Americans deep in credit card debt

[Underpants?]

http://www.maxedoutmovie.com/
purty scurry.
get your shit clean boys, we're in for a rough ride. All the smartest financial minds are saying we're in for much worse than we're seeing now.
The good news? Possible bottom will be this year, so *technically, we should be on the rebound into 2009. Guess that's greatly dependent on the outcome of the elections.
keep the faith and pay off those cards.

[mrd]

Good thing I don't have a credit card.

[Mulletman]

I never had a credit card. I pay for my shit with cash and my charming good looks.

[zeeko]

then you're a fool, credit cards have valuable uses. the problem is when it's really easy to get a credit card and really easy to get into serious un-pay-backable credit debt, and you get into serious credit card debt. then you're fucked.

[mrd]

I've never run into any instance where I couldn't get something or do something due to lack of a credit card. Eventually I'll get one because it's pretty hard to establish any credit rating without one, but it is possible to get along without one.

[Fender]

We've got several cards, but rarely use them and (almost) never carry a balance. Sometimes we do the 6 or 12 months same as cash deals, but always pay those off early.

[Giraffe }{unter]

I pay for everything with a credit card, then I pay it off at the end of the month usually. I use 1 card and at the end of every year cash in the points and get heafty gift cards for my favorite stores or places to eat.

It also carries other benefits Like an extended guarantee, and fraud protection. At the end of each year it gives me a spending summary book on where all my money went all for no monthly fees (except a little interest if I don't pay the full balance)

[ek]

Living in "technical" debt is a great way to evade tax.

[shadd_]

hm, i wonder about the visa IPO coming up and if its still a good buy?

[Underpants?]

I've never run into any instance where I couldn't get something or do something due to lack of a credit card. Eventually I'll get one because it's pretty hard to establish any credit rating without one, but it is possible to get along without one.

Do you have a mortgage? If so, whoever co-signed for you needs to be around for you forever. Something you no-credit-carders need to understand is that credit card companies own the middle and underclass in this fucking country at the moment, sad as that sounds. If you have _not_worn a credit card into a minimal balance and kept reliable payments for at least 5 years, you cannot be considered credible by any financial institution. It's warped and Greenspan has been railing about it for years, but the documentary unveils the dark mechanisms of American credit (with a somewhat annoying melodramatic edge) very well.

[obsidian]

Truth. A good reason to get a credit card is to build up your credit rating should you ever need to get a mortgage or other financial loans. The idea is to make purchases on your credit card and pay everything off at the end of the month so you don't get nailed with interest charges. If you're fairly reliable with your payments, they'll see a good credit history and consider you a secure investment.

The problem with credit card debit is that people who don't have money in their bank accounts in the first place will make purchases on their credit cards and then have problems paying it back, then getting nailed with interest on top of it all. Sadly, it tends to be the poor who fall into this loop and end up pouring their paychecks into paying the interest and they'll have a hard time paying back everything that they owe.

[Nightshade]

I never had a credit card. I pay for my shit with cash and my charming good looks.

You live in a trailer, don't you?

[creep]

Do you have a mortgage? If so, whoever co-signed for you needs to be around for you forever. Something you no-credit-carders need to understand is that credit card companies own the middle and underclass in this fucking country at the moment, sad as that sounds. If you have _not_worn a credit card into a minimal balance and kept reliable payments for at least 5 years, you cannot be considered credible by any financial institution. It's warped and Greenspan has been railing about it for years, but the documentary unveils the dark mechanisms of American credit (with a somewhat annoying melodramatic edge) very well.

I have never had a credit card, and horrible payment histories on utilities, and several years ago I bought a new vehicle and a decent home, with no cosigners, and at affordable interest rates.

[Scourge]

I've never run into any instance where I couldn't get something or do something due to lack of a credit card. Eventually I'll get one because it's pretty hard to establish any credit rating without one, but it is possible to get along without one.

Do you have a mortgage? If so, whoever co-signed for you needs to be around for you forever. Something you no-credit-carders need to understand is that credit card companies own the middle and underclass in this fucking country at the moment, sad as that sounds. If you have _not_worn a credit card into a minimal balance and kept reliable payments for at least 5 years, you cannot be considered credible by any financial institution. It's warped and Greenspan has been railing about it for years, but the documentary unveils the dark mechanisms of American credit (with a somewhat annoying melodramatic edge) very well.

