Thread: Maxed Out... US credit card crisis...

Originally Posted by Cold Pizza

Highest credit card debt reached. Repeating the same ol' same ol'. Also, total debt, including car loans has it its all-time peak.


Americans now have the highest credit-card debt in U.S. history - MarketWatch

The debt clock, supposed real time, tells it a little different but it also has a heap more stats which are worth taking the time to read.

Not far off the magic 20 trillion national debt at 19.97 trillion but the economy is doing well we are told with (official) unemployment low but check out the actual unemployment on the debt clock.

Then there is the there is the new jobs data that seems to influence stock markets and world currencies that says there are around 200,000 new jobs created per month.

Janet Yellen says that 100,000 of those are new entrants who have never been in the workforce previously:

Ahead of jobs report, Yellen says 100,000 would cover new entrants | Reuters

How many of these jobs are in fact not new but replacements for those who leave the workforce each month for whatever reason.

From 2015:

https://www.usnews.com/news/the-repo...-the-workforce

From Dec 2016 :

https://www.cnbc.com/2016/12/02/95-m...bor-force.html

Originally Posted by Cold Pizza

Highest credit card debt reached. Repeating the same ol' same ol'. Also, total debt, including car loans has it its all-time peak.


Americans now have the highest credit-card debt in U.S. history - MarketWatch

...not just America ...the whole developed world is teetering ...whilst waves of people from the impoverished south sweep in ...is it a giant exploitative ponzi scheme?

Before the election Trump predicted a crash this year or next that would make the last fiasco seem pleasing to historians. But to be fair he didn't expect to win, and now it's his watch.

Originally Posted by jabir

Before the election Trump predicted a crash this year or next that would make the last fiasco seem pleasing to historians. But to be fair he didn't expect to win, and now it's his watch.

There never really was a recovery, IMO.

"Recovery" is a term created by the mainstream media. It's simple. It makes people feel god - but it's also a misnomer.

You don't really recover the savings and 401K saving you've lost as well as income when you lose you're job in your 50s and could not get hired for so long.

So happened, to some relatives in my family. Some were in upper management. One relative, after being unemployed for so long went to sell cars on a car lot.

As for the big picture, The Fed gave trillions of dollars away, did at least 4 QEs, Operation Twist, and interest rates have basically at 0% for 9 years.

Derivatives are still operating. Credit card debt is at an all-time high, car loans are dodgy.....

Yes, unemployment is low at the moment. That's the bright spot, but it's still a Potemkin Village.

Will be interesting when reality kicks in.

As far as I'm aware you cant just jack up the rate if someone pays late in Oz. Then again i think its more highly regulated in Australia.
I noticed an add from city bank credit cards where if you transfer your debt from another card they charge you 2% of the balance transferred and no interest for 12 months. The sting is that it reverts to 22% after 12 months if there is any outstanding debt. That about the highest interest rate I know in Oz.
My CC is currently 12.9% on purchases (50 days interest free period) and 17% on cash advances with no interest free period. I always pay mine off within the interest free period.

Originally Posted by Hugh Cow

As far as I'm aware you cant just jack up the rate if someone pays late in Oz. Then again i think its more highly regulated in Australia.
I noticed an add from city bank credit cards where if you transfer your debt from another card they charge you 2% of the balance transferred and no interest for 12 months. The sting is that it reverts to 22% after 12 months if there is any outstanding debt. That about the highest interest rate I know in Oz.
My CC is currently 12.9% on purchases (50 days interest free period) and 17% on cash advances with no interest free period. I always pay mine off within the interest free period.

I always get the interest free cards from Citi. 18 months 0% and I'll make purchases with it up until 50% of the credit limit. After that I'll pay the balance off monthly until it's zero at the end of the 0% timeframe and never use the card again. I keep the credit line open (don't cancel the card but don't use it). Credit report loves it.

Credit is an excellent thing to have & use for a responsible person.

I always chuckle at people who gasp at financing things like it's some kind of ripoff.

It hard for me to believe that cc companies don't rate jack & penalize late payers.

Just try to rent a car without a card/(credit) no debit cards allowed only credit.

Originally Posted by navynine

Just try to rent a car without a card/(credit) no debit cards allowed only credit.

Rent cars all the time with my Citibank debit card.

They can be charged as credit cards and you sign instead of entering a pin. Can be used online as credit cards too.

Although some stupid people (not you, I mean merchants - happened in Indonesia a few times) think that because it says "debit" that it's can't be swiped as credit and so refuse.

It's not as protected as using a credit card though.

I have 5 CCs.

I only use one.

For subsrciptions to sports seasons to watch on my computer and buying plane tickets.

I pay 97% of the balance off in less than 4 weeks so I don't pay interest. I keep the other 2-3% just to keep "revolving credit" on the books.

The other 5 CCs I use them once per year to buy socks or something cheap for say, $5-8 dollars and pay it off when the bill comes just to keep them open.

To each their own, but if you want something that's not a house or Condo, pay cash and don't be a sucker.

"You cannot bring about prosperity by discouraging thrift.

You cannot strengthen the weak by weakening the strong.

You cannot help little men by tearing down big men.

You cannot lift the wage earner by pulling down the wage payer.

You cannot help the poor by destroying the rich.

You cannot establish sound security on borrowed money.

You cannot further the brotherhood of man by inciting class hatred.

You cannot keep out of trouble by spending more than you earn.

You cannot build character and courage by destroying men's initiative and independence.

And you cannot help men permanently by doing for them what they can and should do for themselves."

I read this statement a while back and it rings true today as well.