It is an absolutely gorgeous day here on the east coast and I am trying to find excuses to be outside and work off this hangover. I have moved the office outside to the deck and am going to sweat this hangover out of me while I type away. And when I mean office I really mean just my tablet, keyboard, dog and a glass of Brooklyn Bel Air Sour. Little hair of the dog never hurt anyone. Beer has an incredible way of reminding you that it must be respected. I am respecting the hell out of it this morning after an incredible beer fest last night. Credit Cards and beer share that similar quality. Both can be wonderful things and should always be used with care and responsibility. When you think you are immune or ignore their powers; they can turn from things that we know and love into destructive demons that can ruin your life without remorse or regret.
Credit cards should be treated like your monthly rent, mortgage, or any other bill. Paid once a month every month. They dabble that you can put off paying your statement but it comes with a cost. Would you put off paying your rent? Probably not because unless your landlord is the Pope and forgives easily, they will most likely throw a fit while pounding down your door. Paying any other bill late would cost you a ding on your credit score and probably come with a higher payment, maybe a fee or worse. Your credit cards should be treated the same as every other bill. Do not give into the temptation to pay just the minimum payments unless you want to be paying off all that crap you bought for the next 18 months.
If you are feeling like there is no way out of your credit card debt have no fear. Many cards will let you transfer balances at 0% interest for an introductory period. Sometimes there is a fee to do so. The Chase Slate card will not charge you a balance transfer fee for 60 days after you open an account and 15 months of 0% APR with no annual fee. In 15 months you should be able to get yourself on a budget and pay that crap off as well as learn some respect for paying 24.24% interest on outstanding balances. 24.24%. That’s ridiculous. Don’t let these credit card companies steal your money like that. You worked hard for your money! Here at Budgets and Beer we do not like debt and want to help you get rid of it and typically would not recommend opening up another credit card to pay off another but sometimes ya gotta do what ya gotta do while always keeping in mind the goal is to ultimately become debt free! Once your balance hits $0 you can make the credit card companies pay you for the pleasure of using their card which we will go over in more detail next week’s blog. We will learn a little bit about making your money do work for you.
I know what your thinking. Well Mr. B&B if credit cards are so bad then lets just pretend they don’t exist. I have read plenty of articles and opinions on how you can live your life without credit cards. It is entirely possible and for many a perfectly acceptable way to go through life. They say the same thing about beer. No, really they do. I do not know how those people do it but more power to them (and more beer for us!). It can make life a little more difficult. Booking a hotel room or flight is next to impossible. I have stayed at a motel that takes cash…I do not recommend it and I totally slept on my blanket on top of the bed. You are damn right that blanket stayed in that motel room! I probably should have burnt the blanket along with all of my cloths. To this day I count my blessings I did not bring home bed bugs or hepatitis. I personally choose not to live without beer or a credit card because there is not enough beer in the world that will make me go back to that motel. Now that we have touched on some of the dangers of credits cards next week will take a look at some of the benefits and even rewards that credit cards can bring. Did someone say “Free Money”?
My Beer of the Blog is Brooklyn Brewery’s Bel Air Sour. Moderately tart and dry with a slight hop presence in the aftertaste. Excellent flavors without any of the funky aftertaste you can have with some sour beers. Very refreshing for this beautiful day that screams for some freshly squeezed lemonade, so you grab a Brooklyn Bel Air Sour. Cheers!
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