Are you stupid enough to borrow from your credit card company?

delllat

I have been chatting with a friend whos gotten himself hopelessly into debt on an assortment of credit cards that he has no chance of clearing

hes paying a small amount monthly but hes up to his tits and this is going to continue for the rest of his life as the interest is constantly building

ive talkled to him about transferring balances to lower interest rates and stuff but hes feels like he has no choice but to continue paying them their inflated interest rates

the funny thing is i asked him what he actually bought to amass such debts ON CREDIT and he doesnt really know

does anyone else buy things on credit they cant afford ?

Random

Yup, used to do it all the time. Young and foolish but what can you do? I've been to Vegas, Moscow, Dubai, all over Europe .. I'm living life.

No question I'm starting to pay for it a bit now though.

trout

Your friend is not alone.

galwayrush

Simple rule here, if we don't have the cash, we don't use the card.

Nah, I have a small limit and am happy to leave it there. I'd be worried if I left any balance on it longer than a month.

tech77

trout wrote: »

Your friend is not a loan.

No, but he needs one.

humbert

Same as Galwayrush, I don't spend what I don't have(I do spend a fair bit of what I do have though ).

phasers

I have a pre pay credit card so that cant happen

The Pontiac

I once had three credit cards with loads on em that I counldn't repay. I went to the credit union and got a loan to cover the debts. If OP's friend would qualify for a loan then this is the best option.

I now have only one card with a low limit and pay it off weekly.

TPD

I've a debit card, no overdraft here. Cant stand being under the pressure of a debt, so if I cant afford something or cant save for it, I wont buy it.

trout

TPD wrote: »

I've a debit card, no overdraft here. Cant stand being under the pressure of a debt, so if I cant afford something or cant save for it, I wont buy it.

Recession-proof thinking right there.

delllat

most of the thinngs he bought he cant even rememeber so theyre probably not the kind of things youd want to get into ever increasing debt over

He could have bought it all twice if hed at least chose not to buy things he knew he couldnt afford to bay back within the 30 interest free period

missingtime

Stupid is the wrong word.

**** happens, sometimes you need access to quick cash and a credit card provides this.

I'd prefer to owe it to the bank rather than friends or relatives.

dr.bollocko

Need I remind you all of the finite nature of our human existance? I'd rather die impoverished having lived than rich after a life of counting the pennies.

Aidric

TPD wrote: »

I've a debit card, no overdraft here. Cant stand being under the pressure of a debt, so if I cant afford something or cant save for it, I wont buy it.

Hi Bertie.

bronte

I've just gotten into a habit of not spending it if it ain't there to spend. Less stress all round!

Wibbs

I have a credit card in my company's name, but not a personal one. I could in a real pinch use it, so it is there for that. I personally see a credit card as a parachute. If the plane is in trouble I'll jump, but I don't see the appeal of parachuting as a sport*

I come from a time where credit was considered a bit shameful in a way. Getting things on the drip. Yep that's fine for a house or a car or student loans, or even a holiday, but for non essentials? Nope. And a helluva lot of stuff is non essential. I see credit cards and easy personal credit itself as a scam(it's the lifeblood of biz but not personal). I liken it to people paying more for a tee shirt that has a manufacturers name on it. You're paying more to advertise their product. They should be paying you. Genius the person who came up with that notion. Credit cards are a similar mad layer of abstraction to my mind.

I was beside a woman at the bar a few weeks back and she was paying for two cocktails wit a credit card. No sorry, if you can't stump up the cash for beer, well then you're living beyond your means and sooner or later you will be screwed. Go home. I don't agree with the excuse or explanation of being paid monthly either. If you're short at the end of the month then again you're living outside your means.







*Daftest metaphor of the day:D

TPD

dr.bollocko wrote: »

Need I remind you all of the finite nature of our human existance? I'd rather die impoverished having lived than rich after a life of counting the pennies.

And I'd rather my time on earth be as stress and worry free as possible.

