I have a fairly large credit card debt. When I was younger I had really bad credit and was forced to get a credit card with a retarded interest rate. I got this credit card to help me fix my credit which it did and now my credit is damned good. Anyhow I was thinking about how long it will actually take me to pay off my credit and used one of those debt calculators. I owe about 8 grand on my CC now and if I make minimum payments of 153.00 a month Ill pay off my debt in 39 years. However if I pay 200 a month Ill pay it off in 4 years. The interest is like 70% of what the actualy principal is. I just thought it was funny.
Credit Cards are funny
- Thread starter Skel
- Start date
Bible_Belt
Master Don Juan
Credit cards are bad, but there are also consumer loan shops all over now that make credit cards look like a good deal by comparison. Title loans and paycheck advance places charge interest rates that would be illegal with credit cards, sometimes 100% a month. The consumer finance industry typically contributes more money to any given president's campaign fund than the oil or pharmaceutical drug industries. That is part of why there seems to be one on every corner.
Yes I think I get atleast one thing in the mail a day offering me a loan. As it stands now, Im low on money and bills are always late so these can be tempting but im not stupid enough to fall for their scheme. Ill just find another part time job and pay it off myself.
diablo
Master Don Juan
My CC debt was 1700 for last month, however I pay at least 90% of my balance in full at the end of each month. To do otherwise is foolish. I would agree though, that making only the minimum payment is idiotic... however, it's no more idiotic than getting into a position to where all you can afford is the minimum in the first place. 
Remember, a dollar in debt is a dollar in net!
Remember, a dollar in debt is a dollar in net!
NINJA PIMP
Banned
$8,000 is actually not so bad. If your CC debt is out of hand you can always file for bankruptcy....looks bad on your record, but you eliminate all debt in one fell swoop. I know 3 people who have done it and are very very relieved.
Check with your bank is probably a good bet. The 0%APR isnt really a great thing to have because this is what they use to suck you in. You are much better off at looking at the annual apr% because that is what really counts, not the first 6 months and themonthly and late charges and anything else in small writing.
diablo
Master Don Juan
After which they jack the interest up to 18% or some other ridiculous fee. There is no credit card available to the average consumer (you) that will have 0% APR forever. APR is how the CC company makes their money. If it was 0%, they'd basically be handing out money for free with nothing to show for their investment.
Best bet is to get a student card, use it for gas and gas alone for a year or two, then take out an unsecured loan for around $1000 (after you've already got $1100 set aside in savings to pay it off). Pay that off and the only thing you'll have working against you is your length of credit - which can't be changed by anything other than time itself.
backbreaker
Master Don Juan
what more do you expect from a country that owes over 7 Trillion dollars to banks of other countries?
The Bad Ass Canadian
Master Don Juan
I really "love" how the world we live in created the concept of money that doesn't exist as anything more than numbers on a bank statement... then we turn around and create interest on the money owed. The interest owed throughout the world cannot be paid by all the money that exists in the world. It's a paradox....
I hope I didn't confuse anyone.
I hope I didn't confuse anyone.
Bible_Belt
Master Don Juan
You're right. Money is an idea. Nixon ended the gold standard. Up until that time, the US kept $1 in gold for every dollar they printed.
The TRUTH about credit cards....
1) They can be your best friend, or your worst enemy depending upon what you BUY with them and how you manage them.
Buy a new wardrobe, furniture, expensive dinners, etc........WORST ENEMY
Buy an ASSET......BEST FRIEND
It's really very simple. If you buy something on credit (ANY kind of credit) that makes you money after paying the interest and fees, then credit is GOOD. If you buy something that is worth less than what you paid for it the next day, credit is BAD.
2) Don't step over dollars to pick up pennies.
Don't hesitate to pay an annual fee for a card that carries better terms. I have a couple of cards I pay $30 per year for, but the interest rate remains relatively low. It MORE than makes up for the fee.
Don't get suckered into these rebate/ skymiles cards. BELIEVE ME.....you are paying for this whether you know it or not.
3) Be very careful about how you use revolving debt (credit cards) when you are looking to purchase cars or real estate. I recently had $30,000+ in credit card debt I had to switch over to another person's name to raise my credit score.
If you carry high balances in relation to your credit limit your score will suffer considerably and it will cost you more to borrow money. By transferring my revolving debt (albeit temporarily) out of my name I was able to raise my credit score to 750+ which is going to save me about $300 per month on just ONE of my mortgages.
