I didn’t steal this credit card from Mr. Posos. Actually I kinda stole it from Wikipedia. I have to take a moment to figure out that GNU licensing thing soon.

Anyway… This post is about the most valuable pieces of plastic that I have. I don’t use credit or debit cards in shops these days, but the bank that has my money is 6000 km away from where I presently reside. I think I have the lowest number of credit and debit cards that I would feel comfortable with in my situation.

I can think of a few tips to help reduce the consumption of plastic cards. First off, you really don’t need to get any of the cards offered by department stores, grocery stores, home improvement stores, etc. If you have a major credit card they are redundant. They also almost always charge exorbitant interest rates. One of my worst plastic related sins from last decade was applying for a store credit card in order to get a free gift. The gift was a cheap plastic radio that, as it turned out, didn’t even work. I lowballed my income in hopes of being turned down, but the card showed up in the mail a week or two later regardless.

My second tip is to take really good care of the cards that you do have. Don’t let any sitcom maitre de cut them up. Don’t carelessly lose them.

My family and I are presently living in a cash economy. We withdraw enough money to cover our weekly budget and if we start running low, our first step is to spend more carefully. Blogging about the environmental impact of the actual physical credit card if a bit flippant, but the environmental impact of millions of people rampantly consuming with the imaginary money that they represent is pretty serious stuff.