Tuesday, January 26, 2010

so what do you do?

The battle, the struggle, is for the many. On the student-debt note, I would like to share some tips of how to live of the radar. In the end, even if you don't want to live off the radar, it can truly save a lot of calls from collection agencies, and, therefore, a lot of headaches.

There is a credit card that you can get from Money Mart that acts like an American debit account. So, you put money on it, and whenever you use your Visa, it just takes the money off the balance. By doing this, you alleviate any falsely-created debt. Wouldn't it be liberating to know that you don't have to pay a credit card bill every month, but you get all the "luxuries" of having a credit card. You can book plane tickets, hotel rooms, or if you don't have the cash on you, buy a new piece of techmology.

Some may find this hard to pursue as they don't have the funds to put anything onto the "credit card" anyways. My thoughts are, why wouldn't you try to? There is instant freedom when you do not have to pay another bill. One thing I learned, here in Argentina, is that North Americans are obsessed with debt. It's the "buy now, pay later" effect that is encouraged, not only when buying a house, or a car, but furniture and even clothing. I think you have to be able to step out of that box, eliminate your debt, and live the free life. Once you discover the innerworkings of the system, I won't say it is easy, but it is a relief to step away from.

A very close comrade of mine has set-up a MetaWealth website where you can go and figure out some help on how we look at money. I, myself, am a recovering money-oholic. I am still trying to take the baby steps to expand my obsessive-compulsive, North-American, hoarding and consuming syndrome (OCNAHCS). The website is a forum in which to expand one's thoughts about the ebb and flow of energy in the form of money. It may just open one's sleepy eyes a little, or it may be the very spark one needs to ignite a change.

2 comments:

  1. You should not fall for these debt/credit cards either. Someone is making money off money you've put down on the card & if you go to your limit & don't put some money down, the interest probably will kill you.Money Mart is probably using your cash for their credit/debits of running their money business, so you could be lending your money to fund them, & once you fall behind you'll never catch up. So its not a good idea, a lot of credit counsellors tell clients to try and not use a debt card either, because it give a false illusion to knowing your balance, you should know exactly what you have money wise.

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  2. You have to remember that credit cards are merely a tool. If you are willing to pay a fee to have access to the things that credit cards access for you, then it is up to you. If you want to just deal in cash, you have to be weary of fluctuating worth of the dollar. Unfortunately, because it isn't real or back by anything, a single currency can crash overnight. There is no point in hoarding hard cash unless you have a goal in mind, which needs to be realistic.
    There is no interest on the Money Mart credit card because it acts as a debit card but more secure. However, there is a fee that is still a lot less than any debit account at the top 5 Canadian banks. If you plan on traveling or booking a hotel, ever, then this is probably one of the easier options other than an offshore account that comes with credit cards.

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