My big, fat, unpaid credit card bill

[Pinocchio Liberal 268]

Steve, you bring the best out of everyone dont you. Such an Inspiration

[Cassie 8]

Marc, take your avatar and go to bed, would ya?

Edited February 1, 2008 by Cassie

[Pinocchio Liberal 268]

Marc, take your avatar and go to bed, would ya?

I was weened from my mother long ago. I certainly don't need you tellin me what I should do.

[Hilarious Clinton 452]

Dave Ramsey for President!!

Woot!!

We're trying pay cash for everything from now on. Not a house though.

[pixiegunn 0]

We're trying to save for a house, but in this part of Mass a 20% downpayment is likely $70,000 or more, even with the sad market right now. I like to think that somewhere in the country, we really would be paying in cash for our house with that money! Glad to find other Dave listeners out there. I don't really know any in my immediate surroundings.

[Sister Fracas 5]

Yeah, credit cards can be dangerous...

[SteveLaura 0]

Yeah, credit cards can be dangerous...

That's one patriotic bird. Plus evoking two national pastimes: hunting & shopping. Noble creature.

[isleta521 5]

Have three credit cards, 2 visas (one was like 7% and the other at 11%), and 1 AE which I never really use. My debt was over 5k total. With our quarterly bonus which is measured in sales vs output, I was able to pay them off (We had a great end of year quarterly in sales - last 3rd quarter prior was nada). And I still have 3k from that bonus in my savings which will help buy tickets for four of us back to Brasil . But I/we was sure tempted to do what most people do here at work and buy something with that $$ and get ourselves into even higher debt.

[DeadPoolX 9]

Hmmm... no debt here. I have several credit cards (which I pay off in full with every statement) and debit cards. I've never really understood the so-called "danger" behind credit cards that a lot of people warn about. It's common sense to not spend beyond your means.

I'm always amazed when people -- intelligent adults; not fool-hardy teenagers with little-to-no life experience -- fail to realize that just because you can charge something to a credit card and not pay now, that doesn't mean you won't have to pay later. Making minimum payments is better than nothing at all (which could do serious damage to your credit rating), but it's not optimal, since the APR will hit you hard.

Credit cards are not "free money" since the companies that issue them want to be paid for allowing you the ability to use their card. They don't have to do it. I highly doubt anyone really wishes we could go back to the days when we only had cash and checks (or cheques). Perhaps it was easier to keep account of, but far more difficult to carry around. I, for one, would rather have a small card-shaped piece of plastic than a full checkbook or numerous bills.

Please do note that I understand there may be extenuating circumstances in which extremely large charges would be placed upon a credit card that the user might not be able to pay all at once. This is, however, a far cry from going on a wild shopping spree and forgetting how to budget your finances.

I apologize if I come off as "lecturing" in this topic, but this is an area of frustration for me. I've known many people who complain about how "evil" credit cards are, all because they themselves have used credit cards to purchase what they could not afford and therefore, went deeply into debt. Blame the credit card? I'd say blame the user.

Edited February 1, 2008 by DeadPoolX

[Alex+R 0]

Ok, as usual, DeadPool, I just skimmed your post because it was way too long (and the tone...oh the tone). But I think you were saying people should be more responsible with credit cards. You have to remember that sometimes people get in a cycle of paying off their credit card with the NEXT paycheck when something bad or expensive happens. Then, if it happens again, they get farther down. I don't know many people who are off buying stereo systems they can't afford. Some, sure, but not that many people.

[SteveLaura 0]

Ok, as usual, DeadPool, I just skimmed your post because it was way too long (and the tone...oh the tone). But I think you were saying people should be more responsible with credit cards. You have to remember that sometimes people get in a cycle of paying off their credit card with the NEXT paycheck when something bad or expensive happens. Then, if it happens again, they get farther down. I don't know many people who are off buying stereo systems they can't afford. Some, sure, but not that many people.

I agree. The Two-Income Trap is an excellent read on this subject. From Amazon:

Presenting carefully researched economic data to support their arguments, the authors contend that, contrary to popular myth, families aren't in trouble because they're squandering their second income on luxuries. On the contrary, both incomes are almost entirely committed to necessities, such as home and car payments, health insurance and children's education costs. When an unforeseen event such as serious illness, job loss or divorce occurs, families have no discretionary income to fall back on.

[Amby 490]

My main debt is my student loans and I think we have a total of about $1000 in credit card debt that I plan on paying off with our tax rebate. We had to use it when Neil was out of work for 6 weeks. He's working again now and I'm having an interesting time trying juggle and catch up on the bills.

[Jenn! 918]

Ok, as usual, DeadPool, I just skimmed your post because it was way too long (and the tone...oh the tone). But I think you were saying people should be more responsible with credit cards. You have to remember that sometimes people get in a cycle of paying off their credit card with the NEXT paycheck when something bad or expensive happens. Then, if it happens again, they get farther down. I don't know many people who are off buying stereo systems they can't afford. Some, sure, but not that many people.

Yeah, go through a rough patch and make *one* late payment and watch your APR soar (in addition to the late fee). God forbid you are close to your limit at that point because then the late fee puts you over your limit, so you also have to pay the over-the-limit fee AND have your APR go up even more because you went over your limit. Then you're forever trying to catch up because you're paying astronomical amounts of interest.

Credit cards are great, but don't expect that you can slip up, even once.

[britty 1]

I applied for a credit card back in November and was approved for a $3,000 limit and no interest on purchases for 12 months (considering I have been working for less than a year so therefore only have a limited credit history here, I thought this was a good deal). I currently have a small balance that I plan to pay off by March. I made a large purchase in December and am paying it off monthly in four instalments. If I have to pay less one month due to other commitments, then I will simply extend the payment plan for a month or two.

I do agree though that it is easy to rely on a credit card if money is a little tight. Certainly when I was younger back in the UK and didn't earn a whole lot, I relied on a credit card every so often when my salary wasn't quite stretching to the next pay day. My December bonus would always sort out any balances I had so I was lucky that I had this to fall back on.

Credit card companies cannot force you to open an account and spend cash you don't have, but I do think they need to be more responsible lenders when it comes to credit limits and astronomical interest fees. They are aware that certain members of society will rely on credit cards to make ends meet, and shouldn't be exploiting those groups.

[isleta521 5]

I applied for a credit card back in November and was approved for a $3,000 limit and no interest on purchases for 12 months (considering I have been working for less than a year so therefore only have a limited credit history here, I thought this was a good deal). I currently have a small balance that I plan to pay off by March. I made a large purchase in December and am paying it off monthly in four instalments. If I have to pay less one month due to other commitments, then I will simply extend the payment plan for a month or two.

I do agree though that it is easy to rely on a credit card if money is a little tight. Certainly when I was younger back in the UK and didn't earn a whole lot, I relied on a credit card every so often when my salary wasn't quite stretching to the next pay day. My December bonus would always sort out any balances I had so I was lucky that I had this to fall back on.

Credit card companies cannot force you to open an account and spend cash you don't have, but I do think they need to be more responsible lenders when it comes to credit limits and astronomical interest fees. They are aware that certain members of society will rely on credit cards to make ends meet, and shouldn't be exploiting those groups.

Exactly!