OT: How is it possible to amass a large fortune of CC debt?

I assume it's a way for banks to sorta keep you as an indentured-servant and paying interest on your debt for as long as possible - supposedly CC companies hate custies that actually pay their bill in full every month and don't carry over debt

I had to close a couple of CC accounts when they started charging me interest even for balances I did pay off monthly. They don't make much off responsible people. Check your statements to make sure you're not being screwed like that.

I get offers for a new credit card all the time. They know nothing about me except my credit score. Offering $20,000 or $30,000 or $50,000 . And the cards I have keep raising my credit limit without me asking. I don't have any cards with any balances. But if I add up the credit lines on all of them, I"m guessing I have the ability to go spend about $300,000 right now. I think I could accumulate another $200-300 thousand in cards in about a month if I tried. Wow, that's a scary thought. VEGAS BABY !

Yeah, it’s the bank’s faulty. The man who spent money like a drunken sailor is the victim.

I pay in cash. If I can't afford something I save up for it. I live within my means.. Credit is a scam and a debt trap.

My credit score is falling due to credit cards and is down to 838.

Skibum adopt me or let your wife be my sugar momma

Well, the banks know what the payback statistics are. And they know what signs to look for. They know what they are doing, milking the most cash they can our of our society.

SJG

Joni Mitchell Amelia youtube.com

TJ Street tuscl.net tuscl.net

Martinism youtube.com

Never had any credit card debt other than the monthly balance I'm on top of every month. I like listening to Dave Ramsey too.

@Icee you have the cash to buy a house outright? What about the car note for your Hellcat? Or did you pay $70K in cash up front?

Banks also got the new George W. Bush bankruptcy law in their favor.

The Two-Income Trap: Why Middle-Class Parents Are (Still) Going Broke amazon.com

SJG

OMS Martinism youtube.com

TJ Street tuscl.net tuscl.net

Here's hoping your pacemaker fails when you are far from help Icey.

Tbh that's why I feel stuck in Vegas staying with my exes grandma. I'm afraid of the trip back to la

Like said above banks don’t make money off of responsible people.

I’ve know of so many people that go out and buy stuff they can’t afford, for example - a new car, and they don’t care about the price all they care about it if they can afford the monthly payment.

I think a big problem with adults is they want to keep up with their peers with their toys, fashion, houses and cars so they’ll go in debt to keep up.

Icey has a fleet of Hellcats, all in different colors.

SJG

Over on Reddit there was a thread that asked "how much debt do you have?". I was shocked by the high numbers I was seeing. For a lot of them it was student loan debt and they flat out said since they can't afford to pay it off with the interest piling up they would just take that debt to the grave with them.

Which had me wondering, what happens in that situation? If no one else signed on the loan with them, and if the person's estate left behind isn't enough to offset the remaining balance, what happens with all that money owed?

^ AFAIK when money is owed and the person that owes it does not have enough assets to cover it, the creditor doesn't get paid - I've heard it referred to it as "taking a haircut" if they only get a part of what they are owed.

Never should have asked people to debt finance college. It was a huge mistake.

SJG

^ "Never should have told so many people college would pay for itself."

FIFY

^^^^^^ I agree fully, and I am irritated that our local colleges still say something like that.

SJG

@Papi there's a certain point where an individual's credit score doesnt match the level of debt their in just because they pay a minimum and the banks gotta realize this person is in danger of defaulting and we may lose some money.

I always thought 30% utilization was the golden rule?

@Warrior yeah but you probably are a deadbeat so your a safe bet (for now mwahahaha)

@mark. I'd say both parties can share the blame.

@skinum I thought the max score was 800 0_0

@muddy I think more people need to be on the Dave Ramsey squad rather than trying to churn out rewards.

@shaiylin does keeping up with throwing dollars at strippers count? Because that trend is still strong.

I’m also in the 800+ credit score territory. I think, to get there, you need decades of perfect credit history. They consider how many years/decades you’ve had credit cards or accounts. So, I think it’s mathematically impossible for a young person to score that high.

