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You are here: Home / business / Chainsaws and Credit Cards

Chainsaws and Credit Cards

by jlcollinsnh 23 Comments

50 years ago, I was putting myself through college working with a tree crew outside of Chicago taking down huge, majestic elm trees. They had been infected with the tiny beetles that caused Dutch Elm Disease. In an effort to stop their spread, the moment beetles were detected in a tree it was removed and burned. Usually, these trees showed no sign of infection.

Not only was a beautiful tree lost, the lumber that could have been harvested was lost as well — unlike the trees killed by the chestnut blight of the early 1900s. While that wiped out virtually all the mature chestnut tress at the time, at least it left behind an appropriately named and  beautiful wood: wormy chestnut.

Because we were taking down trees as quickly as the beetles were detected in them, most were still healthy and robust. This meant they were still filled with sap and water, making them far heavier and harder to deal with than a dead tree that had had a chance to dry out. We were also working in an urban setting, which meant taking trees down that were between houses. It wasn’t just a matter of cutting them at the base, jumping back and yelling “Timbre!!”

The essential tool for this job was the chainsaw. Actually, chainsaws of all sizes. The saw you use to cut the stump flush to the ground is a much larger beast than the lightweight versions the climbers used taking down the top of the tree in pieces. For those, they’d tie a rope to the branch and cut it loose. From there the ground-man would slowly lower it to the ground, ideally avoiding the houses near-by.

Ideally, but not always. I remember the time we roped a large, heavy branch, cut it and watched in horror as it swung in a long arc gathering speed until the butt end smashed into the homeowner’s garage door like a medieval battering ram. That metal door folded like so much tissue paper, although with a far louder sound.  Luckily, the car usually parked behind it was out.

Once all the pieces of a tree were on the ground, they had to be cut up so we could load them into the dump trucks to be hauled away and burned. This required still another range of different sized saws.

We worked six days a week, ten hours a day but the money, at twenty dollars a day, was great. It was hard, physically exhausting work. By the end of the day it was easy to get careless, sloppy.

I did this work for three seasons and almost all day, every day, I was using a chainsaw to do it. I am the only person I ever met, who did this work for any length of time, who doesn’t have a scar or much worse, from a chainsaw. Part of this is sheer luck. I once had the saw kick back and the spinning chain slapped my thigh. It ripped my jeans to shreds, but I managed to pull it back such that it left only a slight red mark behind. It didn’t even break the skin.

But the other, and I think even more important part, was that I was the only person I knew who never stopped being afraid of them. I never lost my respect for just how dangerous a tool a chainsaw is. How one minor lapse, one time, can lead to a world of hurt. In fact, once school was done and paid for, and I quit that job, I never touched a chainsaw again.

Elm Tree

Still, I loved the work and, when taking down and cutting up huge elm trees, chainsaws are hands-down the best tool for the job. You just had to be very careful.

Of course, I didn’t realize just how dangerous a chainsaw was until I’d seen them in action for awhile. Initially, all I could see was how much fun and powerful they were.

When I left college, elm trees and chainsaws behind, I was introduced to another very powerful and dangerous tool: the credit card. While chainsaws today have numerous safety features the raw, elemental versions I used back in the day lacked, credit cards today seem to have become even more dangerous. Or at least more readily available to younger people not fully aware of the danger. Even as they became more useful and came with greater perks.

In my case, I didn’t get my first card until I was out of school and working at my first professional job. I was probably ~24 years old, and like that first chainsaw when I was 18, when I first picked it up I had no understanding of the danger, only of the intoxicating power.

Fortunately, when the first bill arrived, my older and wiser sister happened to be sitting nearby. I tore it open. I had charged $327.96. That seemed right, and unremarkable. But then I noticed, in large print meant to be noticed, I was only required to pay ten dollars.

“Hey sis,” I said, “check this out. I can buy $327.96 worth of stuff and I only have to pay $10!”

It took her awhile to stop laughing at me. Sisters can be cruel. But then she directed me to the small print meant not to be noticed where it said any balance I carried would be charged at an interest rate of 18%. It was like when that chainsaw slapped my thigh and tore up my jeans, a close call. She saved me from loosing a financial leg (and arm!).

As with chainsaws, not everyone is so lucky in their first encounter with credit cards. Sometimes the damage is deep and takes years to recover from. Some never recover at all. Many should do what I did with my chainsaw back in the day: Put it down and walk away.

But for those who never stop being afraid of them and who treat them as the powerful, dangerous tools they are, credit cards can be as effective at enhancing your financial life as chainsaws are in taking down trees.

