She Understood
I can remember coming home one day, I was working two jobs, teaching school and working in the summer in the New Franklin laundry to make ends meet, and having my wife say, “Give me your wallet.” And I gave her my wallet. And at this time — this was the early 1970s — everybody was giving out credit cards, you didn’t need to apply or anything, they just sent their plastic everywhere, and she took the gasoline credit cards and she had these shears and she cut them all up. And I said, but we’re paying our bills, and she said, “No, we’re paying the interest. We can’t afford to anymore. We’ve got to pay as we go.” She understood.
— Stephen King, on making ends meet early in his career || Bankrate.com Interview: “Fame & Fortune,” 2006-10-24
