If you wonder why the gap is widening between the haves and have-nots, consider this latest scheme from the Atlanta Braves.  This new marketing ploy is sure to catch on like wildfire not only through Major League Baseball but through all sports.  Now baseball has joined furniture stores and electronics stores as places where you can buy a product on a “90 days same as cash” plan.

Yes, you too can now delay reality and the bills that come with it to see a Major League Baseball game!!!  If you thought that that 10 percent discount you got at Macy’s to buy frivolous clothes with someone else’s money until the bill comes due with 24 percent interest, then the Atlanta Braves have got a deal for you.

For any ticket package that is more than $200 (which is almost all the packages available), the Braves and GE Money offer a 90-Day Same-as-Cash plan.  Instead of simply sitting at home and saving money watching a game on TV, you can now pay these multi-millionaires in advance to watch them play a game halfheartedly and then hope you have enough cash when the piper comes-a-calling in order to avoid that 20-25 percent interest rate for what you owe.  The Braves are also considering rolling out additional six or nine month financing plans too.

I have a newsflash for anyone who is intrigued by this arrangement – if you don’t have the money to pay for those tickets upfront, you can’t afford it and you shouldn’t try to buy them.  Get your finances in order and don’t go into debt for non-essential luxury items like a sports ticket.  Of course, being fiscally responsible isn’t the American Way, at least not according to the credit card companies.

I’m not demonizing the finance companies that make money hand over fist from suckers who subscribe to plans like this.  If you’re not smart enough to realize how your hard earned cash is padding the pocket linings of companies already flush with cash, then you deserve to live a life constantly in debt.  It’s one thing to go in hock to buy essentials for life if you don’t make a lot of money – food, clothes, car payment and other assorted items necessary to live.  It’s entirely another thing to pay someone else money on top of what it actually costs to do things like go to the movies, sporting events, concerts and other fun-but-not-necessary events.

As much as nothing beats a trip to the ballpark, I have no trouble watching a game at home in high definition and saving money on food, drink, parking, and the tickets themselves.  If you don’t have $3,500 up front to pay for a lower level seat, don’t mortgage your future by spending money you don’t have.  If you do, you deserve the financial ruin you most certainly will face.