Today I went out and got the mail and discovered I'd recieved a check made out to me for $6,000.00. All I had to do was deposit it and it was mine to spend. This happens all the time and I'm sure it has happened to all of you. Of course, I shredded it as the attached financial disclosure indicated the interest rate was 98%! But can you imagine if someone got that check in the mail who was desperate for money to pay bills or wanted something that they ordinarily couldn't afford. The temptation to cash that check would be staggering.

Along with the $6,000 check there were three credit card solicitations offering guaranteed acceptance with credit limits of $2,500 to $5,000. Of course the lowest interest offered was 29%. In the first quarter of 2010, according to the marketing intelligence firm, Mintel Compermedia, total credit card direct mail solicitation volume was 1.2 billion pieces! This is an unconscionable abuse by the credit card industry motivated by greed and a reckless disregard for their customers' well being. At a time when interest rates are ridiculously low and banks can get all the cheap money they want, they shouldn't be trying to fleece the American consumer. Unforturnately, credit card lending is so lucrative they can't help themselves.

So, I tell my clients they shouldn't feel guilty about filing bankruptcy as they have been lured into this credit trap by greedy lenders who care nothing about how predatory lending hurts the people who get caught up in it. When they lure people into buying things they can't afford they reap big profits but are unsympathetic when their customers lose their job or get sick and can't pay the bills

These finance companies, payday lenders, banks, and credit card issuers will turn on you the moment you get behind on a payment. They'll call and harass you, send you threatening letters, and destroy your credit without giving it a second thought. I see this everyday and it sickens me. I got so angry one day I wrote a poem about it one night. It's called Plastic and you can read in my novel, Plastic Gods, A Rich Coleman Novel, Volume 2.

So, when you go out to the mailbox marshall all your strength and will power, and do what I do, immediately shred any credit card applications or preauthorized checks that you find. Also, look in your credit card bills and shred any unsolicited checks that they slip into the bill so they won't be a temptation in the future. You have to be vigilant to avoid the credit trap, but you can do it!