Once you start viewing credit card debt as something you manage, rather than avoid like the plague, you are on a slippery slope to financial ruin.

youtu.be

Credit score has been above 840 for the last twenty years, actually it generally hits 845-850 regularly. Credit is one tool that must be used with discretion, I pay all my bills on time incurring no charges, the cards I use give me cash back every month, and I have one card that I use for gas which gives me a 5% discount at the pump, the only time I ever extend payments on a card is when there is a zero percent finance offer, and I am diligent about paying not only the minumum amount monthly, plus I always pay those off befor the finance offer expires. One rule that I always follow , I never make a purchase that I don't have the funds available to purchase outright, especially when responding to zero percent financing, One trick I find useful is the autopay from my banks online payment system has a recurring payment generator, set it up properly and make regular payments on time with no worries.

——->”I pay in cash. If I can't afford something I save up for it. I live within my means.. Credit is a scam and a debt trap.“

Icee, read 25’s comments

I follow the same rules. Credit is only a scam and debt trap for the undisciplined. Get a zero fee rewards card and let them pay you.

I earn thousands of dollars per year in free money with zero interest

There is also an insurance credit score that I found out about 3 or 4 years ago when I was shopping for auto insurance. My regular credit score was at max but my insurance score was 5 points below that. I found out it was lower because I had a Home Depot credit card that showed no activity for several years. The difference in premiums was less than $5 so I went ahead and moved my policy over. After that I made a point to officially cancel my Home Depot card.

I think there are a few underlying themes in those interviews.

There are many folks with student loan debt. This seems like an avoidable type of debt. It can be paid off gradually, but it remains over you until you do. I have college age kids, and what I do is I make them take a hard look at the colleges they want to attend, and then we examine how much the average student earns from that school, and we examine the employment percentage of graduates, and the placement assistance offered. Then we compare that to average tuitions from comparable schools, and that gives us a worthwhile baseline.

Medical debt is dependent on the type of debt incurred. It can also be negotiated down. The amounts the hospitals charge individuals are usually higher than the negotiated rates that insurance companies get, so there’s good wiggle room there. They also know they get nothing if you file bankruptcy, so it’s worth it for them to negotiate the amount down. When they sell off the shitty debt, they get a few pennies for the dollar, so it’s best for them to collect ten cents on the dollar that you owe them.

The credit card debt for folks who simply don’t control their spending, is the most stupid form of debt. There are folks who don’t pay attention to their credit card debt, and it gets out of hand easily. It’s usually spent on clothing or frivolous items, that don’t provide long term durability. The credit cards allow you to make tiny monthly payments, which are not based on an installment method, just a balance multiplied by a rate. So, you could be paying off something you bought 10 years ago.

Banks like to loan you money based on previous high credit amounts approved. You get a decent student loan amount, and a credit card company will see that and offer you a decent credit limit. It’s dangerous, but there are lots of unscrupulous lenders. They rarely hold any debt, as they will syndicate or securitize their instruments in order to get more cash. They know the likelihood of the consumers paying the balances off is low, but they can group the crap into tranches and get cash by selling it off at a discounted price.

It’s best to avoid the trap of debt and credit card debt by paying balances off as quickly as they are created. Use a credit card for convenience, and for the consumer protection programs it offers, but not as a loan.

I can attest that it doesn't take decade(s) of perfect credit to get in the 800 range. I've had credit since 18, and spent all my 20s basically fucking it up doing dumb shit. I didn't start getting responsible with it till about age 26. At that point it took about 7 years until I got into the 800 range. At 26 I was in the mid 600s.

Certain things I noticed though that I don't like. I bought a new car and had a 5 year car note. During the 3rd year of that note my score peaked at 850 and stayed all the way until I finished paying the car off.

Then once I finished paying, the score actually dropped 30 points. That's where I've been ever since. The reason is cited as 'lack of installment loan'. Basically they rather you be in debt paying off something. Which I am, I pay ally other bills in a credit card. But since I currently don't have a car note it's like I'm being penalized from having the max score and sitting at 820. Which honestly is no different from an 850, I just liked seeing the perfect 850.

TFP... I got my car used. Sold my old one and paid the balance off with what I saved for it.

If you're smart, a credit card is an instrument of convenience, not finance.

My credit hovers around 800. My spending habits are great, but I'm what they call a "thin file," that is, I don't carry a lot of debt. I haven't carried a credit card balance in 20 years. Lost some "age of accounts" score by playing the reward points game. I haven't had a car loan in 18 years. Paid off my student loan debt 7 years ago. Just bought a place in 2021.

Once your score is about ~760 you're getting the best rates on everything.

@Tetradon wish more people understood that.

