Let’s face it… we can read personal finance books till the cows come home, but if nothing we read sticks to our pretty little brains, then what’s the point? Are we beating our head against the proverbial wall?
My answer is no.
Keep reading and reading, because at some point, something will stick, something will make sense, and that dim light bulb will finally flash and you’ll say “A-ha! They were right! I totally get it!”
Cause you see folks, I had one of those light bulb flashin’ moments. And seriously, I could just kick myself.
Last year, I called my unhelpful credit card company, and asked if they could lower the APR on my credit card.Β This is not a card that is used at all; I am simply trying to pay it off. So anyways, I called and spoke to a minion representative, and asked if my APR could be lowered. It’s in the double digits and you guys know how interest and payments work…
So the lady on the phone says no, that “they can’t lower it at this time”, and blah, blah, blah. Okay is there someone else I can talk to? “No, blah, blah, blah…”
After several minutes of going back and forth, I hung up frustrated.
And haven’t attempted to call back and try again since.
Doing nothing can be very expensive.
Some personal finance book I read last year had the above quote, and I wrote it down. Why, I don’t know since I obviously didn’t heed it!
The book went on to say: “When you choose not to act, you have still made a choice. And most of the time, the choice is a bad one”.
By not attempting to contact the credit card company again, I have made a bad choice. By not asking to speak to someone else, to keep calling until I get my APR lowered, I have made a bad choice. By choosing not to deal with it, and 12 months have gone by paying at the higher interest, I have made a bad choice.
Doing nothing can be very expensive.
On my list of things to do this week, besides the umpteen piles of laundry, is to call the credit card company and not give up. When one door closes, I will knock on another and another until someone hears me and someone listens.
Because doing nothing it turns out, is very expensive.
Wow… I think my light bulb just went on, too. Thanks for sharing this. Perfect message for me tonight! π
That’s great! I think that quote can apply to so many things in life π
Ain’t that the truth.
Yup!
Any chance you can get a card with a promo rate of 0% APR and do a balance transfer?
Or something that would give you leverage on the phone to force them to lower the APR?
I will look into getting a card with a 0% promo APR; hopefully I can get that! If not, I will try and think of everything I can, to get them to lower it. Thanks for the ideas!
This is definitely my suggestion too! Good luck!
Thanks Tonya!
Amen, Mackenzie! It’s very easy to get frustrated, especially when dealing with credit card company minions, but as you said, doing nothing is equally if not more expensive. And I think save, spend, splurge makes an excellent suggestion. The threat of losing you may make the minion miracuously connect you with someone who can help. π Good luck!
Yes, doing nothing has proved frustratingly expensive…time to do something about it!! π
βWhen you choose not to act, you have still made a choice. And most of the time, the choice is a bad oneβ. I am going to write this down and hang this in my office. Every time I get the urge to stick my head in the sand or delay doing something for another day – I will read this and pray that I pick up the phone, send the email, or do whatever needs to be done!
Yes! Isn’t this quote like one of the best quotes you’ve ever heard?? I mean, it can apply to so many facets of life. I will be staring at this quote when I call the credit card company π
Profound thoughts, Mackenzie! I do try to go with the ‘something is better than nothing’ approach, but never considered that it can lead to ‘nothing can be expensive’. I’ll have to remember that when I get lazy on doing something – good luck with getting that APR lowered!
Thanks Anna! I hope to report back with good news π
I’m with you. No decision IS a decision. No move IS a move.
So, that’s why I thought moving all the time was the answer….then I realized that actually weighing my time value was probably important, too.
I’m nothing but a dude who runs into walls at about 150 mph….
I totally get that, the whole thing about moving all the time. Isn’t being an adult, fun? π
The cable company is another one that doing nothing is expensive….and asking one person (who says “no”) isn’t enough. One time I called back 5 times before I found someone willing to put me on a promotional discounted cable plan. But when I heard them agree, I did a little happy dance, because I KNEW my efforts had finally paid off!
Wow, 5 times? It makes you wonder though, why do customer service reps have to be so gosh darn difficult? Hmmm, maybe to give us blog topics, LOL! π
Glad you were able to get a great deal Travis!
[…] on her mind as she debates her future. In the same vein, Mackenzie from The Random Path realized Doing Nothing Equals Expensive. While a different situation than Liz, I was struck by the quote, “When you choose not to […]
So true! That’s why I can’t let my interest get the better of me.
Yup! π
Definitely the truth! Right now I’m spending too much money on my cell phone plane because I’ve been too busy err lazy to change to another plan. Gotta get on that this weekend.
Good luck, KK!
Ugh, so true! I felt I was overpaying for internet for months and a single phone call cut my payments in half. Even right now, I’ve been procrastinating going to the dentist… which could easily change things from a simple cleaning to the cost of filling cavities or even to a flipping root canal. I’m going to make that appointment this week.
I totally understand about procrastinating to go see the dentist! My husband had to practically drag me kicking and screaming, when I went last year π