Due to different reasons, we are striving to the American Dream – a life where we could own a big nice house, good cars and breath-taking clothes. We would like to buy whatever we wish at a stroke of a prestigious credit card. However, you will agree with me that people tend to make judgments based on how close you have come to this American Dream. You are evaluated by the brand of shoes you wear, the number of cars you own or the street and apartment you live at. You are a person of your possessions, nothing more. That is why there appeared a class of products to express your status, not to bring quality and convenience in our life.
Making their way to the cherished AD, many of us can get lost in the shopping mania which very often results in excessive use of balance transfer credit cards or low APR cards. Last year, more than 9,5 billion American consumers increased their credit card spending or asked their banks for spending limit increase, being owners of the excellent credit cards.
What the reason is, no one will answer with certainty. TV shows display celebrities' overspending and living in fabulous luxury. Americans dream to look like stars, they want to live like stars! And MasterCard or Visa credit card deals are there to help them start living the way they can hardly afford! Thousands of dollars in debt is not an obstacle.
The 'pay later' philosophy cannot serve you right. Gasoline credit card helps save a number of dollars at the pump, hotel rewards plastic makes you a privileged guest, airmile bank card provides you with a free ticket from time to time. But the debt you accumulate with all of them cannot be compared to the rewards you get. Being used everywhere, they are designed for numerous purposes, some of which you will never need.
American Dream is now raised on the masses of debt, bankruptcy, charge-offs… This is the consumerist culture which is generated by big business and which itself had given an impulse to big businesses. We should understand that how ever rewarding a credit card may seem, hundreds of people are paid for their work when you take out your plastic and give it to the shop girl.
It is necessary to learn living within our means, keeping our personal finance healthy. Credit cards were not created to make us poorer, indeed.


Andrea Domini is a popular writer at Credit-Card-Analyzer.com, the site which publishes articles and reviews about bad credit credit cards management and debt relief methods. You can also browse through a collection of best credit cards by the most popular banks.