What I call the, “I want it NOW” syndrome, is something that we expect from children. The problem being that many adults never mature enough to grow out of this syndrome. People should get credit counseling at a very young age – it should be a required curriculum in our school system.
There are many theories as to why people feel such a strong need to go deeply into debt in order to fill their lives with material things. Credit cards are a required necessity in todays modern world; however without responsible use of these credit cards, a consumer can soon find themselves choking in debt. Consumers find themselves in a vicious cycle: first they start by only making the minimum payment required (which often does not even cover the accumulating interest), next the consumer finds it necessary to make a payment late, or skip a payment. This strategy causes a boomerang effect as it usually triggers a huge jump in the interest rate you are paying. Credit card companies are really smiling when you miss a payment, the late fees seem to be getting bigger and bigger, the fee alone may be $35, $50, or even $75 or more – that fee is pure profit for the credit...