George Kamel - How People Felt About Credit Cards 30 Years Ago

Episode Date: October 27, 2023

Have you seen this Instagram reel from WMAR 2 News in Baltimore, Maryland? It’s a local news story from 1993, and this was the big headline: “Burger King now accepting credit cards as a form of payment.” Today we’re gonna take a look at this visual nugget of nostalgia to get a little taste of what people thought about credit cards back in the early 90s.  Links:  This episode is brought to you by BetterHelp. Give online therapy a try at https://www.betterhelp.com/george and get on your way to being your best self.  EveryDollar Budget Deal: I love a good deal, when you sign up using this link , I’ll hook you up with a 14-day free trial and $15 off your first year of the premium version of EveryDollar. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What's up guys, George Camel here, and today we've got a blast from the past. Approximately 347 of you sent me this Instagram reel from WAMR 2 News in Baltimore, Maryland. It's a local news story from the year 1993, and this was the big headline. Burger King now accepting credit cards as a form of payment. And let me tell you this video, Chef's Kiss, pure gold. So today we're going to take a look at this visual nugget of nostalgia to get a little taste of what people thought about credit cards back in the early 90s. But before you get a taste, you got a taste.

swipe that friendship card and pay up by smashing those like and subscribe buttons. And while you're at it, share this video with all your friends from the Burger King Kids Club and the 58 guys you know who dressed as the Burger King for Halloween back in 2007. It wasn't cool back then and it's still not cool today. I'm sorry, guys. I too apologize, king of high caloric intake. I kneel before your grease-soaked robe. So let's watch the whole thing and then we'll break it down. What? The home of the Whopper is offering cash or credit. I think it's pretty bad if you have to use a credit card when you go to a fast food restaurant for something as little as $3.10.

If I use my GM card and I get a 5% rebate, if I eat here long enough, I'll be able to buy a pickup truck. Burger King bosses say workers won't have to figure out how much change the customer gets back. I just hope it doesn't slow things down at the cash and carry that people are going to be having to call New York and get the confirmation or, you know, whatever it is because when I want a whopper, I want it now. Just another way to spend money. I'm sure it'll work for people on vacation when they don't have to do something, but I can't imagine it working on a day-to-day basis here. So far, the smallest credit has been for $2.50, the largest, just over 10. Jamie Costello News Channel 2.

God bless that video. All right, first of all, fantastic. I just, it makes me miss the 90s. Game Boy, snap bracelets, cheap fast food, still having hope that I would hit six feet tall, simpler times. Also, the best part, grown men wearing suits to get fast food, okay? They had some class. They had some pinash. Nowadays, you're lucky if people are wearing pants

inside of a Burger King. Someone said in the comments, sounds weird, it only started in 93. And I agree. Credit cards are so prevalent now that it's almost hard to imagine a world where people didn't use them for everything. But in 1993, that was the norm.

In fact, get this. McDonald's, the King's arch-nemesis, didn't start accepting plastic payments until around 2003, a decade late to the punch. And here's the reason. A lot of merchants didn't want to pay the credit card processing fee

and were concerned with how long the transactions would take. And back then, it did take longer. They had to call New York, apparently, establish a connection to a computer somewhere, transfer the data to verify the card was valid, and had enough credit available before you could leave with your whopper. And when he wants a whopper, he wants it now.

But I want it now! But I really do love all the different reactions people had to this. So let's play that first part again, because that was just pure, pure gold. Cash or credit? What? First of all, this news anchor, I hope he has a career in a career now. career in acting after that. The slow pan. What? All right, let's keep going.

If I use my GM card and I get a 5% rebate. If I eat here long enough, I'll be able to buy a pickup truck. Hold your horsepower there, Arnold. Easy Bucco. Eyes on the road, Chief. So back in 1993, you could get a new GMC-1500 for just over 16,000. Okay? That's the real number. So he'd have to eat at Burger King more than 64,000 times to get enough cash back for a new truck. And even if you ate there once every day, it would take around 175 years. That's a lot of Whopper. Let's keep going. Burger King bosses say workers won't have to figure out how much change the customer gets back.

I just hope it doesn't slow things down at the cash and carry that people are going to be having to call New York and get the confirmation or, you know, whatever it is. Because when I want a whopper, I want it now. He said that so deadpaned that it worries me how sincere it was. Like, he was not even trying to make that a moment. He was just like, listen, I'm not, I'm not waiting. It's like his whole life revolves around the Whopper. He probably has pictures of hamburgers in his wallet instead of his family. This was, I had this Whopper last Thursday.

All right, moving on. Just another way to spend money. I'm sure it'll work for people on vacation when they don't have to do something, but I can't imagine it working on a day-to-day basis here. So far, the smallest credit has been for $2.50, the largest, just over 10. Jamie Costello News Channel 2. Okay. What in the world was that guy saying about a vacation?