I managed to get a mortgage just fine without a credit card or co-signer.

[tnf]

We've got ours completely paid off now but I keep them open as it looks nice for your credit rating (I think) to have shown that you can have credit cards with high limits that you don't run up. We do use one for things that we pay online that gets paid off completely each month (I pay gamefly, netflix, webhost, etc.) on it.

And I have a home depot one I used because it had a special 1 year no-interest offer so I bought the lawnmower on it and paid it off over a few months since there was no interest. Some people are too dogmatic about their hatred of credit cards because there can be times that they are useful enough.

[mrd]

I've never run into any instance where I couldn't get something or do something due to lack of a credit card. Eventually I'll get one because it's pretty hard to establish any credit rating without one, but it is possible to get along without one.

Do you have a mortgage? If so, whoever co-signed for you needs to be around for you forever. Something you no-credit-carders need to understand is that credit card companies own the middle and underclass in this fucking country at the moment, sad as that sounds. If you have _not_worn a credit card into a minimal balance and kept reliable payments for at least 5 years, you cannot be considered credible by any financial institution. It's warped and Greenspan has been railing about it for years, but the documentary unveils the dark mechanisms of American credit (with a somewhat annoying melodramatic edge) very well.

Nope. Just turned 21 so owning a house is definitely a ways down the road for me. I switched banks a little while ago and they told me it'd be a year before I could apply for one to make sure I was reliable blah blah blah.. meanwhile, my other bank was trying to shove multiple credit cards down my face every time I fucking walked in there. It's been about a year with the new bank now so I'm most likely going to apply for one in the near future. Probably just going to get one with a cheap ass low limit so I can buy some stuff online. Work up from there. I think I'm pretty good with money considering my age... most of my friends are always bitching about money or the lack of it. I never have a problem, or at least I haven't had one yet.

[EtUL]

I never had a credit card. I pay for my shit with cash and my charming good looks.

You live in a trailer, don't you?

We'll I would use "grandparent's" in place of "parent's" in this situation, but considering you are fucking old, I'm forced to use the latter.

You do realize that you parent's generation, and pretty much every generation before them either bought their house with cash they had or built it themselves, right?

[werldhed]

No credit card debt here. Never had a card, and though I understand the advantages to having one, I've never needed it. Have good credit built up from school and car loans that I've never missed.

The missus has a card that she's never missed payment for, and she's pretty much guaranteed to get approved for a mortgage via a physician loan company even before she has a job.

At this point, I'm not too concerned about it. I'm happier to be credit debt-free. I'd rather not add to credit companies' stranglehold on the country's finances.

[Underpants?]

I'm not trying to be a prick, but if you've managed to obtain a mortgage loan without credit cards, you've either been shafted on the upfront costs/interest (a shady mortgage broker will fuck you ten ways from friday and you likely still don't know it) or you've financed a very modest amount, either with a sizable down payment or posted some form of collateral.
Also not trying to be a prick but if you've never owned a credit card or have paid one off and closed it in the distant past, chances are you aren't watching your credit score--I can almost guarantee it's below 660--which is considered mediocre at best. Let's put it this way, not having a credit card without the privilege of brilliant accounting excludes you from having flawless ratings.

[werldhed]

You live in a trailer, don't you?

We'll I would use "grandparent's" in place of "parent's" in this situation, but considering you are fucking old, I'm forced to use the latter.

You do realize that you parent's generation, and pretty much every generation before them either bought their house with cash they had or built it themselves, right?

Um... apart from the differences in incomes, housing costs, and general belief in american McMansion entitlement, you're wrong.

Why do you think so many people lost their homes during the great depression? You don't get foreclosed if you paid cash for your house.

[EtUL]

We'll I would use "grandparent's" in place of "parent's" in this situation, but considering you are fucking old, I'm forced to use the latter.

You do realize that you parent's generation, and pretty much every generation before them either bought their house with cash they had or built it themselves, right?

