Ed Hungness: Cash, check or charge?

Ed Hungness

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April 21, 2008

BY ED HUNGNESS The Record Eagle Mon Apr 21, 2008, 12:00 AM EDT

The dictionary defines a curmudgeon as a crusty, cantankerous old person full of stubborn ideas.

For the most part, my friends tell me that I'm a fairly likeable fellow and even-tempered. But, at times, certain things just bother me and I may just seem more like one of those curmudgeon characters.

Currently, I am annoyed with the advertising campaigns of credit card companies. Have you ever noticed how the main focus in their commercials is the reward programs? By charging purchases that we often can't afford in the first place, we can earn a reward.

Cardholders can get a new mountain bike, an Ipod or free air miles just for charging things on that piece of plastic. Then we earn another reward. We get to pay 15 percent interest on our outstanding balance. They never mention interest rates in the commercials, which explains why we get so many credit card offers in the mail. Doesn't everyone wish they could get a 15 percent return on their investments?

Here's an idea from the past. When we want something that isn't absolutely necessary and don't have the money to buy it, save up for it. Then we can buy it and pay cash, or charge it and pay off the balance on the next statement. We might appreciate our new acquisition more and it would save us a big chunk of interest expense, thus creating our own rewards program.

I'm sure that some who are reading this can remember when there were few credit cards available. Consumers reached in their wallets and paid cash and, if their wallet was empty, they didn't buy it.

Today the median amount of credit card debt carried by the average American household is $9,600 and climbing. It is estimated that this revolving debt costs families approximately $1,500 per year in interest payments. Over a 30-year period, this adds up to $45,000 in additional expense.

If, instead, this money were invested monthly over the same 30-year period in a conservative investment yielding just five percent, it would grow into a nest egg in excess of $100,000. That would be a great way to save for the retirement years.

Consumers are spending money that they don't have and the tab is growing. Americans currently owe $2.5 trillion in consumer debt and spend more than $50 billion a year in interest payments. Some commercials come right out and discourage the use of cash, claiming that it is old-fashioned and slows up the checkout line.

Don't get me wrong, credit cards are handy and sometimes a necessary tool, like a hammer. The problem is, if we don't use that tool carefully, we could hit our thumb (and THAT hurts).

I'd like to think that I am not really a curmudgeon, but just a guy who still holds on to old-fashioned values and ways of thinking. We would all benefit by working toward the goal of freedom from credit card debt.

Reach at Ed Hungness at edhungness@yahoo.com

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Ed Hungness

Reflections: Images on the pond

With the cat asleep on my lap, I stared at the flames dancing in the fireplace and my mind drifted back to a long-ago summer afternoon spent with my father.
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Feb 5, 2012 7:14 am 1 Photo
Reflections: The chicken wore glasses

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Updated Jan 30, 2012 1:12 pm 1 Photo
Reflections: 'On, King! On, you huskies!'

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Updated Jan 31, 2012 2:52 pm 1 Photo
Reflections: Comfort foods called that for a reason

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Updated Feb 8, 2012 1:44 pm 1 Photo
Reflections: Comfort foods called that for a reason

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Dec 25, 2011 6:14 am 1 Photo
Sunday, December 11, 2011
Reflections: Traditions on Christmas Eve

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Updated Feb 9, 2012 1:44 pm 1 Photo
Sunday, November 13, 2011
Reflections: Please pass the gravy

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Nov 13, 2011 6:14 am 1 Photo
Sunday, October 30, 2011
Reflections: The winds of change

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Oct 30, 2011 7:14 am 1 Photo
Sunday, October 16, 2011
Reflections: Baykeeper protects waters

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Oct 16, 2011 7:14 am 1 Photo
Sunday, October 2, 2011
Reflections: Check one off the bucket list

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Oct 2, 2011 7:14 am 1 Photo
Sunday, September 18, 2011
Reflections: Meals do more than feed

