The Credit Card Novice

A week or two back, while I was blog hopping, I came across a post from Nessa of Mumblings. She was ranting about this woman who was using a credit card to pay for one or two items. That post gave me quite a chuckle and it also brought back some memories about the first time I ever owned my own credit card all those years ago.

Back when I first started working, I always envied people who had credit cards. If you had a credit card in those days it meant you were someone big, it showed that you've made it in life. Back then my salary wasn't enough for me to qualify for a credit card. Even after working for close to 3 years, I still didn't earn enough to get one. Hey, a graphic designer back in those days didn't earn much, k!

I remember all my cousins would gather round during the weekends and flash their credit cards and I'd just envy them. I vowed to work hard and earn enough to get one (Damn, I was stupid back then!). But after about 5 years of working and switching fields from the creative department to the client service department and getting a raise my salary still didn't quite cut it yet. The requirements for owning a credit card was pretty steep in those days.

One day, one of those credit card sales person made a stopover at my office to promote their card and he convinced me to sign up. Even though I told him I didn't really qualify yet, he said never mind, you just might get lucky. So, with nothing to lose, I signed up. And totally forgot about it for the next one month cos I didn't really expect them to approve my application.

After about 5 weeks or so, I came home from work one day and see this letter from the credit card company informing me that my application has been approved and that I can go over to their office to pick up my card. I was shocked yet elated by the news. Woohoo, I've finally made it. I'm in the big leagues now. I can spend, spend, spend without using money I thought.

'Urrmmm, you do know that you have to pay all that back at the end of the month don't you?'

Yeah, yeah, I knew that part but for that moment in time I couldn't care less. All that mattered was that I had a credit card! So, I hurriedly went to collect my card the next day. And upon reaching the office, I ripped the envelope open and start showing off to all my colleagues ... hehehe ... And I told them that I couldn't wait to start using it and that immediately after work I was going to go shopping.

Then moment work was over that day, I headed to the mall near my house on the way home. Ok, now comes the part that's really embarrassing for me to admit. I didn't know how to actually use a credit card! Yes, it's the truth. I may have been harping all my life that I wanted a card but once I actually got it I didn't know how to use it.

There I was after picking out a few things and about to head to the counter when I stop dead in my tracks and wonder if they actually accept credit cards here or not. What do I do with it? Just head over to the cashier and give it to her or what? You see back in those days, credit cards were not acceptable in all places. So there I was, with my hands full of stuff wondering just how the heck was I going to find out if they accepted cards or not. I could have always asked the cashier I know but hey, I wasn't going to look like a doofus who just got his credit card in front of him now, ok.

So, I decided to just quietly lurk around the cashier area pretending I was looking at things while waiting for the next customer to pay so I could see if he was using cash or card but unfortunately all the next few customers all paid in cash. Darn! I couldn't lurk around too much, they might suspect me as someone who has a thing for the cashier or something ... LOL! So, I try to sneak a peek at the bottom of the cashier terminal to see if they had that manual swiping machine they used back in those days but I couldn't see any sign of it. Darn it again!

Then my luck holds out cos finally there is a customer who is paying by card. I quickly head to the cashier and proudly hand her my card when my turn comes. And then she goes through the routine of swiping it and then calling card issuer for the approval code and this takes quite sometime. She's hanging on the line and looking at my card front and back and at me and that's when I start to sweat. All kinds of questions run through my mind.

Is the card active? Did I use it to soon (afterall I only got it the same afternoon). Maybe it's fake and she's hit the secret hidden button on the floor and a SWAT team is on the way up . And just when I'm about to collapse from worry, she finally gets the approval code and hands me the slip to sign. With a huge sigh of relieve I take the slip and sign my first ever credit card transaction! Boy, that was a really harrowing experience ... LOL! You can't blame me right? I never used a credit card in my life prior to that, ok? It's not like they had any immediate credit card care service back then for me to call and find out how to use a credit card.

Ever since then I've become a pro with the credit card, in fact a little too much of a pro that I almost ruined myself financially with credit card overspending. It's no longer glamorous to own a credit card as far as I'm concerned. I've since given up using it except for online usage and such! Other than that, it's cash or nothing for me. At least I won't have to stand at the cashier with my heart beating, sweating and hoping that the transaction goes through ... LOL!