Credit Card Farce !

[Killer_Clown_2009 0]

You can probablt qualify for a Capitol One credit card for those with a limited credit history. They don't ask you to secure it, but it does carry a hefty APR of 19%. After about 6 months of using the card responsibly, they'll upgrade it and lower your APR.

[akdiver 3]

It's worth pointing out that college students get credit cards dropped at their feet. Sign up for a class, get a college student card. Or, fill out a college student card application and lie about being a student, and maybe you can get away with that too (:

Cheers!

AKDiver

[Ladylethal 12]

This whole credit card story in US is a novelty to me. Back home my parents have tons of credit cards, but we use them for the convenience, since we pay the whole balance off every month, so we never had debt in the cards, at all. I've always thought paying the minimum was a desperate measure if something happened (loss of job, etc), and had no idea people actually let the debt build up and pay only the minimum, 'cus the interest rates are absurd! If I were to use a credit card to pay minimum and pay with interest, I'd just save the cash and buy when I could.

[akdiver 3]

Credit cards get a bad rap. People blame them because some people charge them up and pay the minimums. If not for credit cards, these same people would be going to pawn shops, getting payday loans, and other forms of expensive financing. Dumb people will continue to make dumb decisions, no matter how much you try to protect them.

Credit card companies also get a bad rap because they "prey" on dumbasses. While there are some instances of truly illegal practices, such as holding payments beyond the due date, so they can collect late fees, this is the rarity. It's not their fault if people are willing to pay high rates, go over their limits, pay late, or whatever. It is NOT their responsibility to control people's spending habits, or treat them like children, or whatever. It's just a case of people wanting to point fingers at everyone else but themselves.

That said, a little debt is not a bad thing. Some debt is very good, worth doing. I went into debt big time for a house and education, but these things have either appreciated in value, or has allowed ME to appreciate in value, and would not have been possible otherwise. Other debt is not great, but it's not horrible either. It can be perfectly reasonable, esp. if you can clearly pay the debt off, and it is well managed (think car payments). Going into some debt of course is just stupid, if it is over extending your finances. Most consumer debt falls into this category. But not all. Overall, even with a lot of debt, it can be "not bad" as long as you have the CASH FLOW to manage it. Of course, one wants to avoid debt, but doing this religiously, as if going into debt for any reason is some horrible offense against nature is just silly.

Even if you have no desire to go into debt, avoiding credit cards is just silly. Nothing says you can't pay them every month, they help build credit so that if one day, you need credit for some reason, you have it available, and also can provide some other benefits. I don't remember the last time I had to buy an airline ticket. Seems like I can always get free tickets, mostly due to a credit card that gives me miles. This year, I got two tickets, last year, I got four tickets (that I can remember), all with credit card granted airline miles. (:

Some facts (Federal Reserves 2001 Survey of Consumer Finances):

• In reality, most Americans owe nothing to credit card companies.
  
• Most households that carry balances owe $2,000 or less.
  
• Only about 1 in 20 American households owes $8,000 or more on credit cards.
  
• 23.8% of American households have no credit cards at all -- no bank cards, no retail cards, nothing.
  
• Another 31.2% of the households the Fed surveyed paid off their most recent credit card bills in full.
  
• So together, the households that owed nothing on credit cards equaled 55% of the total.
  
• Only 29% of households owe $1,000 or more on their cards.
  
• 21% owe $2,000 or more.
  
• 6% owe $8,000 or more.
  
• 4% owe $10,500 or more.
  
• 1% owe $21,400 or more.
  

That $8000/household cc debt figure you hear is quite misleading because it is an AVERAGE. What's the average wealth of you, 15 friends, and Bill Gates? $5 billion dollars? Obviously misleading.The MEDIAN is a far more useful value to look at, and for American households, the MEDIAN cc debt is around $1900 according to this research.

Fair Issac reports:

• About 48% of credit card holders owed less than $1,000
  
• About 10% of card holders had total card balances in excess of $10,000.
  
• More than half of all people with credit cards use less than 30% of their total credit card limit.
  
• Just over 1 in 8 people use 80% or more of their credit card limit.
  

Of course, there are "problems":

• More than a third -- 36% -- of those who owe more than $10,000 on their cards have household incomes under $50,000, according to the VIP Forum analysis.
  
• 13% who owe that much have household incomes under $30,000.
  
• The percentage of disposable income used to pay debts is still near record highs.
  
• The median value of total outstanding debt owed by households rose 9.6% between 1998 and 2001.
  

So what we're really seeing here is that lower-income people are trying to live beyond their incomes. That's just personal irresponsibility, not the fault of credit card companies. Don't blame them, blame the American worship of consumerism, and the belief that everyone should have everything, without regard to means, income, or merit.

Credit cards, and credit in general, is like anything else - yes, they can be abused, but they can also be used responsibly by millions of people. And some of us have had the fortunate (or unfortunate, depending on how you look at it) experience of doing both (:

Cheers!

