Life Without Credit Cards
Last Sunday, I decided that I needed to torture myself. I think life was going too well, and I thought, “Hey, I know what I can do – I can go to Washington Street Kennels and play with a puppy.”
And that’s exactly what I did. I walked in, and immediately spotted a West Highlander puppy, and my heart was taken. (Yes, I know, I’ve spent a lot of time on the whole Biewer thing, and while I still want one, those are rare, and I would have to drive to Canada to even play with one). I love the West Highlander, though I am not sure if I would get one because it would get too big to fit in a purse. Plus, it’s like a real dog, and thus would be unable to be an obnoxious little dog that barks at people, something I crave to own.
That said, I did fall in love with this little guy. He was sleepy, and as he started to wake up, he gnawed on my finger, and licked my face. OHMYGOD. It was very a cute. As my heart started to flutter, I asked the people how much he cost.
“$475.00.”
Suddenly, I was relieved. I knew that not only did I not have $475 in my checking account, but that I didn’t even have a credit card with which I could charge my newfound love. I put the puppy back and told him, "Sorry, no Visa!"
As I left the kennel with the scent of puppy still prevalent on my body, wishing I could take that guy home, but lacking the funds to do so, I wondered how my life would have turned out different had I had a credit card in the last 6 months.
Here’s what I figured out:
1. I would have a hot tub in my back yard. And by this time, I would have become bored with it and it would be covered with leaves and in dire need of cleaning. I would also have friends that were only friends because of my hot tub access.
2. I would have all-new stainless steel kitchen appliances. God I love stainless steel refrigerators.
3. My kitchen would be re-done with granite countertops. And I would be horrible at maintaining them.
4. I would have a brown velvet chair from Room & Board, and I would have gotten rid of my Pottery Barn Basic chair (anyone want to buy it now??)
5. I wouldn’t have opened a savings account. Yes, I actually have one, and it has $40.17 in it.
6. I would have gotten rid of my regular 42” HDTV and replaced it with a 42” HDTV plasma screen. Cool.
7. I would own an Xbox 360
8. I would bought those $250 shoes I can’t even think of right now, but I remember I really liked them.
9. I would have bought something at Fred Segal when I was in LA. Something I didn’t need, and something waaaay too expensive.
10. I would have spent too much for GerRee’s wedding - not that I was a schlep on gifts – I think I rocked on gifts – but I love her so much, and I would have tried to buy everything on that damn registry for her.
11. I would be leasing a BMW Z4. Not that I can charge a car, but see, it would have just made me feel more secure getting it if I had a Visa. Plus, it would have really annoyed GerRee.
12. I would have spent a lot more on groceries. There’s something about buying groceries with a credit card which makes you buy stuff you don’t need, especially perishables.
13. My car would be clean and detailed right now. I am having a hard time spending $40 on getting it cleaned right now because it comes right out of my checking account.
14. I would have bought like 56 people lunch. I have this problem of always wanting to pay for other people, though they are perfectly capable of paying for themselves. The sad thing is that most people will let you buy them lunch, and then not ever buy you lunch. Actually, I shouldn’t say people – I should say “women”, because I’ve found that for some reason, some women will just let other people take care of them, and then never feel compelled to take care of them back. (Important side note: GerRee is NOT like this. Even if GerRee has $1.56 in her pocket, she will never take a free ride. This is one of the things I LOVE about her – she is always fair, and she’s not one of those people who thinks that if you earn more money or whatever, that you should always pay. God, I love GerRee and its so sad how much I write about her, especially since she’s not my Lesbian lover – despite all those rumors and pictures on the internet. I was just giving her a massage. So what if we were topless?)
And last but not least:
15. I would own a Biewer. Yes, I would have charged a $3500 2lb puppy to my credit card and had him FedEx’d. And yes, you can ship a puppy. I didn’t think you could, but I spoke to several breeders, and this is a common practice. One even told me that she sprays her perfume on some cloth, and puts it in the crate with a toy and some food. Next time I fly, I should spray my mom’s perfume on something and see if that calms me down. She wears Hermes (used to be Jean Nate, and then Bill Blass, and then Jill Sanders, but I got her on Hermes when I went to Paris and bought it for her. How’s that for a fancy story?)
Looking at those 15 items above, I would have spent at least $25,000 in just the past six months and would be driving a convertible in the dead of winter with no savings account. I would have spent an extra $4,500 a month. That's like an entire week's pay! Yet, every single one of those items I thought I desperately needed to buy at the time. I truly believed my life would be fabulous with a hot tub. I really thought that buying everyone lunch made me a better friend. And Lord knows that a puppy is something that would feel this huge gap in my life. (Um, I don’t really have a gap, but I like to write that because it makes me sound deep and longing.)
Though life has been difficult without a credit card these past 6 months, I am also grateful that I didn’t have one. I still struggle with understanding the difference between “need” and “want”, and until I am darn clear on the difference, I think I will still stay away from Visa and MasterCard.
But maybe I’ll get a Discover card. So few people accept Discover that it really saves to Discover.
