I only did that once and I found out the folks at Visa know absolutely nothing about transmissions and don’t care to learn. Not saying you shouldn’t if you are really really being taken advantage of by a crook like I was, but don’t expect a lot if its a little complicated.
Just to go off track again, $5-10K in CC balance is not going to generally force you into bankruptcy but that means that some people owe $100 and others $100,000 at 25%. That ole average again doesn’t tell the story of someone having to pay $25,000 a year in interest on a $100,000 balance and then getting laid off. At any rate I won’t play their game to save a few cents on gas or to get a free trip. I just don’t like those people, and I don’t care if it costs me money. High on my list is one company that moved their operations to Sioux Falls where there were no usury laws.
You would lose that Bet Mike, a January 2017 report from CreditDonkey cites the Federal Reserve in saying that 42% of people pay off their credit cards in full. Other reports say that people born between 1926 and 1945 pay off 46% of their credit cards. Part of that is ability to pay. If you supported a family, you should have more disposable income after your children are grown.
I think you really need a credit card today, one of my grandchildren is buying her first new car and was shocked that she has no credit score even though she has had a good job for 9 years, she had only used a debit card and even though she was putting 1/3 down was being offered very high interest rates. Thankfully her credit union came through. Also many car insurance companies rate you on your credit score.
It’s a shame but as you stated re credit score the public must scheme and play the credit game. I have heard several young people who say they are chin deep in debt but have a great credit score because they have some rotation system paying minimums regularly then paying off select accounts on occasion. It sounds like they have walked out on a limb to me. But the situation brings to mind that I likely have a terrible credit score because I haven’t made a payment to any kind of bank or finance company for well over 15 years.
WOW…Talk about picking little pieces of data from a report and coming up with a completely new conclusion.
We’ve had ups and downs with revolving credit card debt since credit cards were introduced. But the trend for the past few years is - Revolving debt is increasing.
After that I’m glad to hear you’re doing well, JT!
Exercise certainly helps (it also possibly helped you survive that event). Diet (not the temporary kind), but as in a life-style of what one consumes, is I believe, a bigger part of prevention.
To relate this to cars, it is necessary to change engine oil to prevent it from wearing out, but particularly stop it from building sludge in engine passages. We can’t necessarily drain and refill our body’s circulatory system, but we can keep most sludge agents from entering the system.
I eat no red meat and actually no chicken, turkey, etcetera. I do consume fish (the 4 cold-water ones) and am careful to get enough protein from plain yogurt and lots of plant-based protein and I eat plenty of vegetables and fruit. I steer clear of saturated fat and items with more than a trace of cholesterol. Eating food with 4 legs is not so good, 2 legs is not quite as bad, no legs is best. Eating food that has no liver (nuts, fruit, vegetables) gives one a diet free of cholesterol.
Also, to keep a car performing at its best, not wearing out parts too fast, not over-loading the engine, and for longevity, emptying out all the junk in the trunk and reducing weight as much as practical helps much. Same for humans.
MikeinNH, I’m sorry, I had no intention of offending you, I was just reacting to your 20% figure that you didn’t offer any support for. The statistics I have been reading, and I only referenced 2 of them suggest that a lot of people are getting more savvy about credit cards and just use them as a convenience and pay them off in full.
A 2015 study I didn’t quote cites the federal reserve as saying the number as 37% so it seems to be creeping up.
I think more people who would be able to use cash, are using cards because of the benefits of using a card. For example, if you order furniture and the store goes bankrupt, the credit card company eats the bill, if you paid cash, you stand in line behind the IRS, State tax, banks and all other secured creditors. A debit card issuer MAY reimburse you but it would be up to their policy and not the law. other benefits can be extended warranties, price protection, no foreign exchange fees, trip cancellation and trip interruption service, dispatch of emergency road service at a fixed price and of course, cash back or airline miles.
It is really a shame but the people that can’t afford to pay their bills in full are subsidizing those of us who can.
