Daedalus_IHB
New member
+1 I think they're considered a cash advance.
Barely surviving on credit cards...
- Thread starter Masterofdamoney_IHB
- Start date
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Major Schadenfreude_IHB
New member
But, what about those CC ?checks? the CC companies send out with your statement every month? Can?t those be used to pay the rent, and the points be added?
Read the fine print on your points program. They usually do not reward purchases with those checks.
Read the fine print on your points program. They usually do not reward purchases with those checks.
Bubblegum_IHB
New member
What is disturbing is I see, actually overhear young twenty-somethings already maxing out their credit cards. One girl talking on her cell phone at Starbucks telling her BFF or whoever about being maxed to the limit on her six credit cards and she needed to borrow money from her boyfriend for gas. I think this free-spending and easy money over the past 7-8 years has taught kids to spend, spend, spend. They saw their parents do it, why shouldn't they?
Masterofdamoney_IHB
New member
Another thing to add to this: I am hearing more and more stories from friends/clients about their limits on their cards getting chopped. It is happening with ALL different banks, and ALL different types of credit lines. Business lines of credit, HELOCS, credit cards, etc.
I heard one yesterday - Guy has had this CC for 15 YEARS, limit was $20,000. He has NEVER had a balance above $10,000 on it. He averages about $3000 - 5000 balance.
Last week he was notified that his credit limit was dropped to $6800 on that card. His current balance was around $6000.
These stories are becoming an everyday thing for me. The delinquincy rates are skyrocketing on credit cards, so they are limiting their exposure, even to their oldest and most conservative clients.
The credit will dry up MUCH sooner with this dual effect.
I heard one yesterday - Guy has had this CC for 15 YEARS, limit was $20,000. He has NEVER had a balance above $10,000 on it. He averages about $3000 - 5000 balance.
Last week he was notified that his credit limit was dropped to $6800 on that card. His current balance was around $6000.
These stories are becoming an everyday thing for me. The delinquincy rates are skyrocketing on credit cards, so they are limiting their exposure, even to their oldest and most conservative clients.
The credit will dry up MUCH sooner with this dual effect.
southoctracker_IHB
New member
[quote author="Bubblegum" date=1210511212]What is disturbing is I see, actually overhear young twenty-somethings already maxing out their credit cards. One girl talking on her cell phone at Starbucks telling her BFF or whoever about being maxed to the limit on her six credit cards and she needed to borrow money from her boyfriend for gas. I think this free-spending and easy money over the past 7-8 years has taught kids to spend, spend, spend. They saw their parents do it, why shouldn't they?</blockquote>
I promise you us in our 20s aren't all like this. We personally live below our means, pay credit card balances in full each month and only use them for the points. We also save a ton as well. Our big thing though is to take one vacation per year to somewhere cool, since we know we won't be able to do this once we decide to have kids. But, we usually are able to get part of it covered by the cc points.
Oh, and I can't remember the last time I paid cash at Starbucks - we ask for gift cards there for our birthdays and Christmas, and ration them throughout the year.
Fortunately, our parents didn't get into the whole free-money spending craze, so guess it didn't rub off on us.
I promise you us in our 20s aren't all like this. We personally live below our means, pay credit card balances in full each month and only use them for the points. We also save a ton as well. Our big thing though is to take one vacation per year to somewhere cool, since we know we won't be able to do this once we decide to have kids. But, we usually are able to get part of it covered by the cc points.
Oh, and I can't remember the last time I paid cash at Starbucks - we ask for gift cards there for our birthdays and Christmas, and ration them throughout the year.
Fortunately, our parents didn't get into the whole free-money spending craze, so guess it didn't rub off on us.
lendingmaestro_IHB
New member
Got a pretty good espresso machine for 50% off in March. Total cost was just over $300 bucks so it's already paid for itself. I haven't been to starbucks siince.
biscuitninja_IHB
New member
Been lucky, my credit cards haven't been chopped. But I will say that I've had to kill 1-2 cards because the interest rate skyrocketed to 27%!
W>T>F.
Thankfully i've been paying off my balances pretty regurarly. Anyways good luck
-bix
W>T>F.
Thankfully i've been paying off my balances pretty regurarly. Anyways good luck
-bix
Not long after I got out of college, I actually had more credit card debt than my annual income from my job. The monthly payments were crippling, but I made them anyways without a single default. Within that year, I got new credit card offers and even made a new credit card for $6000 limit to pay for my "every day purchases" such as gas, food, etc. I even maxed that card out.
53 months later, I was without credit card debt. Paying that debt off was a trip to hell I never wanted to venture again. I was able and willing to pay it off, but it took more than just spending less money. I had to change my lifestyle, my way of thinking. In other words, I stopped using credit cards and used cash to buy everything, and auto debit my account to pay for my CC's. I was lucky. I did not have much rent, and my major payments were student and auto loans. I did not have a family, mortgage, HELOC, and other forms of debt like most home owners do.
Life feels good these days. No debt. Recently got married. Living in an apartment. Saving a lot of money every month. For these people, if credit cards have become a necessity, perhaps they should consider changing their lifestyle and manage their finances better. Cost of living is going up for everyone, not just for those with debt.
