The only real idiots when it comes to credit are the ones who apply for
every card offer they get and max them all out while paying minimum
payments, if that. I work with a guy who did that. He was filing
bankruptcy and getting everything reposessed in a year or 2.

This is frighteningly common.

In the early 90s I served as a volunteer on the board of directors of an
employee credit union at a small newspaper. As a director, I had a direct
say on whether people -- my co-workers and friends -- received loans of all
kinds.

We were VERY free and easy with our policies and procedures, but there were
people -- some very prominent people -- who literally were one paycheck away
from utter disaster. They were literally spending EVERYTHING they made on
minimum loan payments, yet they were applying for another loan from us.

In one notable case, we had to turn down a loan to a VERY important person
in the organization -- for a snowmobile! This woman could not muster
enough credit to borrow the pittance required to buy a snowmobile -- yet,
from the outside, she looked like a pillar of the community.

We saw this same predicament many times, much to my amazement and dismay.
In each case, they were incredulous that we wouldn't loan them the money.

Credit cards are like booze. For some, used sparingly, they are healthy.
For others, they are addictive and deadly.
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"