The Cheers magazine
is looking for
new contributors

More from author
-	The Titanic Effect...And The Criminal Justice System
-	Striking Back At Terrorism By Extortion
-	The New American Witch Hunt
-	Presumption of Innocence Denied In Virginia
-	A Supreme Court For the Religious Right? Not If We Can Prevent It!

See news about

Angelina Jolie Bill Murray bizarre news BRIT Awards Buick car crash Celebrity Commonwealth Bank Series Cricket Demi Moore formula one Gambhir geri Halliwell headlines single Heather Mills James Earl Katie Holmes Kylie Minogue Mika music Pakistan Tour Paris Hilton Ponting Prince Harry and Chelsy Rod Stewart SCG Sienna Miller Stockholm Syndrome Symonds terrorism The Huff Tim Burton usic Victoria Beckham Victoria Beckham nude00710 Worst Nude Film Scenes2nd amendment50 Cent50-Centa-teamA-Team movieABBAAbbie CornishAbi TitmussAbigail BreslinAcademy AwardsaccidentsAdam SandleraddictionsAdeleAdnan GhalibAfghanistanAfton SmithAgyness DeynAir IndiaAishwarya RaiAl GoreAl Pacinoal QaedaAl-QaedaAlan ArkinAlan RickmanAlanis MorisseteAlanis MorissetteAlbert EinsteinalcoholAlec BaldwinAlesha DixonAlex TurnerAlexandriaAli CampbellAli LarterAlicia KeysAlicia SilverstoneAllahAlli SimsAmanda HoldenAmanda PeetAmanda SeyfriedAmazonAmelle BerrabahAmerican IdolAmerican PieAmy AdamsAmy RyanAmy WinehouseAmy Winehouse is planning a massive Christmas bingAnatole TaubmannAndhraAndrew MortonAndy HilfigerAndy SerkisAng LeeAngela MerkelAngelina Jolieanimal rightsAnjelica HustonAnna NicoleAnna Nicole SmithAnne HathawayAnnie LennoxAnthony HopkinsAnthony MinghellaAnti-IconAntonio BanderasAppleArctic MonkeysAretha FranklinAri SandelArmaniArnieArnold SchwarzeneggerArpad BussonAshantiAshely TisdaleAshlee SimpsonAshley ColeAshley JuddAshley OlsenAshley TisdaleAshton KutcherAsif Ali ZardariAsley OlsenAssamastronautAtonementAtonement\'Audrey HepburnAustraliaAvril LavigneAyda FieldBabelbabyBackstairs BillyBackstreet Boysbad influencesBaftaBaghdadBalticBangladeshBar RafaeliBar RefaeliBarack ObamaBarry ManilowBasraBattlestar GalacticaBBCBeatlesbeauty pageantBeckhambecome news reporterBeethovenBen AffleckBenazirBenazir assassinationBenazir BhuttoBenazir Bhutto assassinationBenazir Bhutto photosBenazir Bhutto stampsBenazir Bhutto willBenezir Bhutto assassinationBeowulfBernardo BertolucciBest ActressBest Dressed in 2007best haircutbest motorcycle movie momentsbest moviesBeth DittoBethlehemBette MidlerBeverly Hills 90210BeyonceBeyoncé KnowlesBeyonc¨¦ KnowlesBilawal ZardarBilawal ZardariBill GatesBillie PiperBillionaireBilly JoelBilly Zanebinge drinkingBipasha Basubird fluBismarckBizarre NewsBjorkBlack CrowesBlack Eyed PeasBlake FielderBlake Fielder CivilBlake Fielder-CivilblogbloggerbloggingBlurBMWBo DerekBob DylanBobby BrownBollywoodbombBon JoviBondBond 22Bond girlBond girlsBonoBoratBotoxBoy GeorgeBrad PittBrad RenfroBrainBrandon RouthBrandyBrazilbrazil prisonbread thievesBrendan FraserBrian MayBrian McFaddenBrian WilliamsBridget JonesBridget MoynahanBRIT AwardsBritish royal familyBritish Secret IntelligenceBritney SpearBritney SpearsBritney Spears adoptionBritney Spears body doubleBritney Spears lawyerBritney Spears psychological evaluationBritsBrittany MurphyBrooke ShieldsBruce LeeBruce SpringsteenBruce WillisBruneiBryan AdamsBuckingham Palacebulletproof vestBushBusta RhymesCairoCalista FlockhartCalvin KleinCameron DiazCameron MackintosCamila AlvesCamillaCanadaCanada¡¯s Juno AwardscancercannabisCannesCannes Film FestivalCapri Hollywood Film FestivalCarey HartCarla Bruni-SarkozyCarmen ElectraCarmit BacharCaroline KennedyCarrie UnderwoodCasablancaCasey AffleckCasey AldridgeCash WarrenCasio keyboardCat DeeleyCate BlanchettCaterina MurinoCatherine Zeta-JonescelebritiesCelebritycelebrity christmasCelebrity HairstylesCelin DionCeline DionChad LoweChanelChanel bicycleCharlene WittstockCharles WebbCharlie ChaplinCharlie SheenCharlies AngelsCharlize TheronCharlotte ChurchCharlton HestonChaz JankelChelsy DavyCherCheryl ColeChinaChina movies

