Debt Is BAD

Three years ago, a friend walked into the coffee shop we worked at with one of those naughty grins. It was one of those irrepressible smiles that show up soon after eating an entire pint of ice cream for breakfast or cheating and getting away with it in cards. My friend, let's call him Tom, had just received his first credit card ever.

No doubt one might assume that Tom is a responsible young adult with a stable work history and proven credit. After all, banks wouldn't hand out cards to just anyone, right? They would end up losing money! Three years ago, when the mortgage crisis was still but a fragile bubble and foreclosures only seemed to happen to old people and single mothers who shouldn't have paid for that food or medication with home equity anyway, credit was still king, trusted and beloved by his subjects. When I suggested to Tom (who, by the way, was financing his entire education with loans and earned $6.15/hour for part time work and had no savings whatsoever) that perhaps a high-interest credit card might not be beneficial to his long-term lifestyle, he sadly shook his head at my lack of financial wisdom. He pointed out that in order to have an affordable mortgage someday, he needed to build his credit now. Which required a credit card, of course. And debt.

I don't really know Tom anymore, but I read the papers and have friends just like him, or who were just like him $2,000-$20,000 ago. Tom inspired my other blog, The20YearChallenge.blogspot.com, where I document my totally credit-free life and the process of paying off my own expensive first try at college. At that blog I give tips and advice, recipes and encouragement.

Here at Progressive U, I intend to unleash my rage and disbelief at the credit industry, which has successfully built our nation up and is now tearing it down. Instead of building wealth, or even getting by, the average American is sinking rapidly into debt. I hope this blog inspires other young adults to take action and SAY NO TO CREDIT. I intend to say things that you disagree with, that might even make you angry, not because I am mean but because so few people are pointing out the realities of debt. Your mom and dad probably did very well with their mortgages, student loans, and credit cards. You may think you can do the same. I'd like to point out that they lived in a different world. They were not handed credit card applications at their college dorms, or pressured to buy a house before they even had a down payment, or told they couldn't possibly survive without their own cars. This is a mean new world where people can make a buck by encouraging you to make mistakes. I'm going to encourage you to do just the opposite, because I don't like this exploitation market that plays on our fears and poverty.