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Old 04-04-2008, 11:50 AM   #21
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The truth about credit card debt - MSN Money


Take heart: Were actually frugal
In much the same way, a relatively small population with huge credit card balances can skew the average to make it look like the typical American is carrying a much bigger debt load than he or she actually is. Consider:
  • 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.
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Old 04-04-2008, 12:16 PM   #22
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Originally Posted by newguy888 View Post
Or are in bigger credit card debt than we can ever know. Gasoline prices way up people still driving the same.Food prices way up, I still see people paying 20+ bucks a pop to feed their families even at the fast food places.Now I have seen many use credit cards for 7 and 8 dollar purchases these days even at the quick marts when you pay for gasoline. Stuff like smokes and a soda out comes the plastic!! Who in the world is giving Obama and Clinton MONEY for their campaigns ?? It sure looks like the average joe is well finding ways to pay. But then again 2 to 3 million will be foreclosed on and lose their homes this year.

Weird.
Yep, I hear ya. But why would I give up getting $600-$800 back over the course of a year for items I would buy anyway?
Just because someone uses a credit card, doesn't always mean he/she isn't paying in full. And I have used a credit card to charge a $0.75 candy bar before, because I wanted it ... but the bill was paid in full when the statement arrived.
Now, if you don't have a budget that you follow. And you spend more than you earn. You're simply asking for trouble if you use credit cards.

I said it on another thread. If $8 or so can't be found in one's wallet at the end of the month to pay extra for the gas, then you haven't budgeted properly.
Figure it this way. 15 gallon tank that's on 'E'. Gas goes up $0.14/gallon because cousin vinny wants it too. That's $2.10 more than it was the previous week. You fill up tank every week, so for the month it's cost you $8.40 more. Now let's see. Don't drive to work to get money to pay the bills, or figure out where we can save $8.40 to pay for the extra cost.
Or think of it this way (everyone should note that this doesn't take into account the taxability of the interest earned). If you saved up $3,360 and put it into a CD earning 3%, the increased cost would be paid for. And if the gas increased by $0.07/gallon, you would only have to save $1,920 in a 3% CD to keep on paying for the gas with no out of pocket expenses. Of course if you could earn more than 3% (say in a brokerage account at a low-ball rate of 5%), your savings would increase to $22/month. So, instead of having to pay $8.40/month (or $4.20/month) extra, you now have over $15/month that can be reinvested into your brokerage account to help pay for any future increases.
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Old 04-04-2008, 12:36 PM   #23
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Originally Posted by EarlyRetiree1978 View Post
Just went to 7-11 in the morning and got a slurpie and paid for the purchase with my CC.
I have never in my life bought anything from 7-11. Too expensive.
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Old 04-04-2008, 12:57 PM   #24
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I've told my daughter a few times that I always, always pay my full CC balance, and explain why I'm using the CC.

For the rest, it's not their business. I never judge someone for using a CC. In fact, I get a bit annoyed when someone watches everything being scanned, then looks for their checkbook and fills the whole thing out, including the check register, before handing over the check. It was even worse at a Harris Teeter I used to go to a long time ago, where the manager had to be called over to approve every check, and of course he didn't always hang around the registers.
in other words, you've never counted the number of items the person in front of you has in the 10-items or less express lane? (just kidding--got what you're saying.)
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Old 04-04-2008, 12:57 PM   #25
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Maybe we need a new section, called NGEA.......New Guy Economic Armageddon...........
Dont worry...we got Al Gore to come off the bench to save us all....oops wrong thread...
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Old 04-04-2008, 01:00 PM   #26
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Dont worry...we got Al Gore to come off the bench to save us all....oops wrong thread...

Lol
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Old 04-04-2008, 01:32 PM   #27
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I've told my daughter a few times that I always, always pay my full CC balance, and explain why I'm using the CC.
My dad did this with me. He has never had a balance from month to month, ever. In fact he has never had a single dollar in debt. Car, house, anything. He taught me to always pay off your bills every month, never spend more than you can afford and save like mad. I am very grateful for this lesson. He was able to retire @ 55 on a car salesman's salary because he was so financially prudent.
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Old 04-04-2008, 01:34 PM   #28
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We use our Visa to pay for almost everything to get cashback at the end of the year. I even pay some of our utility bills with it. Of course, we pay it off every month and have never paid a cent in interest charges!
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Old 04-04-2008, 01:46 PM   #29
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Is it possible to put some of a car purchase towards your credit card?
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Old 04-04-2008, 01:51 PM   #30
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Interesting frontline story on credit cards in America

FRONTLINE: video | PBS
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Old 04-04-2008, 01:53 PM   #31
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Yes, it's possible to charge part of a car purchase. I've done it twice. The two dealerships had a limit of $5000 for credit cards that give rebates.

I remember reading a long time ago in the Wall Street Journal that someone pulled out an American Express Card to buy a luxury sports car and it was accepted for full payment.