In my foreword for her book…

 

 I quote Kristy Shen saying:

“If you understand money, life is incredibly easy. If you don’t understand money, life is incredibly hard.”

So, too, with credit cards. If you understand them and use them well, they are a valuable tool that can simplify your life and yield benefits every time you spend money. If you fail to understand them and use them poorly, they can become an endless source of misery and debt. Using them well is not hard. Here’s the core rule:

Pay them off in full every month and never carry a balance.

You must…

Tie yourself to the Mast

…and ignore the sirens’ song of spending money you don’t have and can’t pay off in full the moment it is due.

With that understood, the right cards offer lucrative signup/welcome bonuses, cash rewards, points for flights and hotels, awesome perks, and are great for everyday purchases. This is precisely how we use them ourselves. With guidance from our friends at CardRatings, and noting that the following are affiliate links that will result in this blog earning a commission if you sign up, here are a couple of the best of the best at the moment:

Freedom Unlimited

Sapphire Preferred

That second card is the one we use ourselves. If you want to see others, or check out what is currently the best choice if you are reading this post at a later date, just hit the tab labeled Credit Cards in the bar at the top of each page here in the blog.

If you are looking to buy a chainsaw, you are on your own.

**************************************************************************

By way of full disclosure, Card Ratings is an affiliate partner. If you click on the links and make a purchase jlcollinsnh.com may receive compensation.

**************************************************************************

Here’s a compelling read on an important topic…

Navigating Retirement After the Death of a Spouse

**************************************************************************

What I have been reading….

 

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Filed Under: business, Money, Stuff I recommend

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Comments

  1. vorlic says

    August 30, 2021 at 5:32 pm

    Yes, Mr Collins.

    Back in 1999, when I started my degree in German and Italian, there was a branch of the National Westminster Bank ON CAMPUS. They were handing credit cards out like they were going out of fashion. I, like all my peers at the time, signed on the dotted line.

    Unlike my peers, I felt very nervous about it. So, after two weeks I cut it in half, and walked into the branch to cancel the deal.

    Today, my peers are generally massively in debt. Sure, they have a degree (I jacked my course in after less than a year), but I am free.

    Destroying asymptomatic life at great cost? Seems very familiar right now…! But well done for proving that it really is an ill wind if it blows no one any good!

    Best
    Vorlic

    Reply
    • jlcollinsnh says

      August 31, 2021 at 12:11 pm

      Or like free hits of crack.

      Fortunately, that didn’t come until long after I was out of school.

      Reply
      • vorlic says

        August 31, 2021 at 2:35 pm

        There were no drugs on campus, what are you talkin’ about, JL? 😉

        Reply
  2. Stephen Schleppegrell says

    August 30, 2021 at 6:37 pm

    50 years ago…. ~24 years old.
    Good job Jim!
    Appreciate your financial advice!

    Reply
  3. Crew Dog says

    August 30, 2021 at 6:57 pm

    Due to wise advice on the FIRE interwebs, we always use full protective equipment (including chainsaw chaps) when using chainsaws. Likewise, due to wise advice from PF books (back in the day), we always pay our credit card balances in full every month.

    As you say, it’s good to have a healthy respect for the potential consequences of both.

    Reply
    • jlcollinsnh says

      August 31, 2021 at 12:09 pm

      Protective equipment?

      More protective than the t-shirts, jeans and soft-toed boots we wore back in the day? 🙂

      Reply
      • Crew Dog says

        September 10, 2021 at 4:08 pm

        [Yikes emoji]

        Yeah, somehow we survived the “no protective equipment, no seatbelts, drinking & driving” days.

        Reply
  4. Buckenny says

    August 31, 2021 at 6:31 am

    Wish I knew this credit card information 50 years ago as a college student. Took many years to spring from the trap! As a Stihl service technician I know of the benefits of a good pair of chaps vs blue jeans:
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UZWsv3Jp8Cs
    Thanks as always for great financial wisdom.

    Reply
  5. FIRECracker says

    August 31, 2021 at 11:44 am

    “If you are looking to buy a chainsaw, you are on your own”.

    Bwhahaha. JL, You crack me up.

    Chainsaws are fun, but machetes are even better. A friend once gave me one to help clear some branches from the wild shrubbery and trees on his land.

    Let’s just say he won’t be making that mistake again.

    Love the chainsaw and credit card metaphor. Your English degree is clearly showing :). And of course, thanks for mentioning my book and for writing the best foreword ever!

