards. So, of course they offer an upfront incentive, they will make so much more off you in the long run so that the initial 15% means nothing to them.
We have a credit card that has a $9,000 limit on it. We only have this card for emergencies. We never use it for regular purchases or for any other reason than an emergency. It is not our Black Friday shopping card or our weekly meal out to eat card.
On another note, that same Friday, we put up our Christmas tree! We love Christmas, a lot. It is a very happy time of the year. In years past, we have sponsored a family of 4 for Christmas, but this year we decided to "adopt" a family in Africa. We donate to them through World Vision and correspond with them regularly through the mail. They are a beautiful family from Niger and both of the parents are subsistence farmers. They have two children 10 and 7, both who go to school and help in the fields. We are going to send them an extra monetary gift in hopes they use it better than we would (*Cough* Chipotle *Cough*). When I have a bad week, I find myself constantly thinking about them and how lucky I am, student loans and all!
Hope everyone finishes their week strong!
Though I don't agree on opening a credit card without some serious thought, if they don't really care about their credit (have a mortgage already and dont care about losing a few points), they could just go home and pay the $51 off and don't use the card again. Or use it and pay it off responsibly, then close it once it's not needed. Sure, it's a worrysome thought that they may be so lenient and open every store credit card that they are offered, but hey, if they are responsible with it, I see no major harm. Gotta give folks the benefit of the doubt.
ReplyDeleteI have my 'everything' credit card with a $3,5k limit, and it sees as much as $800 being moved on a monthly basis. Not once does the total go above $300, but this past month, it saw $820 moved out, and $820 being paid in 6 different payments (usually right after I made the purchase). That's very nice of you to sponsor that family. I'm sure they appreciate it. We sponsored 20 kids at work (for an office of 9 people), so I guess our good deed is done, but so many remain to be done. Hope we get Christmas tree photos!
Those are good points. I hope they paid off their credit card immediately. I will just never understand opening the card at a drop of the hat.
DeleteI am glad to hear you pay off your card on a monthly basis. We do as well. It is imperative that it is otherwise that interest will begin to rack up!
I will try to throw some Christmas tree pictures up for you this weekend. We are going to get one tomorrow morning.