Debt

[dcentity2000]

It's evil.

Having studied at university, I am now in over £7,000 debt - that's what, $10,000?

And this is compounded by those horrific credit cards. Easy to get, easy to rack up debt, impossible to pay of... these credit card companies are nasty things.

And what does the Government do?

They take away student grants and replace them with loans.

It's gonna take a long time and a lot of discipline to overcome this.

Who else thinks that the credit card companies are evil?




Rich::

 

[Golf4food]

They are only evil if we let them be. But they are out to make a profit either way.

 

[bballmom56]

I don't think they are evil. It's called self control and keeping track of how much you charge on a credit card. We don't run a balance, so we are not paying exorbitant interest rates (or any interest rates).

I find a credit card to be a great convenience. I don't have to carry a lot of cash. Instead, that cash stays in the bank and then I use it to pay off the cc bill.

 

[RitaE]

I know quite a few American students who would weep with joy if they could get out of University with only $10,000 in student loan debt.

 

[Katie's Butterflies]

Ugh, I hear you

I now owe $20-30,000 in student loans no credit cards though.
I have several friends, however, who have found themselves in extreme debt especially because of student loans + credit cards.

What makes it worse, is that many colleges in the US sell student information to credit card companies. My sophomore year I was getting 2+ offers a week.

 

[Allison]

I don't think they are evil. It's called self control and keeping track of how much you charge on a credit card. We don't run a balance, so we are not paying exorbitant interest rates (or any interest rates).

I find a credit card to be a great convenience. I don't have to carry a lot of cash. Instead, that cash stays in the bank and then I use it to pay off the cc bill.

Agreed

 

[John VN]

Credit Card debt is only created when one charges an item using the credit card, unless one foolishly lets someone else use the card.

I see no evil that the card company created. Don't use the card and there is no debt.

 

[dcentity2000]

The bit that I have a problem is when a credit card company tries to lure you into debt.

I'm a student with debt. Yet a local retailer has offered me a MasterCard with £2,500 credit with no credit check. It's a lure and God help you if you take them up on the offer and find yourself unable to afford the repayments.

I know, I know, just say no - the evil part is that they try to make that the difficult bit.



Rich::

 

[bballmom56]

The bit that I have a problem is when a credit card company tries to lure you into debt.

I'm a student with debt. Yet a local retailer has offered me a MasterCard with £2,500 credit with no credit check. It's a lure and God help you if you take them up on the offer and find yourself unable to afford the repayments.

I know, I know, just say no - the evil part is that they try to make that the difficult bit.



Rich::

If you get an offer by mail, rip it up. If they call you by phone, hang up. If it's in person in the store, you stated the solution... just say no. It's not hard. Do NOT "take them up on the offer". Self control and discipline.

 

[arminnie]

I have several credit cards that have huge limits - like over $30,000. I could easily go charge a hundred thousand dollars this month. But it would be incredibly STUPID to do so.

Anybody that does not have the common sense not to incur debt they cannot repay doesn't belong in college - too intellectually deficient. Honestly I knew at least by 12 or 13 that you didn't buy things that you couldn't pay for.

I just don't believe that only being 18 years old is an excuse for spending money you don't ever expect to have.

I went to private schools with huge tuitions and borrowed a lot of money - but I also increased my earning potential with each degree so it was no problem paying back my loans.

 

[kris1977]

The bit that I have a problem is when a credit card company tries to lure you into debt.

I'm a student with debt. Yet a local retailer has offered me a MasterCard with £2,500 credit with no credit check. It's a lure and God help you if you take them up on the offer and find yourself unable to afford the repayments.

I know, I know, just say no - the evil part is that they try to make that the difficult bit.



Rich::

they didnt hold a gun to your head.

 

[Northstar]

they didnt hold a gun to your head.

OP never said she was coerced. She said debt is evil. And it is. It can ruin your life, right?

Drug pushers, casinos, and people who offer you cigarettes when you're trying to quit don't hold a gun to your head. They tempt you to do something that's not good for you.

So do the credit card companies.

It's not evil for them to offer credit. It's evil for them to lure people and encourage them to rack up big debt by making it seem so easy and nice in their promotion of their product.

OP is not saying, "They're evil because they gave me no choice!" He's saying "They're evil because they lured me in" Degrees of evil, you know?

 

[MoniqueU]

I am currently working on paying off my debt right now, it is NOT fun. I have no one to blame but myself. Too many trips, too many coach bags and trips to the mall with the kids and treating other people to meals.

In August of 2008 my husban made 5 figures a month. Then the credit crunch happened and it went down to 4 figures overnight. We found ourselves SOL in paying our bills, it has been a tough 2 years. Luckily my husband got a job in his same company with the potential to make near what he made before. It is priority number one for us to save half his bonus checks and pay off our debt with the other and live within our means.