What does a vacation have to do with this? Maybe they forgot to tell them what the news story was about. Either way, really fun to see people's reactions to credit cards being introduced into the fast food ecosystem. And can you imagine the day when $10 was like an astronomical amount you could spend on fast food? I mean, now the dollar menu is a $10 menu. And just like today, you've got people who embrace it, people who think it's crazy, and people who for some reason are talking about vacation. But let's go back to the person they interviewed first, okay?

this nice lady with the fantastic 90s hair was definitely my favorite. I think it's pretty bad if you have to use a credit card when you go to a fast food restaurant for something as little as $3.10. Thank you. Finally, someone's speaking some cents. This girl may be the only person in this video who has any. Hers is the voice of reason here, okay? She's got a grasp of what's actually happening.

People are using other people's money to buy things they could easily just pay cash for and they're just going to have to pay for it later. Likely with interest added. She knows what's up. Would not shock me if she is a millionaire today. We'll get right back to the episode, but I want to give a quick shout out to our friends at BetterHelp who are sponsoring this episode.

Listen, sometimes we know what's good for us, but it feels like we just can't make ourselves do it. Like, I should just go to bed, but I'm a new dad, and my baby just got a diaper rash, and it looks really red. And sometimes my brain convinces me to check WebMD, and then I click another article and another article, and suddenly it's three in the morning.

If your brain tends to work like that, therapy could help. So your brain works with you, not against you. And sometimes it's just as simple as talking things through, and learning strategies to be intentional about doing the things you know you should. So if you're thinking of starting therapy, give BetterHelp a try. BetterHelp is flexible because it's 100% online, so it fits your schedule. Just fill out a brief questionnaire to get matched with a licensed therapist,

and you can switch therapists at any time for no extra charge. Make your brain your friend with BetterHelp. Visit betterhelp.com slash George today and get 10% off your first month. That's BetterHelp, H-E-L-P-com slash George, or click the link in the description. All right, back to the episode we go. So what can we learn from all this beyond some nostalgic laughs and joy? Well, for me, it's the fact that it wasn't too long ago that using credit cards was considered taboo, silly, insane.

And here we are today, millions of people using credit cards thinking they're going to beat the system. And get this, in 2023, outstanding credit card debt hit a record high of $1 trillion. Now, for reference, that's $1,000 billion. And it's spread out among 55 million households, which means a balance averaging of over $14,000 per household. And that debt has become harder to pay off, too, thanks to insane interest rates, which as of

2023, we're averaging around 22% APR. So here's a wild idea. Ditch the credit cards. You see, a budget and credit cards don't mix. Using credit to pay for expenses and then making a big payment at the end of the month is a terrible money management system. Just because you can pay the lump sum at the end of the month doesn't mean you're making any progress with your money.

Stick to a debit card in cash so the expenses can't hide from you. And as someone who hasn't used a credit card or had a credit card in over a decade, let me share my honest experience with you. that bucking this credit card system has given me way more perks and benefits than any company ever could. And once I cut up my card, I weirdly built wealth faster with more confidence and peace. I didn't miss the cashback or free flights or the GM rebates because I learned how to take control of my money and simply save up and pay for things. So imagine that for a second.

Rewarding yourself instead of waiting on some blessing from a credit card company. So here's the deal. If you're ready to see some financial progress, I triple dog dare you to take my no credit challenge. I triple dog dare you. Here's how works. Step one, stick your credit cards in a block of ice or lock them away somewhere. You won't see them. You won't think about them. You don't have easy access to them. Next, delete your credit card info from apps and sites that you use.

Now, this is the honor system. I'm not going to big brother you here, but don't let me down. I promise. Then, for the next 30 days, stick to using a debit card or cash for every single purchase. Okay? Track your spending with a budgeting tool. I highly recommend and personally use one called every dollar. I'll drop a link to that. And after 30 days, here's what I want you to do. Compare the numbers from your previous. credit card days, the previous credit card months, and see if you spent less, see if you got more intentional, see if you got closer to your financial goals, and if you felt more in control and aware of

your money. Now, my hunch is, you're going to feel more peace to not have to think about maximizing rewards, which card to use, and I think it'll feel a little more painful to see your own money disappear with every purchase, and here's what happens. You might end up cutting up the cards and never looking back. Best wishes on your credit card free journey. I hope you guys enjoyed this video. If you want to see more gems like this out in the wild, feel free to send them my way, and maybe we'll react to them in a future video. As always, make sure to subscribe to this channel, like this video, and share it with all of your friends

who use their credit cards to pay for their flame broiled beef patties hoping they can get enough cash back for a Toyota Tundra one day. Spoiler alert, it's not going to happen, Arnold, but whatever. Have it your way. See what I did there? Hashtag not sponsored. Not that I'm opposed to it, BK, listen, Kirkland King, Burger King, I think there's some crossover that can happen here.

Thanks for watching. We'll see you next time.