 

It is very hard for some people to say no. Reasons for this difficulty vary as widely as the individual, but regardless of the reasons, folks who prefer saying "yes" rather than "no" often find themselves wishing they had said no in the beginning. However, the regrets generally don’t surface until much later, when they’re buried in the extra project at work they should have turned down, or miserable at the boring party to which they should have declined the invitation, or, in the case of credit card (better described as "debt card") holders, struggling to pay back high amounts of debt on the plastic they should have tossed in the trash instead of putting into their wallets.

Make no mistake, these seductive little pieces of plastic are often very hard to turn down. After all, what’s not to like? The companies offering these deadly time bombs know exactly how to appeal to our worst instincts when it comes to spending. "Don’t worry that there’s not enough in the checking or savings account to take that luxury vacation to the Caribbean," they’ll tell you. "Our credit card will turn your dreams into reality." Of course, those are not the exact words they are using. Master con-artists that they are, we can’t accuse them of being that stupid. Try a little experiment the next time you’re watching your favorite television program. When an ad for American Express, Visa, Mastercard or Discover comes on, pay close attention to the message. Trust me, the debt card companies are not encouraging you to save your money - they’re seducing you into spending it. Unfortunately, it’s money you may not have and will end up owing later–with high amounts of interested piled on top. That’s when your one-time dream turns into your worst nightmare.

Capital One gets the highest grades for advertising creativity in my book, especially since they hired actor and comedian David Spade for their more recent campaigns. Playing the role of the sleazy customer service representative, Spade denies customers each of their requests, with hilarious variations on the "no" theme. After hearing it so many times, a customer finally gets fed up and announces "I’m calling Capital One." Horrified, Mr. Sleazy finally realizes he’s lost a customer and exclaims "No!" but it’s already too late, the customer is gone. The message, of course, being that Capital One has a lot more to offer than Sleazy’s company. Exactly what they are offering, however, is never explained.

Is there any reason why we can’t do the same thing to all debt card companies? I can’t think of any. So let’s use the "tell ‘em no" campaign to our advantage and have some fun in the process. Most banks and financial institutions tend to send what I call their "siren song" offers in the mail. No doubt because they know very well that telemarketers, no matter what they’re selling, tend to get an instant hang-up far more frequently than a sale. This denies us the opportunity to have a little fun with the customer service reps on the phone, but you can save the offer(s) you receive. At the end of the day, week or month, whichever you prefer, take out all the aggressions you may have against a boss or other annoying person on the debt card offers instead. Take out the offers from their hiding place, and, with a large pair of scissors, cut them up into small pieces on their way to the trash can. If you are lucky enough to own a personal shredder, open the envelopes, put in each piece of paper separately, and watch them come out in ribbons at the bottom. Just make sure you remove any simulations of the actual "card" they might have included first, since plastic is very likely to damage the shredder. Use your scissors for plastic.