Financial Lessons Learned From The Stupid Actions Of Others

Sometimes the best lessons in life come from watching the stupid people all around us... and then doing the opposite as they do.  Okay, okay... perhaps that sounds mean and harsh and judgmental   Most people aren't actually stupid... they just ACT stupid sometimes.  Maybe I am just extra fired up today after reading an article in my local newspaper (breaking news) about a nearby city's mayor who, at the very least, used some very poor judgement concerning a business credit card.  

This Mayor, William J. Healy, used the card 15 times over two billing cycles for purchases that were personal, not for city use (one purchase was even for a visit to the "Tilted Kilt" restaurant which, for those not familiar with the establishment, is somewhat like Hooters).  Mayor Healy has always defended himself against those who say he is not qualified to be Mayor by reminding us all that he is a graduate of the prestigious NYS Stern School of Business.  Well la-de-da!  Maybe Mayor Healy was absent the day Stern taught some basic rules of finance, credit card use, and business?  

For everyone's benefit, I will share some lessons learned here.

LESSON #1 - Never, ever use a business credit card for personal purchases.  In most other cases that would get you fired.

On to the next lesson.  From the article: "During an interview late Wednesday afternoon, Healy displayed the personal credit cards in his wallet to The Repository, which included two or three blue ones, a silver card and the CIC card, which is a grayish-black. The other cards included those issued by Discover and Citibank."

This brings me to LESSON #2 - Don't carry/have more credit cards than you need.  Based on this article, it sounds like Healy had at least 7 credit cards in his wallet, only one being a business card.  Maybe if he had a smaller amount of cards he would not have been so confused!   

Also from the article: "When using the CIC card, the mayor said, he hadn’t noticed to whom the card had been issued..... He said he paid more attention to the MasterCard logo at the corner of the card than to the color."  

Sigh... reading that makes me sad.  Healy is a local graduate and I am sad he didn't learn this next lesson from one of our local public schools even before he made it to Stern.  LESSON #3 - Attention to detail is very important.  Clearly, when you don't pay attention to detail you end up doing stupid things.  And you never want to do something stupid where your credit is concerned.  

Back to the article: "A $39 late fee also was incurred on the CIC card, which Healy said he paid."

I think we all know what my lesson will be regarding this one: LESSON #4 - Pay attention to deadlines!  Credit card late fees and interest charges should not be an option!  I am not sure who is responsible for the late fee - Healy or a city worker - but based on the article it sounds like Healy was responsible for getting the bill paid before deadline and didn't.  

So boys and girls, did you learn some good lessons today?  We can all think Mayor Healy for providing such a good example for us on what NOT to do!

What financial or business lessons have you learned from the not-so-swift actions of others?  Please share... laughter is good for the soul!  :)