AKDiver

[homesick_american 1]

Well, once you're in I.T. people tend to pigeonhole you as a techie for the rest of your life. It's hard to break out, especially if you're going for a business-related discipline. Hell, I knew a woman in TX who became an RN after 20 years in I.T. and they still tried to stuff her in the I.T. box.

Well, that is an issue - but the issue I was talking about was getting a non-IT job that pays something that is even remotely close to an IT job. I think it will be difficult, I will have to swallow a big pay cut to be sure, I just hope I can find a job that pays enough to live on.

Cheers!

AKDiver

Well, think about it this way...when your job is outsourced, your income will be $0/year, so anything else you get will pay more than that.

[akdiver 3]

Well, think about it this way...when your job is outsourced, your income will be $0/year, so anything else you get will pay more than that.

Well, I own the corporation I work for. It is unlikely I will outsource myself (:

Cheers!

AKDiver

Edited May 12, 2007 by akdiver

[homesick_american 1]

Well, think about it this way...when your job is outsourced, your income will be $0/year, so anything else you get will pay more than that.

Well, I own the corporation I work for. It is unlikely I will outsource myself (:

Cheers!

AKDiver

Yes, but you will be competing with companies that will be able to lower their costs in ways you may not be able to. Most businesses fail, after all!

[akdiver 3]

Yes, but you will be competing with companies that will be able to lower their costs in ways you may not be able to. Most businesses fail, after all!

Not really. This corporation was created specifically to meet the needs of a particular client, for the purposes of creating a specific product - and payment was provided up front. So, I already have the money (: Eventually however, I will have to get a day job. By then, I will have a master's in something else, and can get the hell out of IT - I hope. (:

Cheers!

AKDiver

[homesick_american 1]

Yes, but you will be competing with companies that will be able to lower their costs in ways you may not be able to. Most businesses fail, after all!

Not really. This corporation was created specifically to meet the needs of a particular client, for the purposes of creating a specific product - and payment was provided up front. So, I already have the money (: Eventually however, I will have to get a day job. By then, I will have a master's in something else, and can get the hell out of IT - I hope. (:

Cheers!

AKDiver

Nice tax dodge.

[Dr. Obvious 49]

Yes, but you will be competing with companies that will be able to lower their costs in ways you may not be able to. Most businesses fail, after all!

As do marriages. I want to give your husband either a medal or a hit with a clue by four for putting up with you. Do you really have to be turned on all the damn time? Don't bother responding. I am putting you on ignore.

[akdiver 3]

Nice tax dodge.

How do you figure?

Cheers!

AKDiver

[athena_ny 1]

It's worth pointing out that college students get credit cards dropped at their feet. Sign up for a class, get a college student card. Or, fill out a college student card application and lie about being a student, and maybe you can get away with that too (:

Cheers!

AKDiver

Dropped at their feet, maybe. Approved? Maybe not.

When I was in college, I had tons of applications mailed to me. My mother insisted I apply because I. NEEDED. CREDIT. DARNIT! It took me six months to get approved for a card. You get the application in the mail, all, "NO CREDIT? INSTANT APPROVAL!" Then they deny you because you have no credit. No ****, that's why I applied for this card and not the other one!

Well anyway, I quickly proved to them why no credit gets a denial...maxed out every.single.one. I now owe it to being young and stupid, but oh well. Lessons learned.

Edited May 14, 2007 by meow mix

[akdiver 3]

Dropped at their feet, maybe. Approved? Maybe not.

"Too easy" credit card debt is widely discussed as being a "problem".

"...Banks don't appear to be dissuaded by most students' lack of significant income, steady jobs or credit history..."

"...Banks contend that, even though they grant cards to students without income, jobs or credit history, they have other ways to gauge financial responsibility..."

"...about the need for a nationwide ban on credit card marketing on college campuses..."

"...Nearly a dozen states, including New York and California, have made it harder for card companies to market on public campuses...."

"...These credit card issuers circle the campus like sharks circling a fish..."

"...But consumer groups and parents say that banks make it too easy for college students to get credit and to become mired in debt..."

"...In 2004...three out of four college students had credit cards, and more than 40% had at least four..."

"...Seniors carry an average debt load of $2,864..."

"...a sophomore at NYU, got her first credit card this summer with a $2,000 credit limit, even though she had no steady income..."

http://www.usatoday.com/money/perfi/2006-1...edit-usat_x.htm

http://njaes.rutgers.edu/ru-fit/collegestudents.asp

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/14031324/

For example...Sure, some exceptions exist for some people, but it is "out there". Overall, the evidence is pretty clear. If you are a college student, then relative to the rest of the population, it is very easy for you to get a credit card, and without much in the way of income or an existing credit history. For this reason, I still contend that if one is trying to establish a credit history, then this is a good way to go.

Cheers!

AKDiver

[babybunny 2]

I hate credit cards..

[akdiver 3]

I hate credit cards..

It is completely irrational to hate credit cards.