Debt

[Kath2003]

Congrats for graduating with only $10k in debt. If you picked a good course of study you should be able to pay that back in a reasonable number of years.

The OP failed to mention that $10,000 in debt is currently interest free and will NEVER earn more than 4.4% APR, and no one has to pay a penny of it back until they earn over $20,000. Best debt EVER

 

[angie@dvcstore]

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.

Your so right if only mines was only $10,000 I would be a happy happy girl

 

[minnie56]

Your so right if only mines was only $10,000 I would be a happy happy girl

No kidding!!
DD23 attends school in NYC (already has her BA after 4 yrs University) and her tuition is $15,000 per TERM!

That's a pretty good deal the OP has as far as I can see......

 

[VAN]

I don't necessarily think the credit card companies are evil. Last I looked it was a personal choice whether or not to apply and/or use one.

Let's take some accountability for ourselves.

There is always the option of saving for something before you buy it. Also people have been known to "do without" and/or purchased a gently used item instead of buying new.

At any rate, my opinion is that the proliferation of debt cannot be blamed on the credit card companies but on ourselves.

Just my opinion.

 

[ICF]

I don't necessarily think the credit card companies are evil. Last I looked it was a personal choice whether or not to apply and/or use one.

Let's take some accountability for ourselves.

There is always the option of saving for something before you buy it. Also people have been known to "do without" and/or purchased a gently used item instead of buying new.

At any rate, my opinion is that the proliferation of debt cannot be blamed on the credit card companies but on ourselves.

Just my opinion.

And it's correct.

CC's arent evil...they offer a product, it's not their fault if people arent smart enough to use them wisely and pay them back every month. As Ive posted on here before, I've gotten $1000's of dollars in free hotels / disney dollars and never paid any interest to the CC's companies.

Saying that a CC is evil is like saying McD is evil for making big macs. It's not their fault if you cant control yourself to one every few weeks or so and decided to eat it for lunch every day for a year and eventually get overweight or die of a heart attack.

Personal responsibilty is a great thing....to bad too many people dont use it.

 

[ols386]

True, but not everyone has credit card debt because they had no self-control. Some found themselves in a very bad situation, through no fault of their own, and had to use credit cards to survive. A friend of mine was laid off her job after working for the company for over 20 years. The company cut 700 jobs. She is a single mom and had kids to take care of. Hasn't seen the dad in years. She was trying to be careful and was able to make her minimum payments until the credit card companies raised the interest rate and effectively doubled her minimum payments. Now, she has been to CCS, but will most likely lose their home. Not everyone who finds themselves in a bad situation financially is irresponsible. Some have just had very bad luck.

And this is the case with many. Losing a job of 20 years is a hard thing to plan for, and I would think, unexpected. I think there are so many families in this situation especially in light our our current economy and with unemployment being so high right now.

The financially responsible ting would have been to save beforehand. Hard to do admittedly, but I hear these sob stories and most of them were preventable. We live in a paycheck-to-paycheck society.

And she can thank Congress and the Credit Reform Act for the minimum payment increase.

Well, of course. And hindsight is usually 20-20.

 

[MickeySP]

I don't think their evil per se but....

Having raised a college student & been one when this practice started I know what the OP means. These companies use targeted marketing that while legal is deceptive if you don't read the fine print. Yeah name me a 19/20 yo who does that. It is like asking a toddler to turn down a cookie.

So I do sympathize, but now you know - cut them up - make a budget - work your butt off - pay them down & off.

I had 3 jobs when I graduated to pay off my immaturity. Bank by day, waitress weeknight evenings and bartender alternate wekends. Took my abit, I was exhausted but debt free and it felt awesome.

 

[cm8]

And it's correct.

CC's arent evil...they offer a product, it's not their fault if people arent smart enough to use them wisely and pay them back every month. As Ive posted on here before, I've gotten $1000's of dollars in free hotels / disney dollars and never paid any interest to the CC's companies.

Saying that a CC is evil is like saying McD is evil for making big macs. It's not their fault if you cant control yourself to one every few weeks or so and decided to eat it for lunch every day for a year and eventually get overweight or die of a heart attack.

Personal responsibilty is a great thing....to bad too many people dont use it.

Agreed. But there are times when personal responsibility was not an issue but the lost of a job or catastrophic event was.. No one wants to be in that predicament.

 

[Bilberry]

I remembered this John Stossel article about college debt, and was it worth it.

I was surprised one day, a number of years ago. I live in a large University town. A neighbor, who is a professor, said that she thought many University degrees were greatly over rated, and felt bad for the kids that spent money on them.

The College Scam

http://www.creators.com/opinion/john-stossel/the-college-scam.html

 

[focusondisney]

Hmmmm. 6 month old thread bumped by a new poster who seems to have an agenda.

 

[ols386]

Hmmmm. 6 month old thread bumped by a new poster who seems to have an agenda.

I didn't even notice the date on the original post.

 

[hucifer]

Hmmmm. 6 month old thread bumped by a new poster who seems to have an agenda.

I saw that too. The poster was reported and the posts are now deleted.