I liked that metaphor Wibbs :P

missingtime

missingtime wrote: »

I'd prefer to owe it to the bank rather than friends or relatives.

I'd prefer to owe it to people who don't shaft me on interest payments.
Or even better, not owe it at all.

delllat

missingtime wrote: »

Stupid is the wrong word.

**** happens, sometimes you need access to quick cash and a credit card provides this.

I'd prefer to owe it to the bank rather than friends or relatives.

i dont think it is TBH

Its like buying a 2000 product for 4000 and pay it off over 10 years

am i the only one who thinks thats retarded ?

if you cant afford something just dont "buy" it

tman

Visa debit card all the way!
Went straight to the credit limit of my card when I first got it 4 years ago, and spent the following year and a half paying it off, felt like crap at the time but at least it was a lesson well learnt.

TheInquisitor

I'm 22 and i refuse to even get a credit card. You can buy top up ones if your badly need them. CASH CASH CASH CASH CASH

L1011

I rate tarted for a while, thats close to impossible now so cleared it.

delllat

Wibbs wrote: »

I have a credit card in my company's name, but not a personal one. I could in a real pinch use it, so it is there for that. I personally see a credit card as a parachute. If the plane is in trouble I'll jump, but I don't see the appeal of parachuting as a sport*

I come from a time where credit was considered a bit shameful in a way. Getting things on the drip. Yep that's fine for a house or a car or student loans, or even a holiday, but for non essentials? Nope. And a helluva lot of stuff is non essential. I see credit cards and easy personal credit itself as a scam(it's the lifeblood of biz but not personal). I liken it to people paying more for a tee shirt that has a manufacturers name on it. You're paying more to advertise their product. They should be paying you. Genius the person who came up with that notion. Credit cards are a similar mad layer of abstraction to my mind.

I was beside a woman at the bar a few weeks back and she was paying for two cocktails wit a credit card. No sorry, if you can't stump up the cash for beer, well then you're living beyond your means and sooner or later you will be screwed. Go home. I don't agree with the excuse or explanation of being paid monthly either. If you're short at the end of the month then again you're living outside your means.







*Daftest metaphor of the day:D

there are possible reasons where it would be beneficial to buy drinks with a crediti card like some cards offer a % of cash back or vouchers if card is used above certain levels each month so that girl may not have been putting the drinks on credit because she was skint

although i do HATE to be behind someone whos wasting everyones time buying a single pint or a cup of coffee with a credit card

Woden

Wibbs wrote: »

I was beside a woman at the bar a few weeks back and she was paying for two cocktails wit a credit card. No sorry, if you can't stump up the cash for beer, well then you're living beyond your means and sooner or later you will be screwed. Go home. I don't agree with the excuse or explanation of being paid monthly either. If you're short at the end of the month then again you're living outside your means.

That doesn't really hold water though. I use my credit card to pay for almost everything and never use cash. I've never paid interest on it and it is often in credit. Its a matter of convienence mostly

Degsy

I got a rebate just before christmas,the firsts thing i did was clear my credit card bill(two and a half grand)..if i hadnt done that i'd be fcucked..it was costing 300 a month just in interest.

mickydoomsux

delllat wrote: »

am i the only one who thinks thats retarded ?

if you cant afford something just dont "buy" it

I agree with you. Too many people buy stuff that they really don't need using credit cards because they just don't use their heads.

I was raised to believe that if you need to get a loan for anything other than a house then you can't afford what you're trying to buy, so don't buy it.

Simple really.

Wibbs

delllat wrote: »

there are possible reasons where it would be beneficial to buy drinks with a crediti card like some cards offer a % of cash back or vouchers if card is used above certain levels each month so that girl may not have been putting the drinks on credit because she was skint

True but in her case she was. She tried the "I'm wearing a short skirt so buy me a drink, but I've no actual interest in you, you freak with ears" angle on me later on. Her skirt wasn't short enough, nor her legs good enough so I demured....

although i do HATE to be behind someone whos wasting everyones time buying a single pint or a cup of coffee with a credit card

God yes. Oh GOD yes. I remember being in the states in the 80's and a lot of shops had a cash only till/line. Good plan I reckon.

