Would $3250* make you happy?

I was going through my inbox and saw this in the subject field (I've changed the name):

Subject: Bella, would $3250* make you happy?

Then I opened up the email and was greeted with this image:

Followed with this:

Get $3,250 or more*
for whatever makes you happy!

This is where I have a problem with loan and credit companies. It's good business and marketing on their part. But these images and statements really do play on people's minds. Imagine what $3250 would do you for you this Christmas? ... Ok now think ... How many months will it take you to pay back those gifts, 36 months, 48 months? At what level of interest? Those asterisks that follow dollar signs make me edgy.

There was a time when we would have taken out loans in order to meet the need to please ourselves and others. Seeing the joy and hearing the squeals of glee, would melt my heart. They still do. Last Christmas, the gifts I gave were smaller. Paid for with cash too. The level of joy and the squeals of glee were all there too. Plus, a personal satisfaction that I would not be paying it off for x amount of years on a credit card or at a high interest rate with a loan company.

Would $3250* make me happy? Heck yeah! Cash that I earned and saved ... without an asterisk right by its side!