Credit Cards vs Cigarettes
Which one has the greatest impact on your child’s life?
Los Angeles, CA (PRWEB) June 17, 2005 -- So much attention has been given to
the potential impact cigarettes have on our children. But has anyone stopped to
think about the impact credit cards are having on our children? Is the
advertising and solicitation of unwanted credit cards any worse than the
marketing and advertising of cigarettes? We are trying to burn the cigarette
advertising at the stake, while credit card pre-approval applications are being
sent out to high school and college bound children by the droves.
- Why
does the stress of having credit card debt fail in comparison?
- Is stress
not a factor that leads to all sorts of health problems, just like a
cigarette?
- When did we as a society decide to tell our youth “You’re no one
without a credit card?”
In fact you are someone; you are the smartest of us
all. You refuse to use credit cards for instant gratification. A gratification
that will wear off long before the bill is paid.
- How did we let our
children and continue to let our children sink into the financial pit falls of
obtaining and using credit cards?
May I suggest the next time you sit
down to tell your child about the hazards of smoking or any other potential
danger, take a little more time to explain the dangers of high credit card debt,
finance charges and late fees.
Explain to them:
- How a $35.00 late fee
will amount to an additional 2-3 hours of work depending on their salary. And
how about a $3,000.00 credit card balance with at least a 9% interest rate (and
that’s being modest). It will take 100 hours out of their life to payoff.
-
The value of saving for purchases and not buying more than they can afford. And
by doing this they will spend less hours working and more hours playing, which
is what life should be about.
Enjoy life
Kathryn Durham is the author
of the youth finance book series “Mom, Can You Buy Me This? A teacher of youth
finance courses, owner of Pen and Paper Bookkeeping, and a teacher of QuickBooks
at UCLA, Beverly Hills Adult School and other various schools.
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Source : http://www.prweb.com/releases/2005/6/prweb239603.htm