I like that line in the initial article.
<em>?Other sources of money for a lot of Americans are drying up,? said Dick Reed, regional counseling manager of Consumer Credit Counseling Service of Greater Atlanta, who sees more clients with mounting credit card debts these days. ?Consumers just don?t have a place to go to get money. They are digging themselves into a deeper hole not only to pay for normal living expenses, but to make minimum payments on outstanding debt.? </em>
The primary source of your money should be from your job shouldn't it?
53 months later, I was without credit card debt. Paying that debt off was a trip to hell I never wanted to venture again. I was able and willing to pay it off, but it took more than just spending less money. I had to change my lifestyle, my way of thinking. In other words, I stopped using credit cards and used cash to buy everything, and auto debit my account to pay for my CC's. I was lucky. I did not have much rent, and my major payments were student and auto loans. I did not have a family, mortgage, HELOC, and other forms of debt like most home owners do.
Life feels good these days. No debt. Recently got married. Living in an apartment. Saving a lot of money every month. For these people, if credit cards have become a necessity, perhaps they should consider changing their lifestyle and manage their finances better. Cost of living is going up for everyone, not just for those with debt.
I like that line in the initial article.
<em>?Other sources of money for a lot of Americans are drying up,? said Dick Reed, regional counseling manager of Consumer Credit Counseling Service of Greater Atlanta, who sees more clients with mounting credit card debts these days. ?Consumers just don?t have a place to go to get money. They are digging themselves into a deeper hole not only to pay for normal living expenses, but to make minimum payments on outstanding debt.? </em>
The primary source of your money should be from your job shouldn't it?
IrvineRenter_IHB
New member
[quote author="blue" date=1210810995]The primary source of your money should be from your job shouldn't it?</blockquote>
It is amazing how this one common-sense idea has been lost on so many Americans.
It is amazing how this one common-sense idea has been lost on so many Americans.
IrvineRealtor_IHB
New member
[quote author="awgee" date=1210823210]
Hopefully, after you save enough, your primary source of income will be investment income.</blockquote>
And hopefully, you'll be able to retire altogether from your job someday.
Hopefully, after you save enough, your primary source of income will be investment income.</blockquote>
And hopefully, you'll be able to retire altogether from your job someday.
Anonymous_IHB
New member
Banks Warn Credit Card Legislation May Hurt, Not Help Consumers
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601213&sid=aaa1JxMwNFRM&refer=home
About 60 percent of cardholders don't pay off their balances each month, said Ben Woolsey, director of marketing and consumer research at CreditCards.com, an online resource for credit-card users.
The percentage of credit-card debts that were unpaid after at least 30 days rose 22 percent this June over a year earlier, averaging 4.03 percent, based on reports filed by American Express Co., Bank of America Corp., Capital One Financial Corp., JPMorgan Chase & Co., Citigroup and Discover Financial Services.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601213&sid=aaa1JxMwNFRM&refer=home
About 60 percent of cardholders don't pay off their balances each month, said Ben Woolsey, director of marketing and consumer research at CreditCards.com, an online resource for credit-card users.
The percentage of credit-card debts that were unpaid after at least 30 days rose 22 percent this June over a year earlier, averaging 4.03 percent, based on reports filed by American Express Co., Bank of America Corp., Capital One Financial Corp., JPMorgan Chase & Co., Citigroup and Discover Financial Services.
jwbrown77_IHB
New member
I'm enjoying my $0.00 credit card balance.
It took a long time and a lot of work, but boy was it worth it.
It took a long time and a lot of work, but boy was it worth it.
Hormiguero_IHB
New member
I'm personally enjoying the fact that the literal dozen-a-week CC solicitations I was used to seeing choke my mailbox just a couple of years ago seems to have slowed down significantly. I wonder what the numbers are on that one... Weren't we at well over a billion solicitations a year in the US recently?
I like running a credit some months with my card, just to experience the joy of them owing ME money. I also like to discuss the differences between Indian states with the customer service people for as long as they'll let me. I learn something new about 1/4 of the world's population, get to suck slightly more resources out of the big, evil bank, and also get to give the nice person in Utar Pradesh the experience of being talked to like a human with an identity. Win win win.
I like running a credit some months with my card, just to experience the joy of them owing ME money. I also like to discuss the differences between Indian states with the customer service people for as long as they'll let me. I learn something new about 1/4 of the world's population, get to suck slightly more resources out of the big, evil bank, and also get to give the nice person in Utar Pradesh the experience of being talked to like a human with an identity. Win win win.
Anonymous_IHB
New member
Credit Card Bond Spreads Reach Record Over Benchmarks (Update1)
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=a2qvrELyaqmA&refer=home
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=a2qvrELyaqmA&refer=home
MalibuRenter_IHB
New member
http://www.federalreserve.gov/releases/housedebt/ Americans spend an average of 6.3% of their disposable income on consumer debt service. The median household income is about $50,000. People who don't have debt have about $3150 of spare money to spend each year.