Credit Card Companies Preying of Seniors

[survivor999]

The following is from a study titled The Life and Debt Cycle: The implications of Rising Credit Card Debt Among Older Americans. The entire report is available here: http://www.consumerlaw.org/news/content/rising_debt.pdf .

Between 1989 and 2001 credit card debt in America almost tripled from $239 billion to $892 billion. Worse, the savings rate steadily declined during the same time period and the number of personal bankruptcies filed climbed 125%. As of April 2006, the total revolving debt in the US stood at just over $806 billion.

Over the last 25 years the US has moved from a savings based economic model to a consumption model. By making credit easier to obtain, consumers are enticed to "buy now, pay for it later". This has helped to create an economy where people literally spend their entire paycheck every month, hoping to make it to the next paycheck.

More: http://agonist.org/bonddad/20060730/credit_card_companies_preying_of_seniors

[catmother]

1. we have 2 credit cards -- discover and visa. we use them for

everything. whatever our balance is -- we pay it every month. they pay us 1% cashback. sometimes discover pays 5% on certain items. so we're making money off of them. however, every month when we get our bill, they have blank checks attached -- trying to encourage us to spend more. between my husband and i we get at least 6 credit card companies every week telling us we're pre-approved. we get pre-approval for an equity line of credit. they want people to be in debt.

we're in good shape financially. but i can only imagine those who are struggling with low salaries and high gas prices. these credit cards are probably a godsend to them so they can get by.

they say the average family has a mortgage, 2 car loans and approximately $8,500.00 in credit card debt. that's pretty sad.

:crazy:

[survivor999]

2. Yup, I accumulated

a ton of Amtrak miles (like 100K by now) by using a credit card associated with Amtrak. Paying it off every month is the way to go, if you can.

[catmother]

4. yes. some people go for the airline miles. i, personally, like

the cash.

we're using the system to work for us. by i'm sure we're in the minority.

[kittykitty]

14. We do exactly the same thing. Charge everything & get cashback

[demosincebirth]

5. We're on the same page,

you just posted a little sooner.

[demosincebirth]

3. They prey on everyone, not just seniors

Young adults are the most susceptible to these snakes.

One of their shitty little practices is they send you these blank checks that you can cash for what ever amount you want. What is not upfront is that they charge you almost double your normal interest rate. I've sometimes (mistakenly) have thrown them away without opening the envelope and leaving the checks intact. Anyone, then, take those checks and make them out for any amount they want. I have called them and written them to stop sending me these checks and all their other garbage, but I still get em.

I would cancel my CC, but the are very handy to use instead of checks or cash. I pay all my household expenses and everything else I buy on CC. I paY them all off every month...thats the key to not getting in debt with CC. I get many free dinners on their "cash back" awards.

My "rule of thumb" for CC, is if you can't pay a credit card off within three month, you shouln't have one.

[catmother]

6. that's a very good rule. there are rare times when my balance

is so high -- you know like dental work -- $4,000 or so. i just take the money out of my savings to pay it. better than paying their high interest.

[demosincebirth]

7. I bought a car for 20.000, and charged it on one of my CC,

then took out a small second on my house...paid off the CC and now able to deduct the interest on the second mortgage every year with the IRS. We got many free dinners with that transaction.

[catmother]

9. i did something similar years ago. i bought a new car. it was

a little under $20,000. i gave them a personal check for $10,000 -- told them i would have the rest in 10 days. and then i thought about it. i called the billing department and said "do you take discover"? they did. i went in and put the remaining $9,000 on the discover.

i was amazed when i first moved here. they let you take a car without even paying for it. my nail girl, years ago, bought some SUV. she and her husband drove it to san diego and back. when she got back, she was told that their credit didn't go through. had to give the car back. By that time it was a used car.

[survivor999]

13. Apparently, if you cancel all your ccs

your credit score would be affected. Basically, you need to have some credit to show you can pay it back. Even if you pay it off every month. Odd system.

[demosincebirth]

20. It all goes back to responsibility...you charge something, you

have to pay for it.

CC companies bring a lot of their so-called problems on themselves. I don't feel sorry for them at all. They keep sending pre-approved applications to some who's credit rating is zero. Now, how smart is that.

[lonestarnot]

8. 33% Interest on some cards.

[catmother]

11. legal loansharks.

:puke:

[OPERATIONMINDCRIME]

10. As Long As The Holder Of The Credit Card Is Responsible There Should Never

be a problem. It always comes down to the cardholder's level of responsibility. The dangers of credit are a mystery to no one. Using the card responsibly is mandatory. Using it with the mentality of "I'll buy it now, I'm sure I'll have enough money later to pay for it" will almost certainly lead to disaster.

I never charge more than I am certain I can pay off IN FULL the end of the month. I have no worries or fear about credit cards whatsoever.

[barb162]

12. That's pretty much how I operate. Use their float.

[catmother]

16. yes. that's how i do it. i pull them up on line everyday. make

sure there's nothing on that i didn't charge. i also check the balance and sometimes i will wait to buy something until the billing cycle closes and it will go on the next one.

on edit: deleted an incomplete sentence.

[dsc]

15. They sure are

My dad (70) and my grandmother (94) both routinely get credit card applications. They don't bite but still get offer after offer after offer.

[catmother]

17. yeah. my mom is 83. she uses her discover for everything,

which is not really much at her age, but she keeps getting offers for credit cards in the mail.

another thing we do -- both our cell phones, our security system bill and direct tv are billed automatically to our credit card. we also give money to our local food banks. last year i authorized them to charge my credit card every month. all of our other charitable contributions go on the credit cards too.

it also comes in handy when i get my taxes ready. i not only have receipts but i compare them with the credit card bills.

[dsc]

18. my grandmother uses a debit card for her stuff

as she has great difficulty with check writing. My dad is still a bit old school. He doesn't really like credit cards but uses them for getting gas.

[catmother]

19. my mom is too old fashioned to use a debit card. lol she has

never gone to an ATM. i think it's so funny. she could go to the ATM, but she chooses to wait on line at the bank and then has to show ID. lol

she's also very paranoid about her credit card. during katrina she wanted to make a donation to the red cross. i told her that i did mine on line with my credit card. she said she wouldn't do that. so i put the contribution on my credit card and then she gave me the money. i took the tax deduction. well she doesn't pay taxes anymore any way.

that's another thing -- i pay most of my bills on-line. some i have directly taken out of my checking account.

life is complicated. anything i can do to make it easier i'm going to do it. lol

this has nothing to do with the subject. about a month ago i bought a "roomba" the robotic vacuum. it's great -- takes away the strain on my back. but even with that i bought it at linens n things with a 20% coupon off and a special rebate of a $50.00 gift card from linens n things. i'm now going to buy the "scooba" the one that washes the floors.

edited for a typo