Are you spending tomorrows money today for instant gratification ?

I’m pushing 60 and have never had a credit card.  My Mom and Dad grew up in the depression so as a kid I heard about how things were. When I was about 10 my Grandfather died and I was given a little safe / bank . It was old and made of cast iron. Even had a simple combo lock on the little door. A nifty slot in the top to make a deposit. I could tell there was something inside but did not have the combination to the lock. It was a simple lock, so I sat there trying different combinations . It took some time but I got the door to open. What I didn’t know then was what I found inside would change my life down the road. Inside the safe I found an envelope with some old stamps and some paper money . Even as a kid I knew that other countries money was valued at different rates but when I saw 50 Million German Marks I figured it was still a lot of money.

I showed it to my Dad and he told me that it was no good any more. Germany had new money. That was when I learned about Wiemar Germany’s hyperinflation.
During the Great Depression the other side of the family lost a large section of land 40 minutes from New York City that was left to my Grandmother by her father with a clause that it could never be sold. He wanted to know she and his seven grandchildren had a roof over their head for the rest of her life. When the depression hit she could not pay the tax’s and could not sell the property. The state took the land and let her keep 5 acres and the servants cottage.
So at an early age I learned about money. If you don’t have the money to buy something you want , you have to save up for it. Another advantage to saving up to buy something is when you are peeling the cash out of your wallet to pay for something you get a full understanding of the price. I think that is lost when you swipe a plastic card and then make payments with interest. You are spending tomorrows money today for instant gratification.
Then back in the 1980 ‘s I learned about the Federal Reserve not being Federal and as far as reserves well.....?
To me a credit card is the same as a printing press. You create money with a swipe of a plastic card.
Article 1 Section 8 of the Constitution of the United States says only the Congress shall have the power to coin money. Section 10 says No State shall make anything but gold and silver Coin a Tender in payments of Debts.
I would say we have been lead astray by large banking interests and a few crooked politicians. I think we are about to learn why it was written into the Constitution of the United States the way it was.
Back to the plastic credit cards; When a person maxes out the card, reality sinks in. Now if they want something they cant buy it if they don’t have the money. So they can end up where they were before the card but now they have the debt too. Also paying interest on top of the debt makes it even worse. Had they lived within their means , money may be tight but you are not in a financial hole . I borrowed $1000. to buy parts for a hot rod when I was about 20 years old. It cost me $100 a month for a year. So I paid $200 interest on the one year loan. I could have saved the extra $200 if I just waited and saved the $100 each month for 10 months. I was young and impatient. The lesson cost me $200. Other than that I only borrowed to buy a house and paid it off long ago. Today I have 4 cars, all old and I never made payments to buy them. A 1971 , 1977, 1984, 1992 all on the road. If one brakes down the repair cost is nothing compared to being on the hook for monthly payments to some bank. Also when I drive the two oldest I get a lot of thumbs up. Your not going to get that with a cookie cutter car and monthly payments. Not to mention the value of a new car falls faster than you can pay for it in most cases.
My advise to young people is to save for the things you want. You will enjoy it more by not having to make payments. Also the things you buy are assets not liabilities.
The choice is yours to make. Independence or slavery to a bank.
I choose Independence .
Make every day Independence day!

Tin Pan