ACTION Needed

An email just arrived in my inbox with a subject line of "ACTION Needed."

Apparently one of my credit cards has a feature allowing me to spend over my credit limit for a small fee (I searched for a while to find that the fee is $35). How generous of them! The ACTION is needed because that feature will soon become "opt-in," meaning I have to tell them if I want the service rather than a given on everyone's account. They tell me I need to "take control" of my finances and tell them that I want this thing on. Below is what I'll get in return.

When you opt-in, you won't have to worry about:

• Your credit card being declined in the cashier line, while you scramble for an alternative payment source or have to leave your purchase behind
• Having your online purchase rejected
• Missing out on the sale price of that must-have item
• Waiting for that paycheck to clear before you can put gas in your car or buy groceries or other necessities

Money is an interesting topic to me. I enjoy discussing the use of it and figuring out how I personally want to manage the money I have. I have a hard time watching people waste it, and I feel like we, as Americans, often spend money we don't have. I feel like this "service" I've been offered is helping consumers to waste more of it. Let's look at each of these things I wouldn't need to worry about if I opt in.

• Your credit card being declined... Yes, I've been there. My card has been rejected before, and I had to scramble for another one in order to avoid the embarrassment of leaving without my purchase. I tried to react calmly and not let everyone in line know what was happening. I forget the reason it happened, but I admit I didn't enjoy the situation in which I found myself. I wouldn't, though, pay $35 for my bank to just pay for the purchase instead. I feel like it's just about always our fault, and we should be able to deal with it by paying via a different method, or not making the purchase.
  
• Having your online purchase rejected... Seriously? No one is even around to watch as you reach into your wallet and find a different card, or spend the time to call your bank and figure out what happened. If you're buying things online to begin with, I can almost assure you that you can live without it. So when your card gets rejected online, stop, think about what you're doing, and if you really need to spend money you don't have.
• Missing out on the sale price... I appreciate getting a good deal. That's fine. But this isn't always a good deal. Let's say you want to buy something for $100, which is on sale for 30% off. Sounds good, huh? The amount puts you over your credit limit, so you go ahead with the purchase, paying the small fee of $35. You most likely aren't thinking about the fee in the moment, and you may never realize that you end up paying $105 in the end because of it. Nice deal you just got.
• Waiting for that paycheck to clear... Let's do some math on this one, too. The average price for a gallon of gas in Colorado today is $2.499. The average fuel tank these days is 17 gallons. So, if you fill up your average tank and it puts you over your credit limit, adding a small fee of $35, then you end up paying $4.56. Thank you, financial institution, for allowing me to pay a crazy amount for each gallon of gas I must have to put in my car before my paycheck clears.
  

When I think about the big picture of maxing out a credit card, then I guess $35 isn't a ton of money. I know I have a hard time relating to the situation since I've never done that. But these systems just defer worry, rather than eliminating it. Credit cards are to be used carefully to begin with, and limits are established on purpose. We're so spoiled that we have to have something immediately even if we don't have the means to pay for it. I don't know how to change a culture of spending habits, but I know that as for me, I don't be opting in to get this great service.