Ha, ha! Get it?
Man, I wish I had a puppy.
- A
And that’s exactly what I did. I walked in, and immediately spotted a West Highlander puppy, and my heart was taken. (Yes, I know, I’ve spent a lot of time on the whole Biewer thing, and while I still want one, those are rare, and I would have to drive to Canada to even play with one). I love the West Highlander, though I am not sure if I would get one because it would get too big to fit in a purse. Plus, it’s like a real dog, and thus would be unable to be an obnoxious little dog that barks at people, something I crave to own.
That said, I did fall in love with this little guy. He was sleepy, and as he started to wake up, he gnawed on my finger, and licked my face. OHMYGOD. It was very a cute. As my heart started to flutter, I asked the people how much he cost.
“$475.00.”
Suddenly, I was relieved. I knew that not only did I not have $475 in my checking account, but that I didn’t even have a credit card with which I could charge my newfound love. I put the puppy back and told him, "Sorry, no Visa!"
As I left the kennel with the scent of puppy still prevalent on my body, wishing I could take that guy home, but lacking the funds to do so, I wondered how my life would have turned out different had I had a credit card in the last 6 months.
Here’s what I figured out:
1. I would have a hot tub in my back yard. And by this time, I would have become bored with it and it would be covered with leaves and in dire need of cleaning. I would also have friends that were only friends because of my hot tub access.
2. I would have all-new stainless steel kitchen appliances. God I love stainless steel refrigerators.
3. My kitchen would be re-done with granite countertops. And I would be horrible at maintaining them.
4. I would have a brown velvet chair from Room & Board, and I would have gotten rid of my Pottery Barn Basic chair (anyone want to buy it now??)
5. I wouldn’t have opened a savings account. Yes, I actually have one, and it has $40.17 in it.
6. I would have gotten rid of my regular 42” HDTV and replaced it with a 42” HDTV plasma screen. Cool.
7. I would own an Xbox 360
8. I would bought those $250 shoes I can’t even think of right now, but I remember I really liked them.
9. I would have bought something at Fred Segal when I was in LA. Something I didn’t need, and something waaaay too expensive.
10. I would have spent too much for GerRee’s wedding - not that I was a schlep on gifts – I think I rocked on gifts – but I love her so much, and I would have tried to buy everything on that damn registry for her.
11. I would be leasing a BMW Z4. Not that I can charge a car, but see, it would have just made me feel more secure getting it if I had a Visa. Plus, it would have really annoyed GerRee.
12. I would have spent a lot more on groceries. There’s something about buying groceries with a credit card which makes you buy stuff you don’t need, especially perishables.
13. My car would be clean and detailed right now. I am having a hard time spending $40 on getting it cleaned right now because it comes right out of my checking account.
14. I would have bought like 56 people lunch. I have this problem of always wanting to pay for other people, though they are perfectly capable of paying for themselves. The sad thing is that most people will let you buy them lunch, and then not ever buy you lunch. Actually, I shouldn’t say people – I should say “women”, because I’ve found that for some reason, some women will just let other people take care of them, and then never feel compelled to take care of them back. (Important side note: GerRee is NOT like this. Even if GerRee has $1.56 in her pocket, she will never take a free ride. This is one of the things I LOVE about her – she is always fair, and she’s not one of those people who thinks that if you earn more money or whatever, that you should always pay. God, I love GerRee and its so sad how much I write about her, especially since she’s not my Lesbian lover – despite all those rumors and pictures on the internet. I was just giving her a massage. So what if we were topless?)
And last but not least:
15. I would own a Biewer. Yes, I would have charged a $3500 2lb puppy to my credit card and had him FedEx’d. And yes, you can ship a puppy. I didn’t think you could, but I spoke to several breeders, and this is a common practice. One even told me that she sprays her perfume on some cloth, and puts it in the crate with a toy and some food. Next time I fly, I should spray my mom’s perfume on something and see if that calms me down. She wears Hermes (used to be Jean Nate, and then Bill Blass, and then Jill Sanders, but I got her on Hermes when I went to Paris and bought it for her. How’s that for a fancy story?)
Looking at those 15 items above, I would have spent at least $25,000 in just the past six months and would be driving a convertible in the dead of winter with no savings account. I would have spent an extra $4,500 a month. That's like an entire week's pay! Yet, every single one of those items I thought I desperately needed to buy at the time. I truly believed my life would be fabulous with a hot tub. I really thought that buying everyone lunch made me a better friend. And Lord knows that a puppy is something that would feel this huge gap in my life. (Um, I don’t really have a gap, but I like to write that because it makes me sound deep and longing.)
Though life has been difficult without a credit card these past 6 months, I am also grateful that I didn’t have one. I still struggle with understanding the difference between “need” and “want”, and until I am darn clear on the difference, I think I will still stay away from Visa and MasterCard.
But maybe I’ll get a Discover card. So few people accept Discover that it really saves to Discover.
Ha, ha! Get it?
Man, I wish I had a puppy.
- A
posted by Ashley at 8:06 AM
0 comments