4) $8,000 in credit card debt is peanuts. I sometimes have $100,000 or more betweeen business and personal. The difference is that it MAKES me money. I'm not out there buying t.v.'s and crap with it.
1) They can be your best friend, or your worst enemy depending upon what you BUY with them and how you manage them.
Buy a new wardrobe, furniture, expensive dinners, etc........WORST ENEMY
Buy an ASSET......BEST FRIEND
It's really very simple. If you buy something on credit (ANY kind of credit) that makes you money after paying the interest and fees, then credit is GOOD. If you buy something that is worth less than what you paid for it the next day, credit is BAD.
2) Don't step over dollars to pick up pennies.
Don't hesitate to pay an annual fee for a card that carries better terms. I have a couple of cards I pay $30 per year for, but the interest rate remains relatively low. It MORE than makes up for the fee.
Don't get suckered into these rebate/ skymiles cards. BELIEVE ME.....you are paying for this whether you know it or not.
3) Be very careful about how you use revolving debt (credit cards) when you are looking to purchase cars or real estate. I recently had $30,000+ in credit card debt I had to switch over to another person's name to raise my credit score.
If you carry high balances in relation to your credit limit your score will suffer considerably and it will cost you more to borrow money. By transferring my revolving debt (albeit temporarily) out of my name I was able to raise my credit score to 750+ which is going to save me about $300 per month on just ONE of my mortgages.
4) $8,000 in credit card debt is peanuts. I sometimes have $100,000 or more betweeen business and personal. The difference is that it MAKES me money. I'm not out there buying t.v.'s and crap with it.
People who do this are LOSERS.
You think it's right to ring up a bunch of debt and then stick someone else with it? That's an a$$hole thing to do.
And for the record, the bankruptcy laws are changing. From now on it won't be so easy to get out of taking responsibility for your own stupidity.
Shiftkey
Master Don Juan
Bankruptcy isn't the get out of jail free card most people think it is. Rarely does your debt get errased. Usually what happens is your assets get liquidated (minus equity from homestead laws), and you lose chunks of your paycheck before you even see your paycheck.
Especially now that the laws changed last month.
Something that works is coming up with settlements. If you can get a loan and pay off a chunk of that 8K at once (maybe 5 or 6K), you might be able to negociate with your credit card company and reduce your debt. Last year I got into a bad situation with my appartment lease, where my roommate flaked half way through the lease and dissapeared. I couldn't find another roommate, so I had to break the lease. Because we both signed the lease, we were both equally liable for the balance of about 6.5k. I settled with them and payed 3k, which got me off the hook when legally they could have gone after me for the 6.5k.
Especially now that the laws changed last month.
Something that works is coming up with settlements. If you can get a loan and pay off a chunk of that 8K at once (maybe 5 or 6K), you might be able to negociate with your credit card company and reduce your debt. Last year I got into a bad situation with my appartment lease, where my roommate flaked half way through the lease and dissapeared. I couldn't find another roommate, so I had to break the lease. Because we both signed the lease, we were both equally liable for the balance of about 6.5k. I settled with them and payed 3k, which got me off the hook when legally they could have gone after me for the 6.5k.
i hate credit cards, i never new how bad they could be, i got up to $3000 owing on them which has been for quite a while and after working out how much it is actually costing me each year i was shocked, so i have declared war on them and i'm putting almost all the money i have left over each week on them. i have paid about $1100 off in the last couple of weeks and hopefully i will have it paid off completely in about 4-5 weeks and then never again - i will use my own money afterwards. i plan on moving into a place of my own later this year so i want as little commitments and expenses as possible.
DrMetallica
Master Don Juan
The Bad Ass Canadian said:I really "love" how the world we live in created the concept of money that doesn't exist as anything more than numbers on a bank statement... then we turn around and create interest on the money owed. The interest owed throughout the world cannot be paid by all the money that exists in the world. It's a paradox....
I hope I didn't confuse anyone.
It is foolish for you to think of it so simply. Money today is worth infinitely more than money tomorrow, because NOW is more important than LATER.
Re:
On the Change in Bankruptcy Laws
http://bankruptcy.findlaw.com/new-bankruptcy-law/new-bankruptcy-law-basics/big-changes(1).html
Read up, boys.
Unless you're near poverty line, you'll not be discharging debt anytime soon. The government, in lieu of the massive growth in debt across the country, both federal and personal, has enacted laws to protect companies and prevent would-be debtors from racking up massive debt then discharging it. Just prior to 2006 when this law took effect, tons of filings amounted so that people could sneak under the old rules and start fresh.
