Subject: Are credit cards ruining our economy?
Posted by: emeney3
Date: Nov 04 09
I have no credit cards myself, but those people I know that do have them , seem to be in debt a lot. I think credit cards teach people to buy things that they do not have the money for. In the olden days, you saved up your money for what you wanted, and now you buy what you want and then try to pay for it. Just curious on what everyone else's take is on this :)
Posted by: emeney3
Date: Nov 04 09
I have no credit cards myself, but those people I know that do have them , seem to be in debt a lot. I think credit cards teach people to buy things that they do not have the money for. In the olden days, you saved up your money for what you wanted, and now you buy what you want and then try to pay for it. Just curious on what everyone else's take is on this :)
97 replies. On page 1 of 5 pages. 1 2 3 4 5
emeney3
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Not sure if this is the right category to put it in, but I'm just winging it here. Reply #1. Nov 04 09, 8:40 PM |
Anton 
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Credit cards are how the government keeps track of you. Reply #2. Nov 04 09, 9:02 PM |
tezza1551
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Emeney3.. I am also in the minority that does not own a credit card.. am I am very proud of that fact. In my previous job, i often dealt with people whose only income was a Centrelink (Social Security) benefit, yet they had been given credit (often by a retail organisation) with absolutely no way of being able to afford repayments - you know, the "buy now, no repayments for 12 months" scam. Reply #3. Nov 04 09, 9:08 PM |
| emeney3
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What I can't figure out is how anyone would get a credit card now, when all you hear about is "Credit Card Reduction services. That just scares me. I have friends who are over $30,000 in debt from their cards. And yet, they will not cut them up or stop using them. Lol, I did not know there were others like me out there. I am the only one I know who does not have credit cards. Reply #4. Nov 04 09, 10:02 PM |
| honeybee4
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If I use a credit card, I always pay it off the same month. I hear that the credit card companies are raising interest to 30% to people who have always payed their bills on time. That is a rip off, but it seems like we are getting ripped off every time we turn around these days. Reply #5. Nov 04 09, 10:24 PM |
romeomikegolf
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Anton, a little bit of paranoia there I think. Credit cards, as with a lot of 'modern' aids to living, have their use. If used responsibly they can help to meet the unexpected bill that may otherwise restrict your life. Your boiler breaks down in November, there's winter looming, you need heat and hot water but you don't have enough money to pay and it will take you two or three months to save up for it. What do you do? Freeze, or put it on the plastic? Reply #6. Nov 05 09, 12:26 AM |
Jabberwok
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Anton is right, the government and the law can keep track of you through your credit card transactions. But in my case, why would they bother? It's storecards I dislike and never use. Reply #7. Nov 05 09, 1:30 AM |
| tezza1551
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Jabberwok.. one of the loveliest things about living in a small town is that there are no national or international retail chains in the town ! And RMG.. in our town, if my heater blew up on the eve of winter, i would go to the co-op manager and tell him my sad story.. and he would let me pay it off over a couple of months, interest free... Oh how I love living in the Aussie bush ! Reply #8. Nov 05 09, 1:48 AM |
| romeomikegolf
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'Anton is right, the government and the law can keep track of you through your credit card transactions. ' Only if they have just cause. And here in the UK that usually requires something like a court order from a judge. Don't believe everything you see on TV crime shows. Reply #9. Nov 05 09, 2:23 AM |
| Anton
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"Only if they have just cause." Le sigh. RMG, please take what I have to say to heart. Just cause is an American invention for "let us invade your privacy." That is what credit cards are. Every transaction you make is on file. Every place you visit is on file. Every single thing you do is on file. Maybe in the UK it is different, but not here in the USA. Reply #10. Nov 05 09, 3:12 AM |
jonnowales
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If the government are interested in the fact that I bought a large Big Mac meal with coke (with a free student cheeseburger) last Saturday, then they are free to have that information. I can't possibly think of a time I have used a card (especially a credit card) to purchase something inappropriate, incriminating or whatever so I haven't really got anything to hide - just like most people don't. The government would be urinating into the wind if they were checking people's purchases made by card - what would they need that info for? Reply #11. Nov 05 09, 5:04 AM |
supersal1
