What's In Your Wallet? Poem by Kim Barney

About a year ago I was in Cabella's
and chose a bunch of fishing stuff.
As I was about to pay for it, the lady
said I could save 20% if I applied
for a Cabella's credit card and put
the purchase on my card.
I thought, 'Why not? '

My application was approved
and they printed my new credit card
right there in the store! It was
backed by Capital One.
The bill came a few weeks later
and I paid it promptly. Every month
after that, they sent a new bill
showing a zero balance
and no payment necessary.

Since I hadn't bought anything else,
after a while I got used to not even
opening the bill because I knew
that the balance was zero.

Then one day I bought $22 worth
of more fishing equipment. When
the next bill came, absent-minded
yours truly forgot about the new
purchase and ignored it because I
thought the balance was zero.

So, I got an e-mail from Capital One
saying that my payment was late
and I had a late fee. Guess how
much the late fee was.
The late fee was twenty-two dollars,
equal to one hundred percent of
the original purchase!

I paid it but haven't used their card
since, and I never will.
The credit card that I do use is from
my local credit union. If
I am ever late with my payment,
they send me a notice to let me know,
but they NEVER charge me a
late fee or a penalty.

What's in my wallet?
Not Capital One.
Not anymore.