@motorhead ssssh don't let the undiscipline know they're paying for your CC rewards

I was talking to a high net worth accountant 2 months ago. APparently, despite the fact that the pandemic has forced everyone to tighten their purse strings, as soon as they get big checks in their account, they've gotten WORSE with spending and not better. The fact that despite the harsh reality of having to get a new credit card to transfer the balance from the old every single time (or pay off the old card with the new card), there's gotta be something nuerologically wrong with people to not learn not to keep putting their hand in the fire.

Since 1989 I had been using my AmEx gold card almost exclusively because of the rewards program. Besides regular spending, every monthly bill went to the card: cable/internet, cell phone, car insurance, etc. and the rewards were linked to Amazon so I used to get a lot of free stuff.

What I didn't like was, believe it or not, AmEx drags down your credit score even though you pay it in full every month. Something to do with it not having a spending limit, and the credit agencies view your highest balance (I think over 12 months) as if it was outstanding debt. Plus the annual fee is up around $250 now, which is nuts when Visa is totally free. For me, that's a night out at a strip club. Well, almost anyway.

After I bought a Harley in 2017, I started getting offers for the Harley Davidson card. Ignored them at first, but in 2020 my maintenance plan on the bike ran out and I got a rude awakening when I had to pay for it the first time! Cancelled AmEx and switched everything to the Harley Visa. Despite having cashed in some of the rewards, I still have over $2,000 that I can spend at the dealership, and it goes up every month. Next season I'll need tires and brakes in addition to regular maintenance and it will all be paid for. Plus I'm looking at some extra stuff for the bike.

This sounds like a "club ad" but any of you dudes have a Harley and not using the card, you really should think about it.

^ I do have a HOG Visa, But I get better rewards from my BOA Visa cash rewards, issued by Merril Lynch, and the cycling rewards card from Discover also earns better rewards, I used to use a GM Mastercard, it would accumulate points toward new car purchases but I haven't brought a GM vehicle since 2002.

Historically I've been terrible with credit. However a few months back my bank sent me a pre-approved offer for a credit card, and I took it. Went to the bank to fill out some paper work, didn't do any checks on me, and even offered to up the original limit. I always carry a balance, but also always pay more then the minimum on repayments. During the pandemic my credit rating has gone up some 130+ points. It basically stayed the same pre-pandemic, and I'm not doing anything differently now, not sure why it went up so much.

Simple. Take all your credit cards to a sc. Get drunk and spend the hole time in the vip room with several dancers/strippers.

Scrub makes some good points.

I’m surprised to hear someone had to go to a bank to get a credit card. I’ve never done that.

In my view, I don’t care about the gold/platinum type of cards. I’m only interested in the credit limit - not having an annual fee - and if the rewards are equitable and useful.

day_trader, your credit score is rising because you are repaying the debt you incurred in monthly increments. You are building a decent rating through your recent payment history.

Daytrader, you are the bank's favorite customer. They're making more money on that balance you carry than on any other transaction unless they're selling cocaine out of the drive-through window. Think of it as you selling a bond with an 18 percent interest rate.

@desertscrub Someone's not a happy camper today. Cheer up bud it's the weekend. Maybe have your morning coffee before logging onto tuscl, just a thought. On the pre-approved offer that I got on email, it gave me the option to call a toll free number or to book an appointment. I'm not sure if I would have still gotten the same offer if I just did everything online. I had other business to do at the bank as well so I just booked an appointment.

@Cashman I've had my other credit card for years, pre pandemic my credit rating never really went up by any significant amounts. It wasn't until the last couple of years that it went up lots. Not complaining though, I can pretty much get a card anywhere now.

@From978 Haha yeah I know.

Easy - just spend money on strip clubbing and sugar dating. CC debt easy run up a man will spend his last nickel on pussy.

Stick to a budget, don’t finance the sc pussy project with debt, and assume you could be forced into retirement sooner than planned.

If you do have have to default on cc debt get a good CC lawsuit lawyer. Friend settled it for 40c on dollar.

I don't see scrub on here. What did he say?

@day_trader why did you have to go to the bank to complete the pre-application? YOu couldn't do it online? I remember the first time I got a pre-approval letter. Usually they send it to you because they already verified most of your information that may state your eligable for their CC. Helped me get to 700+

I used to work as a CS center for a CC company. Man the amount of overspending was bananas. But it was a subprime CC company to bee fair. Some of them were hell bent of getting those rewards though (a few got that offer, not everyone)