Those who will discharge debt, will likely be very poor. The likely victims of this bill are older people, and younger ones. Those raising families will be somewhat shielded from the law's impact.
Student loans are never dischargeable. And students will be hurt since many kids default simply because they pile credit cards on top of student loans and other expenses in pursuit of LIFESTYLE, instead of being financially prudent. Moreover, you can borrow student loans like nobody's business, that's the detriment nowadays.
My buddy's gf can borrow, fully, two years worth of tuition, room, board, and living expenses, all on massive debt, with the EXPECTATION that her medical career (not a doctor) will fund the payback. Her debt will mount over $100,000, and while the debt MIGHT below interest, she'll begin payments near 30, with an expected pay-back period of 15-20 years, of debt tied to a non-appreciating asset. It's well and good because medical professionals earn above the norm, and over the long-term, they will, but her projected income is $90k, after taxes, $70, and then your monthly payments just for debt are $1,000, especially in a rising interest rate environment under fed chairman bernanke. The only way rates will begin coming down in future years are if the economy goes to pot, which is a bad reason for them to fall, since it signals normally less jobs, a bear market, and other declines. For a select few, this won't be a problem, but those not reading Rich Dad, or saving/investing for such days won't be ready.
If you're thinking of college, honestly, go the cheapest route, unless you get scholarships, or have parents/relatives willing to pay for it. The pressure at 22 to pay 200-500 or more per month, when you're not even using that toward rent is massive, and the exit jobs post-college aren't what they used to be, unless you go sales, or get the top 1% of corporate jobs, that would pay such dollars that you can pay it off quickly, it's enslavement to corporate america in most cases.
If people took the blinders off they'd see it for what it is. You go to school, normally subsidizing some or ALL of the debt for average america, with the parent's hopes of a better future. During it, you get ok grades, maybe even great ones, but without experience, or padding of internships and wonderful side projects, you're thrown into a pool of millions of candidates who likely did more than just drink their arses off. Come graduation, you owe a nice payment of $100+, which might be cheap, but for the duration of such payments, you only make the banks rich. And if your payment is higher, then you're really stuck paying back loans, since starting a business or taking a sales job is difficult for those who can't discharge the debt. It'd be 1 thing if at least that debt payment was rent, but it's not, so you're minimum lifestyle income is $1,000, not including food, gas, taxes, utilities, internet which is almost a requirement, and any health memberships, or clothing purchases, just the necessities. Worse off, college molds the long-term student into a tool of corporations, not an independent thinker which has more value to society and to him/herself. And because you want to rise up in the company, the logical step is an MBA, if your field has one, and they'll gladly sign over more money for it, or offer slight tuition reimbursement, because they know you can't rid yourself of the debt, and you'll have to work in your chosen field as you become MORE specialized, you lose opportunities elsewhere, and also lose any type of transferability and mobility, so you're further economically entrenched.
It all sounds like dreary, dreadful days, but it's not. A good college education, nearly paid-up can be a HUGE benefit for the person who wields it right. Only realize that such tools as information and education are akin to owning carpentry tools as a carpenter. It's not the tool that matters, but those who use the tool and their skills that do. A tool (information/education), has no inherent value. You can go to harvard and be at the bottom of your class, and as a result, you might be slightly better than someone from a lesser college who did well. However, if you excel with yourself and build your own personal economic and marketable value in various ways to the stratosphere, your income potential is limitless, and education isn't just limited to the classroom. In fact, that is all TECHNICAL information, the how's, what's, where's, why's, when's, of a robot. Robotic. The better the grade, the more efficient a robot you are. However, it's the interpersonal and personal skills that really determine how high you go. If you're the best TECHNICAL personal at a firm or company, you're TOO valuable to let any higher than what you do, so you'll be given enough raises that it's too difficult to leave. Yet, you know you want more. More free time. More challenges. More sites. New experiences. More resume building opportunities.