I have a son going off to college in 2011 and your student debt wouldn't even pay for one semester at the schools he is looking into. So consider yourself lucky in that aspect and work your hardest to pay off your CC debt.

 

[kris1977]

OP never said she was coerced. She said debt is evil. ?

No, they said credit card companies are evil

Who else thinks that the credit card companies are evil?

They offer a product, its supposed to be easy for people to use. They dont force anyone to have them. By your's and the OP's twisted logic Mac Donalds are evil as they make you fat, HMV is evil if they allow me to spend all my money easily on CD's thus making me not able to pay for anything else...in fact anyone who sells anything that costs money is evil if it can cause the potential for me to spend too much.

or...back in the land of the living it is our responsibility as individuals not to take up too much debt. I find it ironic that we can call credit card companies as evil when in reality it is another trait....greed on the part of the individual which really drives this. Must have everything now irrespective of ability to pay...not willing to save...put it on the never never as I have to have that TV now and I have to have that holiday now and I have to have that PS3 now.

 

[DisneyBamaFan]

I have no CC debt, but I will say this - loan sharking is illegal for a reason, and CC companies are more dangerous than loan sharks. They loan money with absurdly high interest rates, then have the right to raise those rates on a whim. I wish there was a cap on interest rates - say 5% above prime.

 

[mjkacmom]

I have no CC debt, but I will say this - loan sharking is illegal for a reason, and CC companies are more dangerous than loan sharks. They loan money with absurdly high interest rates, then have the right to raise those rates on a whim. I wish there was a cap on interest rates - say 5% above prime.

This is how I feel. I know many who have had the same credit card for years, nice low rate, and then, in this economy, lost their jobs, had to carry a balance to get by, and then be slammed with much higher interest rates, and lower limits. So, they started out paying off debt every month, and now are struggling to make the minimum payment.

OP, $10,000 is a semester at a public university - many are graduating here in the US with 6 figures of money owed.

 

[Colleen27]

Oh yeah, I think they are evil. Actually, the whole "profits before all else" mindset is evil, and that's not just limited to credt companies. Business ethics and responisibilty have gone the way of the dinosaur and everyone wants to make that solely an issue of personal responsibilty when in reality there needs to be responsibility from both sides. We can argue till we're blue in the face about how kids - not even old enough to be trusted to drink legally - should know better, but the fact is a key facet of credit card marketing is to hook people young before they're thinking about the consequences because that's a good way to keep them on the debt-treadmill for life. It is little different from tobacco companies targeting teens, and most don't have a problem labeling that evil...

 

[Colleen27]

OP, $10,000 is a semester at a public university - many are graduating here in the US with 6 figures of money owed.

Yep. Even with a family income low enough to qualify for some grants, I would have to take about $30,000 in loans to finish out my degree. And that's just for the last two years; I did the first two in better times and at a community college so we were able to pay cash. I'll probably never finish, though, because I can't justify that kind of debt-load.

 

[DisneyBamaFan]

Oh yeah, I think they are evil. Actually, the whole "profits before all else" mindset is evil, and that's not just limited to credt companies. Business ethics and responisibilty have gone the way of the dinosaur and everyone wants to make that solely an issue of personal responsibilty when in reality there needs to be responsibility from both sides. We can argue till we're blue in the face about how kids - not even old enough to be trusted to drink legally - should know better, but the fact is a key facet of credit card marketing is to hook people young before they're thinking about the consequences because that's a good way to keep them on the debt-treadmill for life. It is little different from tobacco companies targeting teens, and most don't have a problem labeling that evil...

While I am not sure that I label it evil, you are 100% correct. There have been memos exposed which make it clear that they target the young for this very reason. Such is the nature of a free market economy. Some things are great, but it allows companies to take advantage of others' weaknesses.

 

[Kath2003]

It's evil.

Having studied at university, I am now in over £7,000 debt - that's what, $10,000?

And this is compounded by those horrific credit cards. Easy to get, easy to rack up debt, impossible to pay of... these credit card companies are nasty things.

And what does the Government do?

They take away student grants and replace them with loans.

It's gonna take a long time and a lot of discipline to overcome this.

Who else thinks that the credit card companies are evil?

Student loan is the BEST debt you'll ever have. Even if I hadn't needed it as a student, I would have taken every penny they offered me!! (I know it's different in the US but in the UK, student loans are a SWEET deal).

Credit card companies aren't evil: the facts are there and people know what they're getting into - and if they don't, they should have looked into it. They are businesses; they need to make money.

It's the same banks that offer these credit cards that also offer students INTEREST FREE overdrafts. It's swings and roundabouts.