So I got home today after a weekend at Car’s, opened my mailbox and saw that my credit card has finally arrived. It’s been a long journey, and I feel like it’s only just beginning.

Which totally pisses me off.

I’m a good banking customer, I have a very, very healthy balance in my account. I also have credit cards all over the world. I use up a small % of my limit and I pay my balance in full each month.

But here’s the stickler — I have little to no credit history in the US. Who knows what is in my credit report, whatever is in there is from New York. 9 years ago. So basically, I don’t get the treatment that my history and bank balance warrant, and at times I feel like I’m having to prove myself to financial institutions. Ironic given where I work.

It’s easy to blame governments, Wall Street fat cats and irresponsible citizens who overspend. The true culprit is probably a combination. I don’t understand the mainly Western, and notably American, mentality of spending future money. Spend within your means and save as much as you can, that’s fundamental and common sense. There are so many stories about how people are affected by the financial crisis, and I feel a tiny bit of sympathy for some. But for most others, like this guy, I want to punch him in the face. It’s bad customers like him that are making me seem like a bad customer, and one of these days I’m going to get very cross.

I have a pending transaction at amex — I’m transferring my card over, but they seem to want to treat it like a new application. Let’s see how this one goes.