pre-approved.

I am enamored of my new credit card.

I know that sounds like a bad, bad sign. Just wait until I tell you how having this new credit card has changed the way that I spend.

I decided that I wanted a new credit card a couple of months back when I noticed that there were a lot of credit cards out there with benefits. My credit card had one benefit: it gave me the ability to buy now and pay later. While this is indeed the primary thing I look for in a credit card, I had the feeling I might could get more if I went somewhere else. There are credit cards with rewards out there. These companies want you to spend money so much that they will give you things to do so. I like this idea.

So I did a little research and picked out a nice card that was shiny and silver and gives me rewards. It still had the old beneft of allowing me to buy now and pay later, but it also had the glorious concept of cash back. I get one penny out of every dollar that I spend put back in my pocket (er, put into a check that I can request after I have 50,000 pennies accumulated). I get 5 pennies out of every dollar that I spend at a grocery store, drug store, or gas station. I think that is the most awesome thing I've ever heard of. I'm constantly doing math at the store now. People all around me complain about gas being three bucks a gallon while I silently grin to myself, thinking, ah, but it's only $2.85 a gallon for me. Of course, if gas were one dollar a gallon, I'd still be pretty happy that it was only $0.95 a gallon for me.

I told my mother about my great new credit card, because I knew she would be excited about it, too. She was skeptical, because she thinks she knows a lot more than I do about finances.

"I got a new credit card, Mama. A platinum."

"You qualified for a platinum card? They're just giving them away to anybody nowadays."

"Right."

"Did you check and see if there was an annual fee?"

"Of course there's no annual fee. And, I get one percent cash back on everything and five percent cash back at grocery stores, drug stores, and gas stations."

"Five percent?"

"Five percent."

"Is that like for three months? Some cards will give you a big percentage for the first 90 days or so and then they go back down."

"Nope, that's the standard rate. I can earn up to $300 a year."

"Huh. Well, you have to be careful now. I hope this isn't making you spend more money."

"Of course not, Mama. It's no different from when I used the other card, I'm just getting money back for spending what I would spend anyway."

"Well, I guess that's alright."

"Plus there's this network of vendors online where you can earn more cash back, which varies by the store. And that's unlimited - it doesn't count against your $300."

"Hmm."

"And I get virtual account numbers. They're temporary credit card numbers that you can use online so that you don't have to give out your credit card number all over the web."

"Really?"

"Yup."

"Hmm. Maybe I should get one of these cards."

"I'll send you a link. I might get a referral bonus."

Score one for me. The day I received my bright and shiny card in the mail, I immediately wanted to go out and buy something. I had two-thirds of a tank of gas, but I decided to fill-er-up anyway. So I put $8 of gas into my tank, grinning widely and thinking about the forty cents that was coming straight back to me. For the first month, I would go around and fill up at different gas stations (with the same prices) to see which ones would qualify for the bonus rewards. I was going to do this thing right. Then when my rewards statement came, I sat down with my bill and a pencil and made sure that I was earning back every penny. And bless those nice credit card people, they round to the nearest cent when they calculate rewards, even if that means rounding up.

Like I said, this card is changing the way I spend. I'm not spending more, I'm just charging more. I would have bought that soda and candy at the gas station anyway, but charging two bucks is a new experience for me. But that is ten cents back, and it all adds up. And my mother would point out that charging allows my money to sit in the bank longer and earn more interest. I still pay the statement off completely every month, which is just what my new credit card company does not want, because they don't earn any interest that way. They're just paying me to do what I do anyway. Suckers!

You know, with the new North Carolina lottery, it just occurred to me that if I buy lottery tickets at the gas station or the grocery store, for every $1 scratch-off card I buy, I will get five cents back.

Okay, maybe I need to stop.