Um... apart from the differences in incomes, housing costs, and general belief in american McMansion entitlement, you're wrong.

Why do you think so many people lost their homes during the great depression? You don't get foreclosed if you paid cash for your house.

That, or people rented small places and actually SAVED money for a few years, because they didn't have a fuckton of latte's or shiny destractions to spend their money on, and then when they did buy their house, they didn't buy a 7000 sqft monster but a small 1 master bedroom, 1 small room, living room, kitchen, maybe garage house?

What a fucking profound and long sentence. All you got right was the Mcmansion. Standard of Living is HUGE nowadays.

The reality with debt today is that we have given anyone, including stupid people, a way to buy whatever they want. Poor people before were POOR (I mean REALLY POOR...LIKE YOU DON"T REALIZE FUCKING POOR), not modern America poor. The america poor now has a fucking car and cell phone, a welfare apartment and plenty of booze and pot. Just take out another credit card and all your problems go away. I've seen it and near lived it. Our poor right now don't know what the fuck poor is.

[werldhed]

I'm not trying to be a prick, but if you've managed to obtain a mortgage loan without credit cards, you've either been shafted on the upfront costs/interest (a shady mortgage broker will fuck you ten ways from friday and you likely still don't know it) or you've financed a very modest amount, either with a sizable down payment or posted some form of collateral.
Also not trying to be a prick but if you've never owned a credit card or have paid one off and closed it in the distant past, chances are you aren't watching your credit score--I can almost guarantee it's below 500--which is considered mediocre. Let's put it this way, not having a credit card without the privilege of brilliant accounting excludes you from having flawless ratings.

I did make a decent down payment on the car, and I haven't gotten a mortgage yet. Even if my credit score is low right now, it doesn't really concern me. Credit only matters to me if I'm taking out loans. The fewer I take out, the less I need to worry about. I'll have a higher credit score for my next car loan than I had for this one, and this one hasn't crippled me.

[tnf]

I'm not trying to be a prick, but if you've managed to obtain a mortgage loan without credit cards, you've either been shafted on the upfront costs/interest (a shady mortgage broker will fuck you ten ways from friday and you likely still don't know it) or you've financed a very modest amount, either with a sizable down payment or posted some form of collateral.
Also not trying to be a prick but if you've never owned a credit card or have paid one off and closed it in the distant past, chances are you aren't watching your credit score--I can almost guarantee it's below 500--which is considered mediocre. Let's put it this way, not having a credit card without the privilege of brilliant accounting excludes you from having flawless ratings.

I did make a decent down payment on the car, and I haven't gotten a mortgage yet. Even if my credit score is low right now, it doesn't really concern me. Credit only matters to me if I'm taking out loans. The fewer I take out, the less I need to worry about. I'll have a higher credit score for my next car loan than I had for this one, and this one hasn't crippled me.

If you're marrying a physician you will probably be able to coast off of her income OK without that. But if it ever comes down to you needing a big loan on your own for a house, etc, down the road sometime on your own (not saying it will of course) it could be problematic for you to have no credit history. By the way, what type of physician is your wife (fiance?)

[werldhed]

Oh, I agree. I know I'll get a card sometime in the near future, and do whatever I can to build up my credit. Right now, though, I do all I can to avoid debt, because I don't need to worry about my score atm. It would be worse for me to charge more than I can afford right now and actually lower my score. I'm not in a good position to be opening accounts right now, I guess.

Future wife is an OB/Gyn. The mortgage will be in her name, I'm sure (can you say sugar mama?), because there are specific loan programs for new residents that ignores the amount of unpaid school loans they have. So we'll always be able to get a better loan in her name.

[Underpants?]

so do like neffy does and keep a couple of cards open with no balance. My missus is in the industry and she looks for 5 trade lines (basically, credit cards or anything you need credit to qualify for) or she's fairly certain the underwriters will bring out the red ink. That will at least grant you a credit score of some kind. To have a decent rating, however, she says you should have a noteable amount (2000+) that has been paid off over the course of a few years or so within the past 7 years.

All I'm saying here is this: no credit = bad credit. And the simplest way for middle class joes like me (and I'm assuming a number of you guys) to keep good credit is through use of credit cards.