Personal Narrative
Student Name
ENGL 1102-Fall 2017
September 7, 2017
ENGL 1102-Fall 2017
September 7, 2017
A Noble Act
When I was 18 years old and fresh out of high school I made the decision to get my first credit card behind my parents back because they both told men i wasn’t ready for one. Of course being a teenager and legally an adult I decided that it wasn’t up to them and that I was responsible to handle having one. For the first few months I was able to keep it a secret and not let it get close to the limit.
Once my friends found out that I had one, they all wanted me to buy things for them and they promised to pay me back. I had some really responsible friends who did what they said they would and paid me back before the end of the month. I thought that this was a great set up in order to help build my credit so I never thought twice about it. I was also working so I had an income in order to pay off any purchases that I had made for myself over the course of the month. Thinking that I was being a good friend to all my friends who needed some help financially, which I use the term needed loosely because what they were buying weren’t necessities, and thinking I had a great system in place to keep the balance low I kept doing it.
About six months into having the card, someone who I thought of as a really close friend of mine needed me to use my card for them. By this time, my limit had been raised to $2,000 because I was keeping it paid off before the statements came out each month. They were getting ready to move and “needed” me to help them get some furniture. So I bought them a few items, a couch, a television, a television stand and a table. When it came time for payment, that friend had a million excuses for not being able to pay me back and eventually stopped answering my phone calls and stopped responding to my text messages.
By the end of the second month, I wasn’t able to get the balance down and I had to tell my mom that I needed her help paying a credit card off that she had no idea I had and that she specifically told me not to get. She gave me about an hour long lecture about my credit and not to ever use my credit for my friends. She eventually agreed to help me but she took my card from me so I couldn’t use it again and she made me pay her back with interest.
If any of my friends asked me now to use my credit card for them I absolutely would not do it. Not only was this an embarrassing situation with having to ask my mom for help but it took a toll on me emotionally because I felt betrayed. I would never want money to be the reason why I lose a friend and I never want to be backed into a corner and made to feel like my only escape is to ask my parents for financial help.
Once my friends found out that I had one, they all wanted me to buy things for them and they promised to pay me back. I had some really responsible friends who did what they said they would and paid me back before the end of the month. I thought that this was a great set up in order to help build my credit so I never thought twice about it. I was also working so I had an income in order to pay off any purchases that I had made for myself over the course of the month. Thinking that I was being a good friend to all my friends who needed some help financially, which I use the term needed loosely because what they were buying weren’t necessities, and thinking I had a great system in place to keep the balance low I kept doing it.
About six months into having the card, someone who I thought of as a really close friend of mine needed me to use my card for them. By this time, my limit had been raised to $2,000 because I was keeping it paid off before the statements came out each month. They were getting ready to move and “needed” me to help them get some furniture. So I bought them a few items, a couch, a television, a television stand and a table. When it came time for payment, that friend had a million excuses for not being able to pay me back and eventually stopped answering my phone calls and stopped responding to my text messages.
By the end of the second month, I wasn’t able to get the balance down and I had to tell my mom that I needed her help paying a credit card off that she had no idea I had and that she specifically told me not to get. She gave me about an hour long lecture about my credit and not to ever use my credit for my friends. She eventually agreed to help me but she took my card from me so I couldn’t use it again and she made me pay her back with interest.
If any of my friends asked me now to use my credit card for them I absolutely would not do it. Not only was this an embarrassing situation with having to ask my mom for help but it took a toll on me emotionally because I felt betrayed. I would never want money to be the reason why I lose a friend and I never want to be backed into a corner and made to feel like my only escape is to ask my parents for financial help.