Wibbs

Woden wrote: »

That doesn't really hold water though. I use my credit card to pay for almost everything and never use cash. I've never paid interest on it and it is often in credit. Its a matter of convienence mostly

It doesn't hold water for you, but clearly you're different and disciplined and rare in my experience. Fair play too. The credit card companies don't like your sort.

Woden

Yeah but my point was without the additional information provided by yourself anyone paying with a cc would fall be under your assumption that they shouldn't be using it

dr.bollocko

TPD wrote: »

And I'd rather my time on earth be as stress and worry free as possible.

I don't have any major debts. I've put plenty on credit cards to finance travel before and I probably will again. If the debt gets moved to a medium term loan it's manageable to repay without much impact on the lifestyle. It's all about how you handle it. I just want to question this fear of debt people have in this modern economic climate. Some times things are worth more than what you have in liquid assets right now.

Wibbs

Woden wrote: »

Yeah but my point was without the additional information provided by yourself anyone paying with a cc would fall be under your assumption that they shouldn't be using it

Pedant:p:D



Correct in fairness.

dr.bollocko

dr.bollocko wrote: »

I just want to question this fear of debt people have in this modern economic climate.

Seeing the family get deep into it and coming to me all the time for financial assistance tends to put a massive fear in you, aye

Some times things are worth more than what you have in liquid assets right now.

Yeah, peace of mind

dr.bollocko

bluewolf wrote: »

Yeah, peace of mind

Peace of mind is everything when it comes to it. There's no arguing with that.

Burning Eclipse

The only debt I have is a student loan. Had an overdraft for a while, but that was more like a cushion during 4th year and is gone now.

As for CC, I don't have one, but the GF does. She's had it about 6 years now and has never paid a cent of interest. Always pays the balance every month... They're handy for booking things like flights or accommodation, or buying online from sites that don't accept debit cards. Long term spending on them is a terrible idea!

astrofool

Wibbs wrote: »

God yes. Oh GOD yes. I remember being in the states in the 80's and a lot of shops had a cash only till/line. Good plan I reckon.

It's getting faster and faster to pay by card, in Dunnes for example, it takes all of 10 seconds to pay by card (inc. authorization from bank), far faster than paying by cash (far far faster if it's a woman/oap, or god fobid an OAP woman).

The reason it's slow in some places is because they use a dial up connection for each transaction, as broadband gets used more and more, this wait will disappear.

Credit card is often the cheapest way to buy goods, as it is the only method taken over the internet

L1011

Wibbs wrote: »

It doesn't hold water for you, but clearly you're different and disciplined and rare in my experience. Fair play too. The credit card companies don't like your sort.

They still get merchant fees from each transaction... they're not doing it out of goodwill!

Firetrap

When I was young and impetuous, I ran up a debt of about 4 grand, mainly because I lost my job and had to get the money to pay for the car and other things until I got another job. It's very hard to pay it off because of the interest and the payment protection thingie that's on it. In the end I went to the credit union and got a loan to clear it. I threw a load of my spare cash at it and had the thing cleared in a year. I was so so happy when I made the final payment - it was like a weight had been lifted from my shoulders. I didn't get rid of the card because it's handy for buying things online and booking flights 'n stuff. So I simply brought the credit limit down and set up a direct debit to clear the balance every month. Happy days.

neaideabh

Have a car loan for €5000, personal loan for €750 and an overdraft of €500. This is debt I can manage.
Never got a credit card because i would go mad on it aswell.

Will never get a cc unless I could DEFINATELY afford it!

Spudmonkey

Why do it to yourself? Put yourself in a position where you are in debt to the bank? I like dr bollocko's comment about living life... I'm saving money now so that I can travel the world on the cheap and see places I never thought I would. Thats what I consider living life, not getting a new car!!!

