Walter Cavanagh has nearly 1,500 valid credit cards to his name and holds the Guinness record for the most credit cards.

Mr. Plastic Fantastic — a title given to him by Guinness World Records — is also the proud owner of the world’s longest wallet, which can hold about 800 cards. But he uses it only to carry a few cards, while the rest are safely kept in bank safe-deposit boxes.

Cavanagh started collecting credit cards in the late 1960s. “One of my best friends and I made a silly bet（打赌）; the guy who could collect the most credit cards by the end of the year would win dinner,” he said. “I got 143 cards by the end of the year, and my friend collected 138.”

After winning that bet, Cavanagh decided to simply keep going with his unusual collection. He got credit cards from gas stations, airlines, bars, and even ice cream stores — all with kinds of limits, some as low as $50.

If there’s one card missing from Cavanagh’s collection, it’s that from the Newberry Group. They refused to give him a card in the early 1970s, even though he’d collected over 100 by then. They said he had too much credit. Therefore, so far he hasn’t had a Newberry card in his collection.

Cavanagh hasn’t stopped applying for new cards — he’s held the Guinness record since 1971 and has no intention of letting go of it. He copies whole pages from a U.S. directory（名录）of businesses and keeps sending applications. If he is refused, he writes back to the company explaining his goal. But he doesn’t count useless cards in his total collection.

Thanks to all the cards to his name, Cavanagh has access to about $1.7 million at any moment. Despite this privilege（特权）, he has managed to achieve an excellent credit score.

The retired financial planner and credit expert has only one piece of advice to share: “Never use a card to buy anything you can’t pay off in a couple of months. If you don’t have the discipline, you shouldn’t have the cards.”

My mother died in August 2005．Eight months later，I began to come out of the fog of sadness and depression to find a new purpose for my life．

Like many of my generation，I had lived only for myself —traveling，acquiring possessions，rising to a position of importance and seeking financial rewards．I was“charitable”and“volunteered”for various causes，but really didn’t give of myself．

In the spring after my mom’s death，I found myself waking in the middle of the night with one thought．I felt forced to offer myself as a living kidney donor．My husband Robb had received the gift of life through a kidney transplant(移植)from a dead donor in 1999，so I was familiar with the enormous need for donors and knew several people who were waiting for a lifesaving transplant．I decided to offer myself to be matched with the most compatible(互不排斥的)person on the waiting list at my local transplant center．

I was paired with 71-year-old Dee from New Jerse who had survived for six years on peritoneal dialysis(腹腔透析)．At her 70th birthday，her family threw a big party as they did not expect her to live much longer．Dee has become my very good friend．Almost two years after the transplant，I was privileged to celebrate her 50th wedding anniversary with her husband，their five children and their extended family．

In donating my kidney，I extended myself in a way far beyond what I ever believed was possible．I did so in honor of my mother who sacrificed so much for me and my sisters，and in memory of my husband’s donor who extended her 1ife through him．

I encourage all who enjoy the gift of good health to share with others，either as a living donor or by appointing organ donation upon death．By extending yourself through organ donation，you will live on through others in an extraordinary way and give comfort to your loved ones．