There was once a girl who chose to partner with her credit card, when she should have befriended cash advance loans instead.
Confessions of a Shopaholic
Becky Bloomwood of, “Confessions of a Shopaholic,” fame is the poster girl for young career women whose paths toward success require a pair or two of Jimmy Choos and a basic Louis Vuitton bag. The problem, though, is the fact that Becky, like many of these women, almost never make the direct correlation between credit and cash. They should, however, make this correlation because an uninformed pattern of credit card use may end up in huge payables that may take years to bring back to a positive standing.
Fact is stranger than fiction
The novel, owing to its fictional nature, shows how Becky forges on to use credit irresponsibly, making up excuses each time about how she absolutely needs that new dress or set of designer luggage. But the saying that, “truth is stranger than fiction,” applies in many cases of young women in this same situation, treating their new credit cards as unending sources of cash that will pay for themselves somehow. Throughout the book, Becky is hounded by letters from her credit cards’ bank manager, who repeatedly reminds her of her dues. Ironically, Becky is a financial journalist—albeit one who knows finance in theory, but not in practice.
Cash over Credit
What Becky could have done from the start was to set an amount to cover all her potential expenses—a budget, in simple terms—and taken out cash advance loans, if necessary. Since her salary obviously isn’t enough to pay for all these new ‘investments,’ a cash advance would allow her to purchase a few classic pieces. Classic pieces such as a good pair of shoes and a well-made business suit would have given Becky the responsibility of managing a fixed amount that she can apply and pay for without hassle. Once this has been paid, she can choose to get another one, so she can buy that new outfit at Selfridges or a Denny and George scarf.
Learning Finance, In Simple Steps
Having the freedom of a credit card poses the question of maturity and responsibility, not to mention one’s knowledge of reality. Obviously, Becky’s behavior runs on the negative end of the spectrum, since her concepts of credit card use were pretty much delusional. But like the modern fairy tale it is, “Confessions of a Shopaholic,” ended with Becky finally paying off her debts, establishing a friendly relationship with her bank manager, and landing a millionaire boyfriend whose net worth would give her access to more shopping opportunities. However, if things did not end up as perfectly as they did, Becky Bloomwood would have again been the excellent profile of one who would benefit from cash advance loans. By taking out a payday loan that would pay for her unpaid credit card balance, Becky would have realistically reduced her debt and learned more life and financial lessons along the way.
Sophie Kinsella’s, “Confessions of a Shopaholic,” has become so popular that it has been adapted for film, and is due for release in January 2009. Let’s just hope that the screenwriters are financially savvy themselves, so the millions of possible viewers of this movie would learn a thing or two about the huge differences between cash and credit.
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You see people driving around in Hummers, wearing the latest trends and fancy jewelry. But in reality, most of these people are in a financial crisis. Many people yearn to be noticed and to be considered “high-class” and will do just about anything to accomplish it – even if it means living above their means. However, this is exactly the kind of attitude that leads people to financial hardship and jammed in the cycle of debt. What’s the point of having all the fancy things in the world when underneath, you’re a mess? Life is not all about the hottest rocks and pretty things.
Everyone makes excuses for using credit cards to get something that they want and don’t actually need. We can all learn a lesson on how to decipher what we really need versus what we want.
Spending over our limit is something everyone does but coming back from the credit being trashed is different for all of us, I just wish what I bought was Jimmy Choos rather than my rum and coke.