No Shirt, No Shoes, No Credit Card, No Service

I’m not going to name names, but someone who I live with and who I’m related to by marriage, lost their credit card last week. Unfortunately said person’s card and mine have the same number so I had to call and cancel them and have new ones issued. That’s a 6-10 day process. Why? I don’t know. Maybe there is a plastic shortage, maybe they make them by hand, or maybe they are coming from China like everything else that’s sold in this country.

Whatever the case may be, it’s day 4 and the new cards still haven’t come yet. I was kinda hoping the 6-10 estimate was an extreme case scenario. The kind they give so people aren’t calling every few days to asking where in the heck their cards are.

So what’s the big deal? Why am I writing about this? Well I’m just surprised at how dependant we have become on credit cards. We used that card for everything. Anything that could be charged was put on that card. (don’t worry I pay it off each month – no finance charges for me).

We do this for a few reasons. One is convenience. It’s just easier than carrying around cash or a checkbook (yeah we have a check card but see reason two). Two, I like the idea of using someone else’s money for free for a month. And three, it was a Shell MC. We got rebates on gasoline purchases. Usually around $50 a month. Not a huge dent in the $400-$500 we spend every month on gas but better than a kick to the head by a Donk.

So not having a card for a few days is a lot more annoying than I thought it would be. We don’t keep much money in our checking account. So now I have to figure out a way to pay for a week’s worth of expenses without using credit. No it’s not the end of the world but when you are used to pulling up to the gas pump and using the card to put $100 worth of gas in the van and no longer can, you have to come up with a new plan. Used to buying things online like we are? Opps. Fortunately I had some cash on hand that I keep for emergencies and we did have some money in the checking account. So between the cash and the check card it’s working out.

Plus we had to connect various companies that charge our card automatically every month and tell them to stop using that card. And then we will have to call them back with the new card info when it shows up. Plus all the account information at the online stores we use (most running shoe stores) is going to have to be updated with the new card info too.

This experience makes me wonder if that’s what happened to Lehman Brothers. Did they lose their credit card for a week and couldn’t pay their bills for the week? No money to pay for salaries, office supplies, $10 million bonuses, or even worse Coffee!

I’m still having trouble deciding which card to give to Sam and which one I should keep…