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Look on the bright side Anton, it must provide plenty of jobs for people to track everyone's movements by their credit cards. I use my credit card for the reward points (off to Florida again next year with them) and I pay it off every month. Also, as Bob says, they are useful to spread out a large purchase. Tezza's local store sounds great but if he did that with a large amount of people, there would be those who couldn't/wouldn't pay and he'd end up charging intest! Things go wrong with card when people start viewing them as money in their pocket. Yes, renew your boiler when it breaks but it's when you start thinking along the lines of a pair of new shoes you don't need, or dinner out in an expensive restaurant. I'd take a bet that most people who are in trouble with their cards would be hard pushed tell you what they'd bought with them. Reply #12. Nov 05 09, 5:08 AM |
| tezza1551
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Supersal, I agree.. luckily there are just over 2000 people in the district, most of whom are fairly successful farmers. It certainly couldn't happen in a larger town, and I would guess that he is fairly selective in offering the facility. There is the added incentive that it is the only store in 40km that sells such items, but also sells groceries etc, so not really a place where you want a poor credit standing ! Reply #13. Nov 05 09, 5:29 AM |
| L_A_Best
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Hubby and I have 2 credit cards. We use them for emergency situations like those unexpected bills as RMG mentioned. Like a trip to the vet with one of the cats or a trip to the doctor that is not covered by medical aid. We also use them to buy books from Amazon. (Just incase the government isn't keeping track hubby gets books on the SA military and WW2 and I get books on the US military specifically the special forces.) For everything else we use cash. It is easy to get yourself into trouble with the plastic so you have to be strict with yourself. Reply #14. Nov 05 09, 5:57 AM |
Pagiedamon
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I've had a credit card since 1994. Now I have several--and I'm not in debt at all. I think that it's totally possible to control your spending, even if you have a lot of available credit. Reply #15. Nov 05 09, 7:32 AM |
| emeney3
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The point I'm trying to make is while there are those who can behave responsibly with a card, there are that many more out there who cannot. Credit cards did not exist when I was a kid and yet, we always had what we needed. If you look around the USA, not sure if it is going on in other countries, there is a lot of debt going on. To such an extent, that our government feels the need to bail them out. How do you explain that before credit cards, people still got what they "needed", and now cannot without a card? I think it was that they saved money for things. And it seems like that might have been the better way to do things when I look at the money troubles people are having today. Reply #16. Nov 05 09, 8:06 AM |
| emeney3
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I guess I am trying to get at the economic impact of credit cards :) Reply #17. Nov 05 09, 8:08 AM |
longcoolwoman2
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I have credit cards that I use on trips and then pay off immediately. They are useful if used wisely. If the government wants to know that I spent my money for a vacation to Florida then I hope that they will forgive me my rather large bar tab. Reply #18. Nov 05 09, 8:12 AM |
| honeybee4
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You are right Emeney. We made do without them years ago. If we couldn't afford something, we either did without or saved the money until we could afford it. Many people these days have the "wants" and credit cards make it easy to get what they want. It also gets them in financial trouble. I think the worst thing someone using a credit card does is to pay the minimum payments that their creditors want. They never get the debt paid off, while making the credit holder rich. Reply #19. Nov 05 09, 9:25 AM |
lesley153
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I have a store card I use occasionally, and always pay off as soon as I get the monthly invoice. I was sent a "normal" credit card when they were new and being dished out like sweeties, and I remember using it to buy a bed in 1975... It was only after my husband died that I found he'd been using our credit cards to order any number of things we didn't need, by mail order. There was £2,000 owed on his (which got written off) and £500 on mine (which wasn't). I was advised against bothering to remonstrate because nobody would believe that I could be living in the same house and not know what he was doing. I have a lot of sympathy with the politician whose husband got a massive mortgage she didn't know about but nobody believed her. There's probably no limit to the things people conceal from their spouses. What I couldn't understand was how many companies were prepared to accept a telephone order from a male voice, paying with a card with a female name - unless they were too dim to spot the difference between Lesley and Leslie, or didn't bother asking him to spell it or, more likely, were too pleased to get an order to care. I cut the card up. Yes, I know, stable door and all that. I haven't tried to replace it. It's been eleven years and I haven't missed it. Reply #20. Nov 05 09, 10:06 AM |
97 replies. On page 1 of 5 pages. 1 2 3 4 5
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