iDentistry The Journal identistry_may_aug2019 | Page 28

The Journal
somehow get out of the sticky situation, first of
all. A budget or repayment plan is only good as
the user (i.e. us) who implements it. If we are
prone to shopping sprees or impulsive buying,
then no budget or repayment method can help
us because once we get out of first mess, we will
soon land up in another one. There has to be
ways to cut expenses of living life, king-size.
Above all, we should keep in mind the lessons
learnt whilst struggling with debt. This will
ensure that we do not repeat the same mistakes
and fall into debt all over again. Also,
disciplining ourselves by identifying those areas
where we are spending more than necessary
and cutting them back would be the key to stay
alive and kicking and keep up the tempo
otherwise we will be running with our one hand
and half face connected to our past whilst
running this mad race and nothing else. The
basic rule first of all to stay out of credit card debt
is to pay all credit card dues in full and on time.
Are CREDIT cards the new menace?
Credit cards are a source of added comfort to us
if used in a right way and can offer us maximum
convenience and benefit, but if abused (used
wrongly), they become a financial mystery. We
forget to budget our expenses when using
credit cards and use it haphazardly at every
possible instance without bothering about the
billing cycle and date forgetting to take the
advantage of the grace period or the free credit
period as it is called by some. Overspending is
one of the biggest menaces associated with
credit cards where we tend to buy even those
things which we ‘might’ not actually need even
and are bought plainly for the reason that
paying back of money has been postponed to a
future date. Another fault on our side has always
been trying to pay on the last date at the last
hour (typical Indian habit) which maximizes the
chances of default from our side and makes us
prone to late payment fee.Flashing and
flaunting multiple credit cards by doctors and
dentists is in vogue which basically increases
28
the risk exposure of loss or theft on to a higher
side. We always wrongly think credit cards to be
an additional source of money; rather we forget
that they are only tools to make use of the
current funds in an effective way. If short on
money, a better option is a personal loan rather
than credit card withdrawal because of its much
less rate of interest than the normal revolving
credit facility of the credit cards. Another aspect
people normally fall prey to is to enhance credit
limit after call of telecallers from the bank or
company end. The better option is always to
have an optimum credit limit which decreases
the amount of risk exposure. The best
alternative as always is to stick to a self
determined credit limit and reject credit limit
increase proposals from the card issuer. As
Indians, we are very less fond of reading and
rarely read the offer document containing terms
and conditions before using the credit card.
There are so many of the hidden terms and
conditions which we as customers ignore and
end up having losses. Some time spent in
reading the terms and conditions can save us a
lot of money. One of the commonest mistakes
done by us is forgetting to mention our annual
spends in the IT return if the same exceed ` 2
lacs per year. It is mandatory for merchants to
not demand surcharge on the customer
purchases which we forget and sometimes pay
also increasing our financial burden. We also
have to ensure that we think of cash back and
reward points as an additional bonus and do not
get obsessed with them just for the sake of it as
many colleagues indulge in over spends just for
the sake of freebies associated with reward
points without thinking practically. What I
personally feel that credit card is like an
addiction to many of our peers and colleagues
(doctors and dentists) who use it to show how
spend thrift they are to themselves primarily
(because of low social esteem) and obviously
flashing an flaunting it to the rest of the world,
secondly as well. They just can’t imagine their
life without the magical plastic and just a
thought of credit cards being lost or stolen; they
Vol. 15
No. 2
May-Aug 2019