One Perspective on Spending

Some people might think that it’s difficult to spend more than you make, but you’ll see it’s quite easy if you just follow these simple tips. Everyone knows that credit (specifically a credit card) is a license to spend money that you don’t have, so I’ll just add that the best way to take full advantage of this is to carry all of your credit cards with you when you go “window shopping” for things that you love. (My favorites range from books to electronics, depending on how big my credit card balances are at the time.) Next, some people think that ATM cards, unlike credit cards, only let you spend what you have in your bank account — pish posh!* When the clerk behind the counter asks, “Credit or ATM?” he’s actually letting you in on a secret. The astute*** observer will notice that the first word was credit, as in credit card. Now, that doesn’t give you as much to spend as using an actual credit card does, but if you hurry up and hit a few more stores, it might give you enough time to spend more than you have in your bank account. Finally, I’ve discovered one final way to get some extra mileage out of your ATM card: if you’ve had your account long enough, you might be able to withdraw more money than you have in your account. I’d heard a rumor that $700 was the magic number, so even though I only had $350 in my account, I tried to withdraw $700 from the ATM; and it worked! (Can you say kaching?! ****) So, remember that by following these simple suggestions, you too can end up in debt for the rest of your life.




VOCABULARY
* pish posh interj. Declaring one’s opinions or thoughts absurd, irrelevant or redundant; blowing off someone’s statement. Based on the entry from the Urban Dictionary: http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=pish+posh. (Pish is more common than pish posh, but neither is common. They are both quaint** expressions, which are usually only used sarcastically today.)

** quaint adj. quaint·er, quaint·est

1.) Charmingly odd, especially in an old-fashioned way: “Sarah Orne Jewett . . . was dismissed by one critic as merely a New England old maid who wrote quaint, plotless sketches of late 19th-century coastal Maine” (James McManus).
2.) Unfamiliar or unusual in character; strange: quaint dialect words. See Synonyms at strange.
3.) Cleverly made; artful.
American Heritage® Dictionary, Fourth Edition. Copyright © 2002

*** astute adj. Having or showing shrewdness and discernment, especially with respect to one's own concerns. See Synonyms at shrewd.
American Heritage® Dictionary, Fourth Edition. Copyright © 2002

**** kaching interj. The sweet sound of cash. Usually associated with making (or spending) a [lot of money]. [From the sound an old-fashioned cash register makes when the cash drawer slides open.] Based on the entry from the Urban Dictionary: http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=kaching