One question I get asked a lot is do I use credit cards now that we’ve changed our financial ways.  It’s a good question in the context of “we were broke and credit cards screwed us…but having credit cards isn’t always a bad thing for everyone…”

It’s a fair question.  Some are curious to know if I am of the Dave Ramsey mentality about credit cards or if I’m ok with them.  Others want to justify their “manageable” balance.  The bottom line is I’m perfectly fine with couples who say they’re comfortable carrying a balance on their credit card, as long as they plan on carrying it for only about 25 days before paying it off.  I don’t agree with Dave that credit cards are an absolutely don’t do, but I do have Dave’s attitude about carrying a balance – it’s stupid.

Personally – Shawna and I even to this day don’t have credit cards.  First of all, we still use cash for our discretionary categories because that is the most surefire way to keep overspending under control (you can’t overspend cash).  Second, we have not seen a credit card rewards program that is any better than our checking account rewards at Perkstreet.  (Cash rewards are my favorite.)

So my answer for people when they ask about credit cards is “If I were in your shoes I wouldn’t use them.”  But for those who are still attached to the rewards and they’re already really good at controlling their spending and paying it off every month – I’m ok with that… as long as they’re being real about it and truly living according to a plan.

Credit card.  Owner finance.  Debt.  Broke.  Run!  These are all the first thoughts that came to my mind when I recently saw an ad promoting layaway at a major retail chain.

It seems it has been a long time since retailers have done a layaway push.  They either haven’t been promoting it or it is a retro service they are bringing back.  Either way the ads remind me of the bike I bought using layaway when I was like 13, and the Nintendo our family bought using layaway when I was like 10.

Of all the terms that came to my mind when I saw that ad “owner finance” is probably the most accurate one because layaway is making payments on something the owner might take back if you stop making payments and you’re out the money you’ve paid, just like an owner financed house or car.

There is a better alternative. It’s called the KNOWN UPCOMING EXPENSES CALCULATOR.  It helps you plan how much to save for Christmas all year long and then pay for stuff without borrowing time or money when Christms arrives.  It might be helpful to start using this tool now so that next Christmas layaway can go back out of style.

Since I wrote that spenders are messy it is only fair that I pick on savers too.  This is part of having FUN managing money TOGETHER – recognizing the funny things about each others differences and not taking everything so seriously.

But seriously 🙂 , Savers Are Nerdy.  Think about it and you have to agree.  Keep in mind I am a saver, but I’m not as nerdy as some thanks only to the influence of my lovely wife.  Here is a list of 10 things to support my statement that savers are nerdy.

Savers are Nerdy because:

1. They are good at math, some even love math.
2. They enjoy working on spreadsheets.
3. They are likely engineers or have done an engineer type of job.
4. Their clothes are out of date by 5 years.
5. They prefer PC over Mac (partly because they’re a third of the cost of Mac).
6. They know their bank balances, as in they know them at all times.
7. They know the exact amount of every household bill every month.
8. They say “That’s not in the budget” no matter how uncool it is in any moment.
9. They would eat cold rice and beans at home alone in the dark every night to save.
10. They flip they junk when spenders misbehave.  (terminology courtesy of a friend on UrbanDictionary.com – flip your junk)

There are a lot of comparisons to make between spenders and savers.  Spenders want stuff and fun while savers are ok with what they have and are more attracted to free fun…etc etc.  But there is another comparison I’ve noticed that I believe has some merit.

SAVERS are likely to be more organized and orderly than spenders.  The reasons for this are obvious.  Being organized and orderly reduces the chance of wasting anything or losing anything (things that drive a saver nuts).

On the other hand spenders tend to be disorganized and messy.  They just leave stuff laying around wherever and stuff gets lost inevitably.  Some things they don’t care to lose because it might never be important to them again.

I’m a saver by nature so it isn’t nice for me to talk this way about the spenders.  Before all the spenders get all riled up I should go ahead and say I know there are exceptions, and sometimes us savers can be pack rats.  We hold on to stuff that we “might need” and while we know where it all is the proper term for it becomes “organized clutter.  I understand all that but I want to pick on spenders today.

I actually have three examples to validate my theory…bless their hearts…so I can speak freely about them…with love…in Jesus name:

Shawna Asbell:  My lovely wife who I love so much.  She and I have both compromised over the years.  I used to be a neat freak and she used to have more clothes laying around than where they belong.  Over time she has become a bit neater while I have become a bit messy – compromise.  With three children in the house now with their own little tendencies we have just enough organized chaos to make us all crazy.  But Shawna’s natural tendency is disorganization, and she’s the spender in our house also.

Joe Sangl:  He is a great friend.  I love him.  But dude would probably be on hoarders without his wife Jenn.  It wouldn’t be because he collects things.  It would be because anywhere he goes it looks like an explosion happened and he rarely calms down long enough to think about cleaning it up.  He is a self-professed spender and convicted clutterer.

Paul Moyer:  Another great friend.  I love him.  But his work desk also a disaster.  It usually looks like a terrorist bombing took place inside a coupon factory and when you look closely you see a body, it’s Paul.  He would probably be on hoarders with Joe if it wasn’t for his wife Amy.  He is also a self-professed spender and convicted coupon-bomber.

Three out of three is good enough trend for me.  Who do you know that is a spender and is also messy?