In our virtual reality of online banking, money is anything but real. I have found that in my life it certainly isn't anymore. Rarely ever do I touch money, which has probably brought up my immunodeficiency by a good percentage. Bills and coins are a thing of the past. I have only to take out my magic card which will, with the speed of a swipe, solve all my problems. Even the bus fare is paid via an electronic card. Parking meters are now easily paid by phone when you provide the wonderful digits that some bank has assigned to you. For Pete's sake, I know one good day even the people who sell you water while you speed your way down Calle 8 will only take plastic.
I can see money die down for the sake of our convenience, the same way it once replaced the exchange of goods. Actually, at one point I even thought it was more convenient to have a credit or debit card than to have cash in my wallet, because it would stop me from spending it all. All I had to worry about was keeping up with a small numbers game and some basic math. I had to remember how much I had and how much I owed; but when how much you have is not tangible, you tend to disregard the value of money and even forget how much you truly own. That said, plastic is the first step to incurring in excessive overdraft and bank fees, and it is an excellent highway to bankruptcy.
I also remember the good old days when I used to carry only the cash I needed, maybe while running the risk of having my wallet stolen or forgotten somewhere, but never with the worry of having my identity stolen by someone in Georgia while I work my butt off in Miami to fill up their gas tank.
Unfortunately, many people think that the number of cards they have is equivalent to their worth as persons. They flash them like badges that reveal socioeconomic status. I truly concur with the badge analogy: you simply flash your status as a slave to a banking institution. You would think that to a bank you are a valuable client until the day you stop paying. Believe me, the day you stop paying you are more of an asset than a liability. You are valuable because you will end up paying them three times your debt by the time you are done paying it off, if you ever do. That is why they will give you more spending credit when you pay in a timely fashion: they want you to get carried away and hopefully fall into their trap. It is a diabolic scheme, to say the least.
I think one day we will understand the dangers of plastic. Yes, it is convenient and fast, but dangerous and potentially destructive even for those who consider themselves financially responsible. Most people will learn this very late and in the worst way possible. Some will end up cutting up their cards or freezing them next to their packages of Purdue chicken in fear that their $100,000 debt will escalate even further. All I know is that only with time do human beings see the effects of "development and progress." Maybe fifty years from now, in the same way that we are bringing back canvas bags as “ecobags” to replace polyethylene, we'll be bringing back paper and metal to replace plastic.
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