Good Things Come to Those Who Wait

Good Things Come to Those Who Wait

By Keith Bunn Jr.

We've all heard the saying, "Patience is a Virtue" and that is absolutely right, especially when it come to our finances.

It is so easy for us today to spend more than we make. With just a swipe or wave of a card, its yours! Easy as that! Even with a debit card, (which are OK by the way) its easy to get yourself in trouble with overdraft charges if you're not careful. And the banks and the stores we shop at are counting on our lack of patience, and our ability to impulse our butts off, to make more profit on the interest we owe on those cards then if we were to buy the same stuff with cash.

True Story

Here is an example and a true story of this very thing... 

Julie and I were in line at Sam's Club to checkout, when Julie noticed the lady behind us had a bunt cake in her cart. Julie said to the lady, "That bunt cake looks good." The lady replied, "Doesn't it? And I got it for free!" 

The first thing that popped into my head was, 'I want a free cake'. And as if Julie read my mind, as she often does, she asked the lady, "How did you get a free cake?" Right then, the lady got kind of excited to tell her story, "Well, I was walking around the store, putting stuff in my cart when I realized, I didn't have enough cash on me to pay for it all. So I came up front and signed up for the Sam's credit card and they gave me a free cake just for signing up."

I immediately started convulsing a little bit. That lady had just risked her financial future for just a few items in her cart and a bunt cake! Now we didn't know anything about that lady. She may have paid off the balance right a way, cut up the card and closed the account. I don't know, but chances are, she didn't.

Having Patience is even Hard for Us

Some people have more patience than others, we all know that. Being patient is not something we're born with, it is something we learn. It is even hard for us at times. Julie is a HUGE giver, which is awesome, but if someone she is close to says that they like something, if we're not careful, she'll buy it, even if it's not in the budget to do so. I'm kind of the same way. I like to get our grand kids the toy superhero masks you can buy at most stores today, and just the other week, I saw a Spider-Man mask for $11. Spider-Man is one of my grandson's favorite superheros and I know $11 doesn't sound like much money, but we didn't budget for it. I was seriously debating on whether or not to get the stupid mask. I looked at Julie and she said. "Its up to you." I thought about it for just a moment more and decided not to get it. I know someday, I'll find that very same mask on clearance or in a yard sale for cheaper than $11. I know our patience will pay off one day. Not just so we can buy our grand kids toys, but so we can live comfortably in our golden years, and leave an inheritance to my children's children of both knowledge and money.

Why I Do This

The reason I do this is to inspire and give hope to people. To make them think about their finances, whether they are young or old, so they can win financially.

If you find any of this information useful, please share it with others. You can also find more money news, facts and ideas, on my Facebook pages. I'd be grateful if you followed me. Thank you!

Credit Cards for Gas Usage

Credit Cards for Gas Usage

By Keith Bunn Jr.

I was asked a question the other week about using credit cards for gas usage. If it was a good idea or not, if you get the 5 to 10 cents off per gallon and pay them off right away. Well, if you've following me for 30 seconds, you'd know that I absolutely hate credit cards! I think credit cards are nothing more than legalized "Loan Sharking".

But I have to admit, I really didn't have a good answer to the question other than, "I hate credit cards!" So seeing that the person's question was about a specific local grocery store/gas station credit card, I went and got the application and read it over.

Information Found

After reading over the information on the application, I came to find out that there are 2 different cards. A regular one that is nothing more than an in store credit card that could only be used in the grocery store or gas station and the other one is a Platinum Master Card which can be used anywhere that takes a Master Card.

The in store card has an annual percentage rate (APR) of 26.99%, but it also says, "This APR will vary with the market based on the Prime Rate." The Platinum card has 2 different types of accounts, which are based on your "creditworthiness". Type #1 has an APR of 19.99% and type #2 has an APR of 23.99%. And again it says, "This APR will vary with the market based on the Prime Rate."

And just like any other credit card that is out there, there are fees you must pay if you're late making a payment. And for both cards it could either be a $25 to $35 late fee.

I know what you're thinking, "This is all fine and dandy, but you won't have to pay any interest or fees if you pay it off each and every time it's due, like the question was asked." And you would be right "IF" people paid the cards off when they were due. And that's a big word, "IF".

You Have to do the Math

Statistics show us that only 55% of credit card holder pay their cards off each and every month. So that means 45% don't. So by someone thinking, "I'll get the card to save on gas and pay it off right away." doesn't always happen that way. I know we plan on doing things a certain way, but life sometimes steps in and screws up our plans. Job loss, someone gets sick, a death in the family, etc... can all happen and cause us to lose sight of our goals.

Let me explain it this way... On an average fill up, you'll be saving 75 cents (.05 cents per gallon) when you use either one of the cards talked about above. And if the grand total you had to pay was $40 and you put that on your gas credit card and didn't pay it off at the end of the month, at best, you would have to pay $75 for the same amount of gas that would have cost you $40. At worst, you would have to pay $86. Over double the cost for the same amount of gas. By not paying off that monthly credit card bill just that once, you'll have lost every once of savings you signed up for in the first place.

Now I don't know about you, but I get gas every other week. So if I were to use one of these gas credit cards, bought my gas for the month and forgot or couldn't pay my bill at the end of the month, I would then have to pay between $121 to $137 for $80 worth of gas. Folks, that's just screwing up once. Imagine doing that month after month. You can see how much that adds up. So again, using credit cards for anything, even just for gas usage, in my opinion, is not a good idea.

Something to think about

When any store, company, or institute offers you some kind of rewards program, look it over first before signing up. Do the math if necessary to really see if it is a good deal for you or for them. There can be good deals out there if you look for them. They've not all disappeared yet, even for gas usage. So look for them and just don't take things at face value.

Why I do this

The reason I do this, is to inspire and give people hope. To make people think about their finances, whether they are young or old, so they can win financially.

If you you find any of this information useful, please share it with others. You can also find more money news, facts and ideas, on my Facebook pages. I'd be grateful if you followed me. Thank you!