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And I don't really get the animosity to credit cards. Just pay off the whole balance every month, no problems!

Some of us are just flat stupid. I include myself in that group. I was raised by someone who had no choice but to be extremely frugal and who exhibited the proper behavior with credit that you explain.

But for some reason, it didn't stick. I knew what the problem was, I knew what I had to do to fix the problem, but for some reason I just would not do it.

Then, I started listening to Dave. On a Sunday afternoon, the station out of Amarillo was rebroadcasting one of his shows from the week and it was either listen to him or sports. On that day, he talked to a woman whose brother lived in her home with her family. Poor, poor Sindney never could get a break. He would work for a few days and the boss would do something that forced him to quit. Or he would get sick and the boss wouldn't be understanding.

In about three or four minutes, Dave diagnosed Sidney's real problem ... "He's lazy."

Sister dear didn't like it, but Dave stuck by his guns and explained the real problem was that Sidney didn't have any REAL PROBLEMS. He had her to fall back on. If he had to make it on his own without the support of others, then he would have to go to work every day, he would have to put up with the boss or have to figure out a way to work for himself. He would be a self-supporting man rather than a little boy living off his sister and her family.

That one show really impressed me. It impressed me enough to assess my situation and I was shocked. It took the better part of a decade, but I was finally able to reorient myself and get sorted out.

I had all the right information. I had all the right tools. I had seen the proper behavior modeled over a lifetime. I had a fantastic job with a great salary. I just didn't have the motivation.

Dave provided that motivation.

As for the credit card situation, I have proven to myself four different times that I do not have the discipline to pay them off every month. Something always comes up that takes priority. There is something about the ease of using the credit card that somehow blinds me to the danger. I've paid them all off and sworn that I will never let them build up a balance FOUR TIMES in my life.

As I said at the beginning, some of us are just stupid. Those of you who have the discipline to carry credit cards and pay them off every month have my respect and deserve it. But I suspect those of us who are too stupid to follow the tried-and-true advice of "pay the balance every month" outnumber you 10,000 to 1. At least.