‘Illusion of being rich’: Financial advisor compares credit card users to monkeys trained with bananas

Akshat Shrivastava, Founder of Wisdom Hatch, has drawn a sharp comparison between monkeys and credit card users, arguing that both are trained using the same principle of positive reinforcement.

In a post on X (formerly Twitter), Shrivastava wrote, “For monkeys, it is banana. For credit card using humans, it is reward points.” He suggested that while many believe they use credit cards responsibly, the reality is quite the opposite for most users.

“Credit cards are more expensive than debit cards. And no, they don’t help you build a ‘credit history’. Try taking a ₹2 crore home loan or an education loan on your credit card history,” Shrivastav noted, adding that factors such as income, age, employment stability, and debt-to-income ratio carry far more weight in loan approvals.

According to him, for the majority, credit cards function as a bridge loan that encourages overspending beyond one’s real capacity. “People love it because it gives you the illusion of being rich,” he said.

The post attracted a lot of attention from netizens, who shared their thoughts on the issue. One user wrote, “Well said. Credit cards don’t make people rich; they make banks rich. For most, they’re not tools of wealth but traps of lifestyle inflation. Real creditworthiness is built on income stability and financial discipline, not on swiping plastic.”

Another user shared a personal experience: “I cancelled all my credit cards until I inculcated enough discipline, and until I got financially free. Even after 10 years of being financially free, I just keep one credit card. And, in my opinion, nobody should keep a credit card until they are disciplined enough to pay 100% dues every single month with a 0% failure rate.”