Credit Cards: Carrot on a Stick Off a Cliff

Badger

Here's my situation - I don't make a lot of money. I've chosen a low-paying job I enjoy over a high-paying job I hate. I feel good about myself all day and sleep like a dog all night. I recently divorced, and in that process wracked up some credit card debt... not much, but enough that between paying off those cards, paying child support, paying rent, my car payment, I'm living paycheck to paycheck. Waiting for a windfall to get clear. Moreover, I owe the state government about $400 in back taxes. They've agreed to a payment plan where I send them $40 monthly, and they don't seize my account... which those paper pushers actually threatened to do.

So... I check the mail yesterday, and I've got a box full of credit card offers. Eight offers for at least $11,000 total. Two from citi blah blah that want me to register before they tell me what my credit line will be. Almost all these jokers offer me 0% financing the first 18 months before... bum bum bum... the variable 23% APR hits. I'll bet that variable only ever rises. I don't see this guy... 

...or these factory farmed fuckers... 

...waking up on any given Monday and saying, "Feeling peppy... Let's lighten up on our indentured slaves and lower the variable interest rates on their credit cards so they've got a shot at paying them off before their social security would have kicked in."


The Witness 

I don't have to play. The first step is kicking the chronic consumer habit. Yeah, Cold Steel's Two-Handed Great Sword would look great on the wall behind my front door and may come in handy against that raging swarm of bandit berserkers that may attack my village after that mother CME sinks the grid "any-day-now", and, yeah, Desert Rogue's Five-Pocket Black Leaf Leather Utility Burner Belt would be damn handy when I've got to hike across the San Rafael Valley with my pistol grip shotgun to locate a new waters source for my tribe following the "any-day-now" nuclear holocaust, but, groovy speculation aside, it's much more badass to live within my means instead of being a pay pal.

Here's a few tips for living large while curbing spending:

Meditate
Meditation cools compulsion. It strengthens our capacity to witness our urges, without necessarily buying into them. Meditation builds self awareness. It's a little tougher to be a puppet when you meditate regularly, because meditation yields mental, and eventually spiritual, autonomy. Why do you think its illegal under tyrannical regimes?

Sex
Have more sex (... and don't pay for it). Draw it out. Make it last. Eat at the Y. Keep a scoreboard for numbers of orgasms, moral orals, or whatever your kink. Make loving a pastime. It'll bring you and your partner closer, make you healthier, expand your emotions, and save money.

Art
Create things. Don't buy your life - make it up! It's really easy to import soul, but it's someone else's. Draw, paint, sing, write, dance, rap, doesn't matter. If you can't think of anything to do, go for a walk and collect cans and junk... fucking glue it together in the shape of a whale. Just do something new. Don't be a parasite.

Eat Simply
American's are fat and most are prediabetic. Don't be a hole. Be anabolic! Learn to savor simple, whole natural foods, like apples, kale, cucumbers, walnuts, and brown rice. Keep it organic. It costs more, but you'll need less of it to fuel up. You'll feel healthy and happy and have lots of energy for all that sex and art.

Learn How to Defend Yourself
Study martial arts. Internal, external, mixed, whatever, just learn how to defend yourself. Everyone should practice fighting. The world is a volatile place. Learn weapons too. It won't make you violent; it will make you confident and vital. It'll be handy when the proverbial feces hits the winnow.

There you have it. Don't fall prey to the credit card temptress. You'll be paying out the ass for years to come.