The trick is to get your best deal then ask about using the credit card.
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Old 04-04-2008, 01:57 PM   #32
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If a car dealer allows you to use a credit card for the purchase then you KNOW you could have negotiated a lower price on the car.
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Old 04-04-2008, 02:14 PM   #33
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Not necessarily. We know for a fact when we back in to get the right key (they gave us one key that didn't work), the manager was grumbling about those people who stole the farm. He didn't realize that my husband had walked over and could overhear him.

Plus, when we showed off our new purchase, just about everyone we knew wanted to know how we got such a good price.
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Old 04-04-2008, 03:01 PM   #34
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I also use my cc for most every purchase. I use it for the same reasons that were posted above and pay it off every month. Our house is paid for and so are our 4 vehicles. We don't own any loans. So basically, we just need to pay off our cc and our utilities every month. I am usually in jeans and t-shirts or sweatshirts at the store and who knows, people might think that I am about to lose everything also. They should not worry about me and pay more attention to themselves.
Dreamer,

Either you are copying me or I copying you. We do the same, except utilities and insurance are on automatic pay from checking. Carry very little cash and writing a paper check is an extreme rarity.
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Old 04-04-2008, 03:08 PM   #35
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Dont worry...we got Al Gore to come off the bench to save us all....oops wrong thread...

Al called and said he can't come. He is too busy inventting the follow-up to the internet.
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Old 04-04-2008, 03:11 PM   #36
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I use a CC for most every purchase, cash back plus easier financial tracking make it a no brainer. I used to have pity on my favorite Vietnamese noodle place and pay him cash instead, but when Amex/Costco starting giving 3% rebate for eating out, the card came out for him also.

Of course service and repair guys like to be paid in cash. (I am sure it is because they don't want to pay the merchant charge, and not because they are attempting to evade taxes cough, cough) So anytime I get a 5%+ cash discount I'll take advantage of it.
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Old 04-04-2008, 04:00 PM   #37
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We use the VISA for a lot of things and pay it off monthly. Our rewards program is not cash back, but instead is a selection (pretty wide actually) of gift cards and trinkets. We exchange the rewards points for gift cards which works out great, for example, around the holidays. Hey, a $50 Best Buy card works just the same when it was paid for in cash or reward points.
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Old 04-04-2008, 04:46 PM   #38
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Have a nice day!
The truth about credit card debt - MSN Money
  • 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.
Regarding CC use, apparently the folks on this forum are part of the silent majority. In most finacial areas we are in the minority.
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Old 04-04-2008, 04:46 PM   #39
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They got enough for the fast food, the smokes, the liquor, the starbucks, twinkies, moon pies, and all sorts of junk food, but can't make the mortgage payment. There are lots of things that lots of people could do to scrimp and save, if they would just do it. When I was a kid, I remember when my folks got the farm...the first year was hard to make the payments, so we had little meat, lots of powdered milk, pinto beans cooked at home and not at taco bell, veggies from the garden. Two pair of basic Kmart jeans and 3-4 shirts were our clothes...the jeans were cut off the next summer for shorts. Too many people feel that their dignity would be hurt if they have to take those kinds of measures, so the keep pulling out the plastic for themselves and their hyper-consumptive kids.

Been there, know how to cook pinto beans, and not afraid to do it again if I had to.

I wonder, BTW, if you looked at a long term average, how many homes are foreclosed in an average year. I read on MSNBC that the forecast is 2 million this year, which would be about 2% of households, or about 3% of homes owned by the occupant.

R
Why thank you rambler, I see you are feeling better. My OP was just saying that I thought most americans had more money than the media says we have. You know all this economy doom and gloom stuff. By the way, Most people I know the young teachers that I work with these days here in North carolina, are in debt up to their eyeballs, all looking to tend bar paint houses anything to make extra money to pay the rent or mortgage, but then they all go out and spend a ton in the bars drinking and eating out while they tell me their sad money stories.

Newguy economics 101

If you need more money to pay the mortgage, get another job!

Heck if the illegals can work their you know what off so can a legal american citizen. Instead of standing or sitting on a bar stool drinking on a friday sat or weekday night, work BEHIND the bar and make money instead!
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Old 04-04-2008, 04:48 PM   #40
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Why thank you rambler, I see you are feeling better. My OP was just saying that I thought most americans had more money than the media says we have. You know all this economy doom and gloom stuff. By the way, Most people I know the young teachers that I work with these days here in North carolina, are in debt up to their eyeballs, all looking to tend bar paint houses anything to make extra money to pay the rent or mortgage, but then they all go out and spend a ton in the bars drinking and eating out while they tell me their sad money stories.

Newguy economics 101

If you need more money to pay the mortgage, get another job!

Heck if the illegals can work their you know what off so can a legal american citizen. Instead of standing or sitting on a bar stool drinking on a friday sat or weekday night, work BEHIND the bar and make money instead!
Either that or dont go into a field that is known for its crap pay.
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