AlmightyCushion

Burning Eclipse wrote: »

As for CC, I don't have one, but the GF does. She's had it about 6 years now and has never paid a cent of interest. Always pays the balance every month... They're handy for booking things like flights or accommodation, or buying online from sites that don't accept debit cards. Long term spending on them is a terrible idea!

I'm the same. Haven't paid a cent of interest on mine yet and I plan on keeping it that way. If I need money I'll take out a loan at a reasonably sensible interest rate and not some ass-raping percentage like my credit card has.

stepbar

It's not stupid to pay for stuff on your credit card. But to take money from a credit card (through an ATM machine) is very stupid. Personally I find a debit / credit card handy because it means that I don't have to be constantly searching for coins etc. I just don't like carrying cash.

On the point of Debt, people shouldn't really have to fear same once it's manageable. And to be honest some credit cards are compariable to the interest rates on some personal loans (Click card comes to mind).

As with most things in life there are people who have their head screwed on and there are those who don't.

Ruu_Old

My CC is issued by my life insurance company who also provide some regular banking stuff so I get cash back to pay off my insurance premiums so it works well for me to use it, no annual fee. It is paid off in full every month, not a cent of interest has been paid. It is not recommended to take out cash advances, never going to happen with me anyway.

It would be nice to use cash for everything but you won't have any credit history and it will hurt you and your pocket when going for any type of a loan or buying a house. I have had to build my credit rating from nothing since moving to the US 4 years ago and I won't be messing that up.

mickydoomsux

dr.bollocko wrote: »

Some times things are worth more than what you have in liquid assets right now.

Like what?

twanda

I used to have a credit card but destroyed it about 2 years ago.
I was a sucker for the banks method of sneakily raising the credit limit -- lost count of the amount of times I got a letter from bank- always somthing to the tune of ''we notice your credit limit may be a bit low for your 'needs' so we are raising it with immediate effect''. Always insisted to myself I would not spend up to the new limit but it slowly happened anyway. So I took out a loan to pay off the balance, cut the card up into pieces (very gratifying) and just have finished paying it off recently:)
I am living abroad and the ATM card I have here includes VISA functionality so it's great. I can use it like a credit card online etc. but it takes the money from my current account so it only works if the money is there -- thank God! Would be nice if more of the Irish banks offered that instead of Laser. I found a lot of online stores do not take Laser so I needed the credit card for that.

silverharp

I have my credit card on direct debit , I just treat it as another laser card. there was a good comedy sketch on Saturday night live wit a punch line of, "dont buy stuff you cant afford". pretty simple really.

ScumLord

Never had a credit card, they always seemed like an over complicated way of paying for things.

Snowie

delllat wrote: »

I have been chatting with a friend whos gotten himself hopelessly into debt on an assortment of credit cards that he has no chance of clearing

hes paying a small amount monthly but hes up to his tits and this is going to continue for the rest of his life as the interest is constantly building

ive talkled to him about transferring balances to lower interest rates and stuff but hes feels like he has no choice but to continue paying them their inflated interest rates

the funny thing is i asked him what he actually bought to amass such debts ON CREDIT and he doesnt really know

does anyone else buy things on credit they cant afford ?

No. That's just plain keeping up with appearances, Id be going to a dept advisor and getting some advice. there's also other options he has to sort out that mess..

skyhighflyer

VISA Debit card is what you need. Can only spend money you have and, unlike Laser, it's actually useful online.

Rebelheart

TPD wrote: »

I've a debit card, no overdraft here. Cant stand being under the pressure of a debt, so if I cant afford something or cant save for it, I wont buy it.

Ah now, ah now. We'll have none of that subversive talk here. Keep that up and the poor banks will have no work....

120_Minutes

i'm 1500 in debt with my cc and with the recession, wife losing her job its getting very difficult to pay it off. we had a family emergency last year just when we were getting on top of cc payments which set us back. i have a couple of things i could sell that would put a big dent in the debt but nobody seems to be buying at the mo.

as soon as its cleared (which prob wont be soon) its gone.....if i can get a visa debit. how easily are they got now? whos doing them?