A few years ago the Fife Lake food pantry was approached by a local business owner, Gordy Smith, the owner of Gordy's Place in downtown Fife Lake. Smith wanted to give back to the community. Gordy's Place is a well-established northwoods bar and grill, with friendly people serving good food and cold beer. Smith and his family had a new idea. Rather than making a donation to our limited inventory of food, they offered to cater a meal for up to 100 people. What made the idea so intriguing was that he was planning to do it once a month for a year. The dinner was to be held in the basement of the Fife Lake United Methodist Church on the fourth Tuesday of every month.
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Sep 18, 2011 7:14 am 1 Photo
Sunday, September 4, 2011
Reflections: Memories amid collections

Many of the unusual things that people collect have little monetary value. Collections are seldom amassed with the idea of profiting from the finds. So why go to all the effort? Psychologists suggest that we collect things to help us remember the past. Reminiscing over the well-worn playing cards, I could visualize myself sitting on the red brick retaining wall of our grade school playground. With me were several of my school friends, each with their cigar box assortment of cards. We swapped this one for that, each trying to expand a collection.
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Sep 4, 2011 7:14 am 1 Photo
Sunday, August 21, 2011
Reflections: A real-life survivor

Today I am sharing one story with you about a real survivor.
Fife Lake is a small village and it's hard not to notice people you see on a regular basis. Even if you don't know them by name, you know their faces.
On my regular visits to town I frequently saw a man on a bicycle. I saw him on good weather days as well as days that were not conducive to bike riding. In rain and even snow there he was, always holding on to a large black plastic trash bag that dangled from the handlebars. Sometimes he looked soaked to the bone as he made his rounds.
Daily he rode his bike along the highway into the village. Upon his arrival he began his routine of stopping at dumpsters, "picking" cans and bottles that carry a 10-cent deposit. He checked businesses, parks, the boat launch site and the roadsides. At the end of the day, he cashed in his cans and bottles. This was his only employment. I felt sorry for him on wet and cold days. With no fenders on his bike, the water or snow flew off his tires, soaking him both front and back.
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Aug 21, 2011 7:14 am 1 Photo
Sunday, August 7, 2011
Reflections: It's a great place to live

Turning onto the highway, I couldn't help but notice the deep blue color of the clear northern sky. Sunlight filtered through the leaves and branches painted a mosaic-like pattern on the pavement. "How lucky we are to live in such a beautiful place" I thought to myself.
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Aug 7, 2011 7:14 am 1 Photo
Monday, July 11, 2011
Reflections: Bear news travels fast

We've been homeowners in Fife Lake for 11 years and had not seen a bear. We saw bears in Yellowstone and while camping in the Upper Peninsula. We've seen bears in Wisconsin and Colorado, but to our dismay we had never spotted one here.
Last week, I was in the computer room making a phone call to my Uncle Bob in Chicago. It was on the third ring when my wife called loudly from the living room. "Ed, come out here!" I surmised that she didn't realize I was using the phone and informed her with a short reply.
"NOW!" she said.
Figuring that the cottage was on fire but not yet smelling of smoke, I hung up the phone and raced to her assistance.
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Jul 11, 2011 7:00 am 1 Photo
Sunday, June 26, 2011
Reflections: Things that go BOOM

The Fourth of July is one of my favorite holidays. It's a day filled with fun get-togethers with family and friends. In sleepy little Fife Lake, the village goes though a major transformation. There are more people visiting Fife Lake on the Fourth than at any other time of the year. We like to call it "The Best Fourth In the North" but I have noticed several other neighboring towns making the same claim.
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Jun 26, 2011 7:14 am 1 Photo
Sunday, June 12, 2011
Reflections: Just a few more books

I started saving Green Stamps in the late '60s. I was fresh out of college, starting a new job and short on funds. A few readers might be too young to have experienced the Green Stamp era. When purchasing groceries, gasoline, clothing or almost anything else, shoppers were awarded Green Stamps. The friendly grocer or gas station attendant gave one Green Stamp for every dime spent. If $5 worth of gasoline was purchased, the consumer received 50 stamps. This may have been the original "rewards" program.
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Jun 12, 2011 7:14 am 1 Photo
Sunday, May 29, 2011
Reflections: A diamond in the rough

