Credit Card Debt

In the Wall Street Journal article titled “Good and Bad in Credit-Card Binge”, Kathleen Madigan talks about consumerism with credit cards. People feel more comfortable borrowing if they know they will get paid in the future (Madigan 2012). Consumers will keep consuming if they know money will always come, but for others without a job, they don’t have a choice to purchase goods when they don’t know if they will have the money in the future. For most people, money comes and goes. They don’t know the importance of money because they focus on the present and not the future.

Affluenza is an ubiquitous disease that many people are suffering from. There are many symptoms, but one of the symptoms is purchasing goods when you don't have the money to pay it off. Most people apply for credit cards and use them to purchase goods instead of paying cash, so they can pay off the bill later on. Because of the choice to borrow money and delay the payment, people tend to use their credit cards even though they don’t have the money for it at the moment. Some consumers are still struggling with mortgages, joblessness, and past debt (Madigan 2012). Purchasing goods when you don’t have the money causes debt; as a result, you have to work longer hours to pay off the debt. It’s even worse for the people who are unemployed. They might not be able to pay off the mortgage payments for their house which will result in a foreclosure.

Madigan, Kathleen. “Good and Bad In Credit-Card Binge” Wall Street Journal 9 May 2012
http://blogs.wsj.com/economics/2012/05/09/good-and-bad-in-credit-card-binge/?KEYWORDS=credit+card