    Reply
    • jlcollinsnh says

      August 31, 2021 at 12:07 pm

      Well, second best foreword ever, as folks will see when they read the one you wrote for my new book coming out this fall. 🙂

      Reply
  6. David says

    August 31, 2021 at 3:41 pm

    I spent 2 summers working at a factory that made log homes. I used a chain saw a lot and also saws with blades ranging from 3 feet to 6 feet in diameter. I noticed very quickly that none of the permanent full-time employees had all their fingers. Fortunately, that inspired a healthy fear of saws. Also like you I was lucky enough to learn the risks of credit cards at a young age. It’s definitely an important lesson to treat credit with respect.

    Reply
  7. Jon W says

    September 1, 2021 at 7:32 am

    Great advice. The credit card companies were like vultures when I was in school. I signed up for a credit card from Associates National Bank. I still remember the first thing I bought was flowers for a girl I was trying to date. She ended up being nuts and at some point I realized the interest rate was over 20% and got rid of the card. It took me 9 years and a chapter 7 bankruptcy to get rid of my credit card debt. Now, 23 years later, like your chainsaw metaphor I use Cards as a tool for the rewards but usually pay them off even before the bill arrives.

    Reply
  8. FMT says

    September 1, 2021 at 9:07 am

    I don’t like the new “Buy now, pay later” programs, sure you won’t rack up as much debt as a credit card but maybe people, especially teenagers aren’t aware of the dangers. (I am guessing you guys have the likes of Afterpay now? In Australia, every shop has some form of buy now, pay later)

    Reply
  9. Dividend Power says

    September 1, 2021 at 12:10 pm

    Credit cards can be more dangerous than chainsaws in their own way.

    Reply
  10. Illia Kyselov says

    September 2, 2021 at 2:55 pm

    Thank you for a very interesting comparison, a chainsaw and a credit card are very interesting)) Perhaps not everyone will understand this right away, but the comparison was chosen extremely well! The article has a philosophical subtext)

    Reply
  11. John Macdonald says

    September 3, 2021 at 6:10 pm

    Fantastic read and good advice!

    Reply
  12. Douglas says

    September 7, 2021 at 10:08 pm

    Hi, Mr. Collins. Just wanted to let you know that we have incorporated your blog and book into our son’s home education program as part of his financial education studies. We really enjoy your writings and have learned more from you than any other writer on the subject of investing and finances. “The Simple Path to Wealth” is the most important book on investing and finances our son could ever read and study and we know it will be of great benefit to him. We appreciate you and thank you for helping us to present the subject of investing to our son in a way that is very easy to understand. Your blog and book provides the firm foundation that he needs to build his financial knowledge upon.

    Reply
    • jlcollinsnh says

      September 8, 2021 at 8:39 am

      Thank you, Douglas…

      …for the very kind words. They’d make a wonderful Amazon review for my book, if you are so inclined. 😉

      Reply
    • vorlic says

      September 14, 2021 at 5:10 pm

      Likewise, Douglas. Great teaching material. Ours haven’t read the book yet, but it colours a lot of our “teaching moments” with them.

      We took the plunge last year with home-educating them (we kinda always wanted to, but this global psychosis motivated us finally to “take them out”).

      Reply
  13. Steve says

    September 8, 2021 at 6:50 pm

    What’s even more crazy now is the places that are allowing you to compound that credit card debt. I was in Chile a couple years ago and everywhere I bought something, the vendors would ask if I wanted to make the purchase “con cuentas”. I asked them what that meant and they explained that instead of them billing your credit card all at once, they bill a small amount each week/month, but at a higher price. People are living so far on the edge that they don’t have enough credit left on their cards to pay all at once. Scary!

    Reply
    • vorlic says

      September 14, 2021 at 5:12 pm

      Oh boy, yes, it’s amazing, scary. Alan Donegan told us about this, too…

      Reply
  14. David Crabill says

    September 12, 2021 at 4:59 pm

    We got both the Chase Freedom Unlimited and Sapphire Preferred cards three years ago. This year we finally cancelled the Sapphire Preferred (converting it to a Freedom Flex card is also an option), because it wasn’t worth the $100 annual fee to us, especially with the Freedom Unlimited card improving and now coming with extra dining benefits. We got the Sapphire card right before a big trip and locked in the large signup bonus, so we probably made some money on it overall. I’d say the Sapphire is mainly good to get if you travel a lot, especially internationally.

    I appreciated this article and the analogy. Fortunately I never had to learn the lesson the hard way!

    Reply
  15. Froogal Stoodent says

    September 24, 2021 at 1:46 pm

    Great metaphor!!!

