Banks Promote Points Not Saving

Over spending (also known as lifestyle) has negative consequences.  We might lose homes, cars and loved ones because - as they say in Nigeria - no money no romance.

Everything has a limit except banks. They tell us to spend, spend, spend in order to accumulate credit card points. It should be illegal, like aiding and abetting someone to commit a crime. Responsible folks have a designated driver who will not touch a drop, while friends drink till they drop. Lots of liquor New Year's Eve and City Hall provides free buses, no fare.

But we don’t try drinking and driving the rest of the year because highway cops pull us over and use digital devices to find over the limit. Not banks. One bank came up with the idea of points and the rest said Aye! Common sense is on pause in most customers, so let’s indoctrinate them with a simple strategy: the more you use your credit cards, the more points you accumulate.

I don’t understand. It doesn’t work with cash. Grocery store cashiers and people behind me in line get mad when I say: I don’t have enough cash, so I’ll take out the nuts and grapes. Doctors are mad at us when we don’t eat right, because there’s a limit to what the poor body can take.

Years ago, I proudly told one doctor that I drink three glasses of milk a day. He looked confused, so I told him it was good for me. Not at your age. Talk about calling a spade a spade.

Not banks. They have the licence to call a garden fork a spade. The more you use your credit card, the more points you get. The government passes all kinds of laws that remind us of limits. Not banks. They are exempt. I don’t blame them. They have more money than the government.

Nonqaba waka Msimang

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