Psych Essays - Credit, Personal Finance, Credit Card, Credit History

Norkis Grant Zakiya Odoi ENC1101TR2:00pm 09/30/2012 Hard Times Will Follow I turn the TV up louder because now my mom is yelling on the phone to Chase about the bill she just received. She sounds as if she is in a war but the slamming of the phone lets me know she didn?t win. I was just out this morning with her and seen that her eyes were glued to a new pair of Burberry shoes. She persuaded herself that she needed them like the other millions of pairs she has jammed in her closet and found herself swiping that same card that she is now arguing with the bank over. How could she really put up any argument? People are in debt because they do not know the difference between priorities and desires. To begin, I believe the first cause of debt would be the helpless issue people have with saving. When growing up we are drawn to a very fancy life style through television and magazines which create a big hole in our pockets. Not everyone in life is born into a millionaire family or with doctors for parents so we must live a life of spending safely but we focus too much on what we want rather then what we need. The other night my best friend Zoie called me in panic around 1 am stating how she is stuck on the side on I-95 with her tank on E. Instead of putting priorities first Zoie decided to go out on a date with little money assuming that the guy was going to pay; little did she know, he didn?t. I warned her if she didn?t learn how to save she would pay for it and now she had bigger things to worry about: a car with no gas, a phone with little battery and no clue on how she was getting to work in the morning. And not being able to get to work means you don?t get paid and neither do the bills. Sometimes such a little sacrifice can save for weeks of headaches. However I believe people get swallowed by debt because of our bad habit of not being able to say no when shopping. When you enter stores like Marshalls, Ross, or TJMAX people can never walk in just for one thing and walk out with just that. Those stores surround customers with alluring items that you may not necessarily need but does catch your eye. I worked in a retail store as a cashier and every time I got a customer they always said the same thing: ?Oh, I think it?s so funny that I always come in here just to return something and end up picking up more things on the way out.? With notebooks, chips, wallets, kid toys, even drinks in case they?re thirsty as the customer waits to be rung up, I don?t have a hard time believing that. The more we shop the less we save. Another reason why I think we fall into debt is because of the overloading of responsibilities we put on ourselves. As a college student my biggest worry is to have to get a loan for school. With no financial aid help I feel as if choosing to go to a major college without scholarships or grants would be completely insane but not impossible. Loans are offered as long as you are attending school but are expected to be paid back after graduating. However going to school for many years doesn?t guarantee a good job to assist you with the money to pay the balance due. So if you are busy buying the latest fashions you may have a hard time keeping up with the payments. Although everyday people are applying to credit cards it is one of the biggest reasons for debt. Banks are there to help but our society seems to be too dependable on a credit card which is money that isn?t ours and needs to be paid back. People don?t understand the seriousness of this problem, which is it affects our credit score. Like a professor once told me ?Your credit score is basically the governments? way of telling how responsible you are without them even seeing