    I’ll have to steal this metaphor next time I talk to someone about credit cards. Or better yet, I’ll direct them to this page 🙂

    Reply

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      • Stocks -- Part XXVI: Pulling the 4%
      • Stocks -- Part XXV: HSAs, more than just a way to pay your medical bills.
    • ► July (3)
      • Stocks -- Part XXIV: RMDs, the ugly surprise at the end of the tax-deferred rainbow
      • Summer travels, writing, reading and other amusements
      • Moto X, my new Republic Wireless Phone
    • ► June (1)
      • Stocks -- Part XXIII: Selecting your asset allocation
    • ► May (1)
      • Stocks -- Part XXII: Stepping away from REITs
    • ► April (3)
      • Q&A III: Vamos
      • Q&A II: Salamat
      • Q&A I: Gaijin Shogun
    • ► March (2)
      • Top 10 posts
      • Cafe No Se
    • ► February (4)
      • Chautauqua 2014 preview, closing up for travel and other random cool things that caught my eye of late.
      • Case Study #10: Should Josiah buy his parents a house?
      • Case Study #9: Lars -- maximizing some good fortune and considering "dollar cost averaging"
      • Case Study #8: Ron's mother - she's doin' all right!
    • ► January (4)
      • roundup: Some random cool things
      • Stocks — Part XXI: Investing with Vanguard for Europeans
      • Case Study #7: What it looks like when everything financial goes wrong
      • 1st Annual Louis Rukeyser Memorial Market Prediction Contest 2013 results, and my forecast for 2014
  • ► 2013 (41)
    • ► December (4)
      • Closing up for the Holidays, see you in 2014
      • Betterment: a simpler path to wealth
      • Case Study 6: Helping an ill and elderly parent
      • Stocks -- Part XX: Early Retirement Withdrawal Strategies and Roth Conversion Ladders from a Mad Fientist
    • ► November (3)
      • Death, Taxes, Estate Plans, Probate and Prob8
      • Case Study #5: Zero to 2.6 million in 25 years
      • Case Study #4: Using the 4% rule and asset allocations.
    • ► October (3)
      • Republic Wireless and my $19 per month phone plan
      • Case Study #3: Let's get Tom to Latin America!
      • The Stock Series gets its own page
    • ► September (2)
      • Case Study #2: Joe -- off to a fast start!
      • Chautauqua 2013: A Week of Dreams
    • ► August (1)
      • Closing up shop plus an opening at Chautauqua, my new podcast, phone, book and other random cool stuff
    • ► July (1)
      • They Will Kill You For Your Shoes!
    • ► June (4)
      • Stocks -- Part VIII-b: Should you avoid your company's 401k?
      • Shilpan's Seven Habits to Live More with Less
      • Stocks -- Part XIX: How to think about money
      • My path for my kid -- the first 10 years
    • ► May (5)
      • Why your house is a terrible investment
      • Stocks — Part XVIII: Investing in a raging bull
      • Dining with the Ghosts of Sarah Bernhardt and Alfons Mucha
      • How we finally got the house sold
      • Stocks — Part XVII: What if you can't buy VTSAX? Or even Vanguard?
    • ► April (4)
      • Greetings from Prague & a computer question
      • Swimming with Tigers, a 2nd chance on the Chautauqua, a financial article gets it wrong and I'm off to Prague
      • Storage, Moving and Movers
      • Homeless, and a bit on the strategy of dollar cost averaging
    • ► March (4)
      • Wild Turkeys, Motorcycles, Dining Room Sets & Greed
      • Roots v. Wings: considering home ownership
      • How about that stock market?!
      • The Blog has New Clothes
    • ► February (5)
      • Meet Mr. Money Mustache, JD Roth, Cheryl Reed & me for a Chautauqua in Ecuador
      • High School Poetry, Carnival, cool ads and random pictures that caught my eye
      • Consignment Shops: Best business model ever?
      • Cafes
      • Stocks -- Part XVI: Index Funds are really just for lazy people, right?
    • ► January (5)
      • Social Security: How secure and when to take it
      • Fighting giraffes, surreal landscapes, dancing with unicorns and restoring a Vanagon
      • My plan for 2013
      • VITA, income taxes and the IRS
      • How to be a stock market guru and get on MSNBC
  • ► 2012 (53)
    • ► December (6)
      • See you next year....until then: The Origin of Life, Life on Other Worlds, Mechanical Graveyards, Great Art, Alternative Lifestyles and Finding Freedom
      • Stocks -- Part XV: Target Retirement Funds, the simplest path to wealth of all
      • Stocks -- Part XIV: Deflation, the ugly escort of Depressions.
      • Stocks Part XIV: Deflation, the ugly escort of Depressions.
