Hey Simplifiers,
Can't afford it? Don't buy it. Simple advice. And it would even be good advice if credit were actually designed to support you.
Most of these systems aren't built to help you build wealth. They're built to extract profit from you the moment you feel finanically stuck.
So before you blame yourself for one more "bad decision," maybe just see the game for what it is.
Gif by spongebob on Giphy
Let's talk about what's actually happening when you click "4 easy payments."
1️⃣ BNPL isn't a payment plan — it's a data-harvesting profit engine
Most people think Buy Now Pay Later services are just modern layaway. Convenient. Interest-free. Harmless.
But the business model isn't built on what you pay, it's built on:
Merchant fees (retailers pay 2-8% per transaction to offer BNPL)
Late fees when you miss payments (sometimes $7-$10 per missed installment)
Data monetization — your spending habits, income patterns, and purchase triggers are sold to advertisers
Credit creep — they're banking on you taking out multiple BNPL loans until you can't track them all
The probelm isn’t the person using BNPL. It's believing a corporation gave you a gift instead of a leash.
2️⃣ Credit card points are designed to make you spend more, not save more
Points programs feel like rewards. They're actually incentive structures designed to increase your spending by 12-18%.
Here's how it works— you spend $100 to earn $2 in points to redeem meaningful rewards (you need thousands of points) so you spend more to hit thresholds and chase bonuses to justify annual fees. Meanwhile, the average credit card APR is 21-24%
The math only works if you:
Pay in full every month
Never carry a balance
Track categories and caps obsessively
For everyone else? You're funding someone else's free flight.
3️⃣ The system profits most when you feel behind
BNPL and rewards programs thrive on the same emotion: the feeling that everyone else is getting ahead and you're missing out.
That's not an accident. It's the design.
Influencers flex BNPL hauls to normalize debt as lifestyle
Credit card companies advertise points as "free money"
Algorithms show you checkout pages with installment options front and center
The goal isn't to help you budget. It's to make financial stress feel like a personal failure that more spending can fix.
You're not financially stupid. You're financially targeted.
This Week's Action Step
Audit your BNPL accounts — log into every app and write down what you actually owe
Check your credit card interest vs. points value — are you paying 24% to earn 2%?
Set a 48-hour rule — no BNPL purchases for 48 hours after you add to cart
Unsubscribe from one brand pushing installment plans — cut the noise at the source
The companies profiting off your financial pressure are counting on you to feel too overwhelmed to notice the pattern and once you see it, you can't unsee it.
Talk soon,
C
Founder of The Simple Adult 🤍
Dalio: “Stocks Only Look Strong in Dollar Terms.” Here’s a Globally Priced Alternative for Diversification.
Ray Dalio recently reported that much of the S&P 500’s 2025 gains came not from real growth, but from the dollar quietly losing value. Reportedly down 10% last year!
He’s not alone. Several BlackRock, Fidelity, and Bloomberg analysts say to expect further dollar decline in 2026.
So, even when your U.S. assets look “up,” your purchasing power may actually be down.
Which is why many investors are adding globally priced, scarce assets to their portfolios—like art.
Art is traded on a global stage, making it largely resistant to currency swings.
Now, Masterworks is opening access to invest in artworks featuring legends like Banksy, Basquiat, and Picasso as a low-correlation asset class with attractive appreciation historically (1995-2025).*
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