The panic this has caused, and the degree of reality about the threat to people's CC info should be a bit of a lesson to everyone. It's quite simple really. If people want to jump on the bandwagon that has grown of the past few decades of "living beyond their means" by running up CC's, then risk is part of their daily lives and they have to live with it.
I know there are exceptions to the rule, people who buy using CCs for convenience and pay the balance immediately thereby not actually carrying a balance. That is the "exception" to the rule however.
Most people use CCs simply because they can't wait until they can afford stuff. They want it "now" so they just "chi-ching" it. Gone are the days (for the most part anyways) when people bought what they could "afford" to buy.
Until recently (about 70 years or so) living in debt was actually illegal. How soon we forget.
If one want's to live financially safe and free one should pay cash and/or only buy something when they can afford it. Anything else is unwise and risky. If it CAN happen, it WILL happen. I know at least 2 people who have been skewered because someone got hold of their CC info.
Think about it. When you hear of financial institutions saying they will help you "Build your credit" do you know what that actually means? It means they will simply help you get into a "little bit of debt" now so you can get into a "Humungous amount of debt" later! LOL. The term "building your credit" is a myth aimed at the naive. All they are doing is helping you become a slave to the institutions you owe.
So when I hear stories like this it kinda makes me laugh because really, if people are affected in a bad way, who do they have to blame for it?
Excuse the rant but I only say it in hopes that the sooner people realize the way things work nowadays, the sooner they will be able to make wise and safe choices about how they handle their finances and be able to sleep a lot better at night.
Financial freedom is something that takes discipline, but is easily attainable for ANYONE who wants it. CCs are aimed at taking that freedom away plain and simple. I wish I would've learned this lesson when I was younger but better late than never and I can tell y'all, living financially free is absolutely amazing.
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