Today, like every day, I received several letters from banks urging me to sign up for their best credit cards. I deserve it, they say, I am worthy, they intone. Well ain’t that just wonderful. It wasn’t always this way, far from it.
Years ago I was living on the edge. Even though I was career military and a high ranking senior enlisted, I was in financial trouble. Poor personal decision making (getting involved with a sociopath woman was the primary problem) and a divorce had put me in a position of not having enough to pay my bills. There was no relief to be found. The banks wouldn’t negotiate a lowered interest or a repayment plan so bankruptcy was the only solution.
For years I had no credit whatsoever and that was difficult, but undeterred I kept on working on it and reached a point where my credit score now exceeds 700. Not exceptional, but very good. Now, every day I get multiple solicitations from the banks begging me to sign up for their credit cards. The same banks that would nothing to do with me when I needed them the most. I don’t even open them anymore. They go straight into the trash without being read. One bank had given me a card when I was on the way back up. Not much of a limit on it and secured by deposits during the first year, but available in case of emergency. That bank is the only one I will do business with now. They showed a little bit of faith in me, and as such they deserve my business.
This is always the way. They love you when you’re up, and don’t know you when you’re down. Of course that is true of many relationships and those are the times when you find out who your real friends are.