Give me liberty or give me death. The line made famous by Patrick Henry is a battle cry for many Americans to this day. Our forefathers have bestowed a healthy stubborn streak in the populace. There’s a reason you’ve seen boats, trucks and any manner of moving vehicle with “Don’t Tread on Me” or “Join or Die” flags this holiday weekend.
Liberty is defined as “the state of being free within society from oppressive restrictions imposed by authority on one’s way of life, behavior, or political views.”
Americans love the idea of liberty. If that’s the case, why do we so easily hand it over to banks and creditors?
There can be nothing more American than having the ability to do what you want, when you want. If you’re waking up every Monday morning and dreading going into an office in order to do a job you hate, this is the very antithesis of liberty.
What makes it worse, is when you’re making yourself do that job in order to pay for the things you think are going to make your life better. This is compounded when those things are purchased on credit.
Credit is an anchor. The more you rely on it, the more you need to work to pay off the things you have. You’re backed into a corner, freely giving away the liberty our forefathers fought so hard to protect on your behalf.
Working is an essential part of life. It not only provides self worth it also helps us pay for the things we need to survive. If you’re lucky enough to make more each month or year to pay for more than just the essentials, you’re able to splurge on buying fun items that you hope will enhance your life. If done right, they absolutely will. The problem is, too many of us go about it the wrong way.
During the tail end of my banking career, I had an interview for a marketing position supporting credit cards. I was hesitant to interview for the job considering I don’t personally use credit cards but I wanted to give it a shot anyway. I went into the interview wanting to provide my ideas on how I thought we could do a better job marketing to customers. My argument was based on more education rather than simply providing easy credit. It did not go well.
The recruiter was flabbergasted. She couldn’t understand why I had even applied for the job. She simply couldn’t wrap her mind around what better education had to do with positioning the card within the market. The priority was to get more customers to open credit lines, education be damned.
This is one of the reasons I left the bank. I couldn’t place myself in a position where I was being paid a salary to place my friends and neighbors into debt.
Although there is some education provided to customers when credit is extended, a majority of the language is either too hard to understand or is buried within the disclosures. Most customers don’t care anyway. They just want the money so they can buy what they think they need and pay it off later.
The more purchasing that’s done with credit, the further away you move from liberty. It’s a form of “self imposed oppression” by allowing creditors to impose on your civil liberties. You’re handing it over freely in order to purchase the new car, boat or pool of your dreams.
The problem is, the dream is actually a nightmare. You’re stuck and don’t even know it. You’re in a financial prison of your own creation. Debt has a way of creeping into our lives and taking hold.
The good news is, you have the power to keep it at bay and preserve your personal liberty.
More good news. Death isn’t required.
