One facet of Western Culture that permeates the most in our society is the need for instant gratification. What we can’t wait for, we want to have now. Fortunately, when we just gotta have what we just can’t afford, we can use money that just doesn’t exist – credit.

Credit is by no means a new concept. People have been surely handing out IOUs since the idea of “value” has existed. However, the idea of charging interest with credit is a more modern creation. Banks and credit card companies let consumers spend “money” with the idea that it’ll be paid back – with interest. This interest, coupled with financial irresponsibility, is what leads to crippling credit card debt. Continue reading →

Debit cards and credit cards are some of the most widely utilized modes of payments, often surpassing cash in their frequency of use. While this is in large part due to their convenience, both forms of cards have become commonly used to conduct both direct and indirect transactions on an enormous variety of scales. Yet their omnipresent status in our everyday lives seems to conflict jarringly with the number of misconceptions that many people have about the ramifications of using these cards and how the two are similar and different from each other. Continue reading →