Are we in a rebound? Are things taking a complete 180? What would make me ask that question? I want to start with credit cards. If you have a younger person in your home, say one of your kids is headed off to college, the number of credit card offers is totally amazing. 3-4 per day is not unusual. Who knew that there were so many credit card companies in the United States?

I can remember as a young adult my Dad said that “someday you’ll probably want to get a credit card. Then you don’t need to carry cash or checks, just a credit card.” Then came the lecture about maintaining a good credit rating. Yes, you need loans…but not too many loans. And after you have a loan, whether it be for a car, or a motorcycle, you can not miss payments.

I don’t want to seem ancient, but getting a credit card was a big deal, and certainly not guaranteed. I can remember walking into the local hometown bank and letting the teller know that I was there to apply for a credit card. It seemed like an eternity until the president, yep the president of the bank, approached me to have a seat in his office. It was warm in the bank, but it wasn’t heat that caused me to break out in a sweat, it was the fear of what was to come. To shorten the story a bit, about 30 minutes and what seemed like 200 questions later the president stood up and then came the biggest question of all…” You don’t suppose your Mom or Dad would like to co-sign on this credit care, do you?” I already knew the answer to that question. I stared at the floor and answered quietly, “probably not.”

“Oh, just checking. It would be a for sure thing if they did” he said.
I did get a credit card, with a $200.00 limit until I showed the bank that I was a dependable credit risk. I was so darn proud. I couldn’t hardly wait to use it. And use it I did.

But times have certainly changed haven’t they? Credit card applications arriving in the mail. Unlimited credit balances. Airline miles for using your card. Cash back on purchases. And then the signs that started to appear “We Take Cash & Credit Cards Only- No Checks!”

I seriously cannot remember the last time that I carried a checkbook. I certainly took their warnings about checks to heart. And with the disappearance of checkbooks was the reliance on a credit card as my only form of payment. Credit cards certainly worked, well until recently when letters started arriving in the mail informing me that credit card would be switched to daily compounded interest. How’s that? You mean we don’t have the 30 days to pay the balance before interest is applied? Nope…a recent credit card statement came with the daily interest already applied. Needless to say, I ended my relationship with that credit card company.

And then, certain merchants started to add on credit card fees. Spend some time in California and learn about a flat credit card fee applied to your purchases. Read the fine print and find out that it’s either a flat fee, or a percentage of your purchase, whichever is more. Doesn’t appear to be very consumer friendly, and it isn’t. Walking by a parking meter in California I read a small sign that said, “We’ll Add A $3.00 Credit Card Fee To Your Parking Purchase.” OK- Enough!

Simple math will tell you that you can’t charge someone $2.00 for parking, and turn around and pay the credit card company $2.00 for a flat fee. I am not sure where all of this is going. It seems that our once “free” credit cards will be free no more. Stay tuned…

Watch the fine print.
I am also up in arms with restaurants that have fine print on the bottom of the menu that informs you that they will be charging you a convenience fee. Some of these fees have been as high as $5.00. Nope, this isn’t the tip. This is you the consumer paying for the benefits that the restaurant is offering their employees. A little bit of research will tell you that the restaurants that enforce this policy do not want you to reduce your tip amount. Instead, they advise you to increase your tip AND pay the convenience fee. Yikes, where is all of this going.
As a consumer I really dislike the moving targets that have become popular. If you don’t read the fine print and don’t check your credit card receipt, you’ll end up paying all of these extra fees. Time for a little push back…don’t you think?

Best Kept Secrets
The snow at Bottineau Winter Park is awesome…Military Appreciation Day is the 17th! Make plans to take the family skiing, tubing or snowboarding. A great day of great fun!

Today’s Chuckle
A woman phones up her husband at work for a chat.
HIM “I’m sorry dear but I’m up to my neck in work today.”
HER “But I’ve got some good news and some bad news for you dear.”
HIM “OK darling, but as I’ve got no time now, just give me the good news.”
HER “Well, the air bag works.”