2008 Woodie Awards
Dierkes: Credit cards not accepted
Doug Dierkes, COLUMNIST
Issue date: 8/30/08 Section: Opinion
As I was waiting in line in the campus bookstore, my arm going numb from holding up a stack of used textbooks, a thought started forming in the back of my mind.
This thought didn't become very clear until I had to pay using the thick stack of $20 bills I pulled from my bank account earlier in the day. What was normally a two minute experience at the checkout counter was extended into nearly 12 minutes of repetition as the cashier counted, recounted, and re-recounted my money to make sure I wasn't ripping her off.
All because of my distrust of credit cards.
Don't get me wrong, I like the concept of having emergency cash without the bother of haggling it from my parents. The problem is I'm an impulsive little bastard. Just ask any of my former professors (especially Dr. Lepak in the Political Science department). I'm even worse when it comes to money, frequently using the spare change from filling my tank to grab a quick meal from Taco Bell. Walking around with effectively bottomless pockets would create more problems than it could solve for a guy like me.
It also doesn't help that my employment history is a little sporadic. When you're lucky to find yourself still working after your first month on the job, money tends to get a little tight.
I have seriously had nightmares where I defaulted on a loan from the bank, the repo man comes to my house, and he is pissed. I have never owned anything worth more than $300, and when I finally got a decent used car for just under two grand it was totalled before the paper license plate expired.
"You're not even worth my time," he mutters before slashing my throat and stuffing my organs into a cooler he fished out of my basement.
Then again I do have a student loan, so all this whining about me being unworthy of a credit card seems a little hypocritical. And I go to Youngstown State University, the Sam's Club of college education. I have no reason to complain about being in debt up to my ankles.
But I still don't trust credit cards.
This thought didn't become very clear until I had to pay using the thick stack of $20 bills I pulled from my bank account earlier in the day. What was normally a two minute experience at the checkout counter was extended into nearly 12 minutes of repetition as the cashier counted, recounted, and re-recounted my money to make sure I wasn't ripping her off.
All because of my distrust of credit cards.
Don't get me wrong, I like the concept of having emergency cash without the bother of haggling it from my parents. The problem is I'm an impulsive little bastard. Just ask any of my former professors (especially Dr. Lepak in the Political Science department). I'm even worse when it comes to money, frequently using the spare change from filling my tank to grab a quick meal from Taco Bell. Walking around with effectively bottomless pockets would create more problems than it could solve for a guy like me.
It also doesn't help that my employment history is a little sporadic. When you're lucky to find yourself still working after your first month on the job, money tends to get a little tight.
I have seriously had nightmares where I defaulted on a loan from the bank, the repo man comes to my house, and he is pissed. I have never owned anything worth more than $300, and when I finally got a decent used car for just under two grand it was totalled before the paper license plate expired.
"You're not even worth my time," he mutters before slashing my throat and stuffing my organs into a cooler he fished out of my basement.
Then again I do have a student loan, so all this whining about me being unworthy of a credit card seems a little hypocritical. And I go to Youngstown State University, the Sam's Club of college education. I have no reason to complain about being in debt up to my ankles.
But I still don't trust credit cards.
Viewing Comments 1 - 1 of 1
Mark Capuano
posted 9/02/08 @ 8:29 AM EST
Great Article! Made me laugh AND think. I hope you're a regular contributor this year, Doug, because I'll be a regular reader of your collumn!
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