You can't get that when the best you can do is precisely what you've always done. This is why pilots, teachers, and truck drivers have unions. Over a long-enough time period, they've acquired few marketable skills that are transferable, and for anyone, in an ever-changing economy, it's vital to be well-rounded. You did know that liberal education was the foundation of the elite and still remains so? That is the cornerstone of elite private education, dating back as far as education begin. It was only the proletariat, the workers, the foundation of society that took technical classes. And there's nothing wrong with that. However, if you're a plumber, wise enough to run his own business and grow it, and also invest in homes, then you're not as bad off as just a plumber that works for a plumbing firm and only does plumbing. That plumber is at the mercy of his industry and employer and at the mercy of his value as a plumber, so long as that keeps up. At some point, it changes, and you want to speak of value, and loyalty, and longevity, and experience, but employers don't care. Bottom line they don't care, because if the employer doesn't concern itself with itself and it goes out of business because of its inability to compete, you're through, too. But if it does concern itself with itself, and can remain an ongoing entity, then it can likely hire another new YOU.
------------------------
Credit Cards are only good to those who are self employed, or can pay them off, or get benefits THAT can pay them off, like fly miles or hotel treats. My uncle pays them off, and uses the 3% cash back to amass extra dough each year. He has several cards and always gets PAID to use them, though he finishes them off each month. Otherwise that's a disincentive.
My accountant/partner always harps on me to use a credit card for business purposes because it tracks all purchases better than a debit card, and checks, and cash.
And my gf's father uses them regularly, but pays them off regularly because he has a corporate allowance, and he gets tons of air miles that he uses on the family. How long this lasts with failing airlines, we don't know, but as banks go, they'll find way to incentivize the use of debt money.
A-Unit
On the Change in Bankruptcy Laws
http://bankruptcy.findlaw.com/new-bankruptcy-law/new-bankruptcy-law-basics/big-changes(1).html
Read up, boys.
Unless you're near poverty line, you'll not be discharging debt anytime soon. The government, in lieu of the massive growth in debt across the country, both federal and personal, has enacted laws to protect companies and prevent would-be debtors from racking up massive debt then discharging it. Just prior to 2006 when this law took effect, tons of filings amounted so that people could sneak under the old rules and start fresh.
Those who will discharge debt, will likely be very poor. The likely victims of this bill are older people, and younger ones. Those raising families will be somewhat shielded from the law's impact.
Student loans are never dischargeable. And students will be hurt since many kids default simply because they pile credit cards on top of student loans and other expenses in pursuit of LIFESTYLE, instead of being financially prudent. Moreover, you can borrow student loans like nobody's business, that's the detriment nowadays.
My buddy's gf can borrow, fully, two years worth of tuition, room, board, and living expenses, all on massive debt, with the EXPECTATION that her medical career (not a doctor) will fund the payback. Her debt will mount over $100,000, and while the debt MIGHT below interest, she'll begin payments near 30, with an expected pay-back period of 15-20 years, of debt tied to a non-appreciating asset. It's well and good because medical professionals earn above the norm, and over the long-term, they will, but her projected income is $90k, after taxes, $70, and then your monthly payments just for debt are $1,000, especially in a rising interest rate environment under fed chairman bernanke. The only way rates will begin coming down in future years are if the economy goes to pot, which is a bad reason for them to fall, since it signals normally less jobs, a bear market, and other declines. For a select few, this won't be a problem, but those not reading Rich Dad, or saving/investing for such days won't be ready.
If you're thinking of college, honestly, go the cheapest route, unless you get scholarships, or have parents/relatives willing to pay for it. The pressure at 22 to pay 200-500 or more per month, when you're not even using that toward rent is massive, and the exit jobs post-college aren't what they used to be, unless you go sales, or get the top 1% of corporate jobs, that would pay such dollars that you can pay it off quickly, it's enslavement to corporate america in most cases.
If people took the blinders off they'd see it for what it is. You go to school, normally subsidizing some or ALL of the debt for average america, with the parent's hopes of a better future. During it, you get ok grades, maybe even great ones, but without experience, or padding of internships and wonderful side projects, you're thrown into a pool of millions of candidates who likely did more than just drink their arses off. Come graduation, you owe a nice payment of $100+, which might be cheap, but for the duration of such payments, you only make the banks rich. And if your payment is higher, then you're really stuck paying back loans, since starting a business or taking a sales job is difficult for those who can't discharge the debt. It'd be 1 thing if at least that debt payment was rent, but it's not, so you're minimum lifestyle income is $1,000, not including food, gas, taxes, utilities, internet which is almost a requirement, and any health memberships, or clothing purchases, just the necessities. Worse off, college molds the long-term student into a tool of corporations, not an independent thinker which has more value to society and to him/herself. And because you want to rise up in the company, the logical step is an MBA, if your field has one, and they'll gladly sign over more money for it, or offer slight tuition reimbursement, because they know you can't rid yourself of the debt, and you'll have to work in your chosen field as you become MORE specialized, you lose opportunities elsewhere, and also lose any type of transferability and mobility, so you're further economically entrenched.
