Need vs Want

I was browsing through Groupon's website looking at deals when I came across the following two deals... take note on how many BOUGHT.

This was the second time I came across such a deal. The first was sometime last month, also a card deal by AmBank and I think the free gift was an Android gadget. That deal had even more interests. Overwhelming in my humble opinion... which started 'My 2 Sen' thinking...

Was the interest actually in the card or the gadget? Based on the AmBank deal, as it was overwhelming, I thought it was the card. Now I see this current deal, I am of the opinion that it is actually both.

I have not had a credit card since 2010 when I was left stranded in Langkawi, out of funds and without a job. I came back to KL and started rebuilding my life from scratch. I had to piece bit by bit together and I started with the big chunks... now I am dealing with the small bits. It was in 2010 that I decided to cut the cards and I have been without them ever since. A tough decision but the best decision.

When I tell people that I do not have a credit card they will just look at me in disbelief. I don't... really... I'm not kiddin' you! I do have a debit card though... I guess they don't believe me coz of my position and age. Even my wife thought I BS-ed her... at first.

The first time I was out buying stuff with my wife, I handed the card to the cashier and said 'Credit Card'... my wife looked at me... her face read 'YOU LIAR'. Hahaha... so, I explained to her that it was a Debit Card but it works as a Credit Card too.

I have a Maybankard MasterCard Platinum Debit Card which has an EMV chip and is accepted at all outlets that accepts MasterCard. When I use my Debit Card at Shopping Centres I prefer to use it as a Credit Card. I always have trouble when using it as a Debit Card coz the Cashiers always assume that my card is linked to a Savings Account... it's not... mine is a Current Account. 

Life without a Credit Card is hard... at first... then when you start to master the discipline of planning, you find that it is bliss. The Debit Card is the way to go... seriously.  Once you adopt the Debit Card, you start to really understand the difference between NEED and WANT... 

The point of this post is because I have been reading a lot of reports about escalating household debts in our country and that the majority of the bankruptcy cases are from those in their early 30s. Then I saw these deals and how it was so popular which seems to support the reports even more.

Most people don't read. They love to read the stupid and silly stuff but not the boring financial parts which would give them knowledge to deal with life. They are unaware of what's happening around them or in the world. They just live in their little circle with no growth oblivious to what's happening around them and not being able to differentiate between NEED and WANT.

If we don't understand AND practice the concept of NEED and WANT then we're going to plateau in life.

Just My 2 Sen...