The village of Walton Junction may be empty, but the Walton Junction Sportsman's Club is thriving.
Founded in the late 1950s by a small group of ardent outdoorsmen, the club has grown steadily and there are now 250 hunting and fishing enthusiasts, some of whom live in other states.
What makes this club a diamond in the rough is its dedication to the preservation of our natural resources, education, sportsmanship and service to the community.
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May 29, 2011 7:14 am 1 Photo
Sunday, May 15, 2011
Reflections: Preserve art of letter writing

Starting with the oldest box, I began wading through countless bills, statements and receipts. It didn't take long before I realized that 90 percent of everything was destined for the burn barrel. Why did I save it all? As I reached the bottom of the first box, I discovered a bundle bound together with coarse twine. Upon closer examination I discovered that it was an assortment of letters, greeting cards and newspaper clippings mailed to me by friends and relatives. About to toss them into the wastebasket, I hesitated and then decided to explore a bit closer. Letters can be read and enjoyed multiple times. They often record family history and special events that are described in detail by the author. Bound by a ribbon, they can be saved in their original stamped envelopes and stored in a special letter box or shoebox on the top shelf of a closet or under a bed.
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May 15, 2011 7:14 am 1 Photo
Sunday, May 1, 2011
Reflections: Caring made easier

In mid-March, my wife's best friend Lynn was diagnosed with cancer.
News like this is never good, but in Lynn's case it was devastating. The cancer had been advancing for many months prior to the diagnosis and by the time of its discovery, it had spread to multiple organs. The doctor told Lynn that she likely had only a few months to live and that curative treatment wouldn't be effective due to the advanced stage of the disease.
The doctor who diagnosed Lynn's condition recommended that she should consider receiving hospice care. Calls were made. The very next day an admitting nurse from Hospice of Michigan arrived for a meeting, and Lynn agreed to accept care from their organization.
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May 1, 2011 8:52 am 1 Photo
Sunday, April 17, 2011
Reflections: Store fueled neighborhood

Bronson's store was a block from our home, right up the cinder alley that ran behind our house. It was a neighborhood "ma and pa" store operated, of course, by the Bronsons. There weren't any other employees, just Mr. and Mrs. Bronson. It was a popular place with kids and also with moms who forgot to buy bread.
Times change and stores like Bronson's have faded from residential neighborhoods only to be replaced by big stores in busy shopping areas. The modern-day grocery has so much more to offer today's food shopper, but you won't find cheerful old Mr. and Mrs. Bronson there and you certainly won't find a 10-cent loaf of Wonder Bread.
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Apr 17, 2011 7:14 am 1 Photo
Sunday, April 3, 2011
Reflections: Don't step on blue suede shoes

Between the tragedy in Japan, the chaos in the Middle East, unemployment and the economy, terrorism, gas and food prices and the Asian carp, I am tempted to crawl under a rock. Many others may feel the same way. So I've decided to write about blue suede shoes, a fashion fad that dates back to 1955.
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Apr 3, 2011 7:14 am 1 Photo
Sunday, March 20, 2011
Reflections: Beware of what lurks within

Like file cabinets, hard drives and briefcases, all refrigerators have a capacity. They can only hold so much. Every shelf, drawer, rack and cubby is occupied by bottles, jars and plastic containers along with partially filled baggies of sometimes unknown origins.
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Mar 20, 2011 7:14 am 1 Photo
Sunday, March 6, 2011
Ed Hungness: It happens all the time

After a quick study of the situation, I selected a checkout line and we waited "¦ and waited. Being an observer of people, I noticed three boys who were just ahead of us in line. They were respectable looking young men, perhaps 15 or 16 years of age. After their cart was "empty" I noticed that there was still one small item in the bottom corner of their cart located under the kiddy seat and out of view. I figured the boys missed the item when unloading their purchases.
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Mar 6, 2011 6:14 am 1 Photo
Sunday, February 20, 2011
Reflections: Why did deer cross road?

When we made northern Michigan our home we quickly learned that it's not a question of "if" but "when" you will hit a deer with your car. Either you already have or most likely will in the future. Luckily for me, I am in the minority who hasn't had the experience — yet.
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Feb 20, 2011 6:14 am 1 Photo