It all sounds like dreary, dreadful days, but it's not. A good college education, nearly paid-up can be a HUGE benefit for the person who wields it right. Only realize that such tools as information and education are akin to owning carpentry tools as a carpenter. It's not the tool that matters, but those who use the tool and their skills that do. A tool (information/education), has no inherent value. You can go to harvard and be at the bottom of your class, and as a result, you might be slightly better than someone from a lesser college who did well. However, if you excel with yourself and build your own personal economic and marketable value in various ways to the stratosphere, your income potential is limitless, and education isn't just limited to the classroom. In fact, that is all TECHNICAL information, the how's, what's, where's, why's, when's, of a robot. Robotic. The better the grade, the more efficient a robot you are. However, it's the interpersonal and personal skills that really determine how high you go. If you're the best TECHNICAL personal at a firm or company, you're TOO valuable to let any higher than what you do, so you'll be given enough raises that it's too difficult to leave. Yet, you know you want more. More free time. More challenges. More sites. New experiences. More resume building opportunities.
You can't get that when the best you can do is precisely what you've always done. This is why pilots, teachers, and truck drivers have unions. Over a long-enough time period, they've acquired few marketable skills that are transferable, and for anyone, in an ever-changing economy, it's vital to be well-rounded. You did know that liberal education was the foundation of the elite and still remains so? That is the cornerstone of elite private education, dating back as far as education begin. It was only the proletariat, the workers, the foundation of society that took technical classes. And there's nothing wrong with that. However, if you're a plumber, wise enough to run his own business and grow it, and also invest in homes, then you're not as bad off as just a plumber that works for a plumbing firm and only does plumbing. That plumber is at the mercy of his industry and employer and at the mercy of his value as a plumber, so long as that keeps up. At some point, it changes, and you want to speak of value, and loyalty, and longevity, and experience, but employers don't care. Bottom line they don't care, because if the employer doesn't concern itself with itself and it goes out of business because of its inability to compete, you're through, too. But if it does concern itself with itself, and can remain an ongoing entity, then it can likely hire another new YOU.
------------------------
Credit Cards are only good to those who are self employed, or can pay them off, or get benefits THAT can pay them off, like fly miles or hotel treats. My uncle pays them off, and uses the 3% cash back to amass extra dough each year. He has several cards and always gets PAID to use them, though he finishes them off each month. Otherwise that's a disincentive.
My accountant/partner always harps on me to use a credit card for business purposes because it tracks all purchases better than a debit card, and checks, and cash.
And my gf's father uses them regularly, but pays them off regularly because he has a corporate allowance, and he gets tons of air miles that he uses on the family. How long this lasts with failing airlines, we don't know, but as banks go, they'll find way to incentivize the use of debt money.
A-Unit
Bible_Belt
Master Don Juan
"Credit Counseling" is funny stuff, too. The first consumer credit counseling was started by Visa. The object of credit counseling was, and is, to talk people out of filing bankruptcy, which at least used to be a good deal for the debtor. You can still discharge credit card debt, but you have to have a low income.
http://ws5.com/bankruptcy/
The new law also mandates that to file bk, the petitioner must also complete credit counseling from a government-approved counselor. This is another hoop designed to make it difficult for the average poor person. What most people don't know is that the approved counselors are geographically isolated. From where I live, I think the nearest one is a four-hour drive. I am closer to St Louis and Nashville, but there no approved counselors there. I think it's a two-day affair, too, so an insolvent person who does not have a car or money for a hotel will not be able to complete the counseling. That's exactly what they want.
The lobbyists for Citigroup, Bank of America, Wachovia, and the other massive US banking corporations are the ones who wrote this law. Multi-national corporations run this country.
http://ws5.com/bankruptcy/
The new law also mandates that to file bk, the petitioner must also complete credit counseling from a government-approved counselor. This is another hoop designed to make it difficult for the average poor person. What most people don't know is that the approved counselors are geographically isolated. From where I live, I think the nearest one is a four-hour drive. I am closer to St Louis and Nashville, but there no approved counselors there. I think it's a two-day affair, too, so an insolvent person who does not have a car or money for a hotel will not be able to complete the counseling. That's exactly what they want.
The lobbyists for Citigroup, Bank of America, Wachovia, and the other massive US banking corporations are the ones who wrote this law. Multi-national corporations run this country.