      • Stocks -- Part XIII: The 4% rule, withdrawal rates and how much can I spend anyway?
      • How I learned to stop worrying about the Fiscal Cliff and you can too.
    • ► November (2)
      • Rent v. owning: A couple of case studies in Ecuador
      • So, what does a month in Ecuador cost anyway?
    • ► October (4)
      • See you in December....
      • Meet me in Ecuador?
      • The Podcast: You can hear me now.
      • Stocks -- Part XII: Bonds
    • ► September (6)
      • Stocks -- Part XI: International Funds
      • The Smoother Path to Wealth
      • Case Study #I: Putting the Simple Path to Wealth into Action
      • Tales of Bolivia: Calle de las Brujas
      • Stocks -- Part X: What if Vanguard gets Nuked?
      • Travels in South America: It was the best of times....
    • ► August (1)
      • Home again
    • ► June (4)
      • Yellow Fever, closing up shop for the summer and heading to Peru y Bolivia
      • I could not have said it better myself...
      • Stocks -- Part IX: Why I don't like investment advisors
      • Happy Birthday, jlcollinsnh; and thanks for the gift Mr. MM!
    • ► May (6)
      • Stocks -- Part VIII: The 401K, 403b, TSP, IRA & Roth Buckets
      • Mr. Money Mustache
      • The College Conundrum
      • Stocks -- Part VII: Can everyone really retire a millionaire?
      • Stocks -- Part VI: Portfolio ideas to build and keep your wealth
      • Stocks -- Part V: Keeping it simple, considerations and tools
    • ► April (6)
      • Stocks -- Part IV: The Big Ugly Event, Deflation and a bit on Inflation
      • Stocks -- Part III: Most people lose money in the market.
      • Stocks -- Part II: The Market Always Goes Up
      • Stocks -- Part 1: There's a major market crash coming!!!! and Dr. Lo can't save you.
      • You can eat my Vindaloo, mega lottery, Blondie, Noa, Israel Kamakawiwo 'Ole, art, film and a ride on the Space Shuttle
      • Where in the world are you?
    • ► March (7)
      • How I lost money in real estate before it was fashionable, Part V: Sold! and the taxman cometh.
      • How I lost money in real estate before it was fashionable, Part IV: I become a Landlord.
      • How I lost money in real estate before it was fashionable, Part III: The Battle is Joined.
      • How I lost money in real estate before it was fashionable, Part II: The Limits of the Law.
      • How I lost money in real estate before it was fashionable, Part I: Impossibly Naive.
      • You, too, can be conned
      • Armageddon and the value of practical skills
    • ► February (6)
      • Rent v. Owning Your Home, opportunity cost and running some numbers
      • The Casanova Kid, a Shit Knife, a Good Book, Having No Regrets, Dark Matter and a bit of Magic
      • What Poker, Basketball and Mike Whitaker taught me about Luck
      • How to Give like a Billionaire
      • Go ahead, make my day
      • Muk Finds Success in Tahiti
    • ► January (5)
      • Travels with "Esperando un Camino"
      • Beanie Babies, Naked Barbie, American Pickers and Old Coots
      • Selling the House and Adventures in Staging
      • The bashing of Index Funds, Jack Bogle and a Jedi dog trick
      • Magic Beans
  • ► 2011 (22)
    • ► December (1)
      • Dividend Growth Investing
    • ► November (2)
      • The Mummy's head, Particle Physics and "Knocking on Heaven's Door"
      • "It's Better in the Wind" or why I ride a motorcycle
    • ► October (1)
      • Lazy Days and School Days
    • ► July (2)
      • The road to Zanzibar sometimes goes thru Ecuador...
      • Johnny wins the lotto and heads to Paris
    • ► June (16)
      • Chainsaws, Elm Trees and paying for College
      • Stuff I’ve failed at: the early years
      • Snatching Victory from the Jaws of Defeat
      • The. Worst. Used. Car. Ever.
      • Top Ten reasons your future is so bright it hurts my eyes to look at it
      • The Most Dangerous Words Your Customer Can Say
      • How not to drown in The Sea of Assholes
      • What we own and why we own it
      • The Ten Sales Commandments
      • My ever so formal and oh so dry CV
      • How I failed my daughter and a simple path to wealth
      • The Myth of Motivation
      • Why you need F-you money
      • My short attention span
      • Why I can’t pick winning stocks, and you can’t either
      • The Monk and the Minister
Blogroll
  • Can I Retire Yet?
  • ChooseFI
  • Go Curry Cracker
  • Fiology
  • Mad Fientist
  • Millennial Revolution
  • Mr. Money Mustache
  • The Power of Thrift

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