Credit, loans, debt and the young...
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This problem is getting worse with each successive generation. Increasing family debts meant fewer parents pay for their kids' education; meaning the children carry the education debt, which is rocketing skyward at an incredible rate. I'm lucky I got out with most of my flesh; my $20k of student debt pales in comparison to the $150,000+ that some kids are stuck with. Imagine owing $800+ a month in student loans and knowing that even at that rate it'll take 15-20 years to pay off. Want a house? A car? Sorry, you have a ridiculous amount of debt to pay off. Couple that with an increasing cost of living and stagnant wages, and debt becomes inevitable. I can't ignore that kids aren't being taught to be responsible with money, though. The debt I've mentioned above is one thing; $THOUSANDS in unsecured debt is simply retarded, and I know plenty of people my age with that problem. :-O :doh: I've come to the conclusion that unsecured debt - credit card debt - is pure and absolute evil. No, it is never useful. Shut up. NO, it isn't. It is pure evil. We survived 10,000 years without it. We don't need it.
It has become appallingly obvious that our technology has exceeded our humanity. - Albert Einstein
I like unsecured debt. I make all large purchases with it and use the 30 days of free time to accrue interest from my other investments. Its like free money. Of course, I haven't owed interest on a credit in years.
Need a C# Consultant? I'm available.
Happiness in intelligent people is the rarest thing I know. -- Ernest Hemingway -
I was chatting to some of the younger (20-23 year old) guys and gals at my company today and one of the topics that came up was money - or rather the lack thereof: debt. I was surprised that none of the 15 of them had any savings and that they were all continually overdrawn at the end of the month. I was more surprised that they didn't seem to be particularly concerned by this, or the fact that they all had some kind of personal debt (including loans, credit cards, store cards etc.) with no actual assets (apparently the majority of the loans and credit card debt went on plasma tv's, car enhancements, clothes & etc.) Being the helpful chap I am, I decided to impart my wisdom - which for a change went down quite well! - so I thought I'd share it here as I know there are (at least) some < 24 year olds here. 1) Try and cut back on the lifestyle for a few months and try to build up a bit of nest egg. 2) Treat this fund as a treasured item, and try to add to it regularly. 3) Don't necessarily deny yourself something you really want - dip into your savings... 4) ... BUT imagine you actually borrowed the money from a bank and pay *yourself* back at the same rate and period you'd pay on a loan.
"On one of my cards it said I had to find temperatures lower than -8. The numbers I uncovered were -6 and -7 so I thought I had won, and so did the woman in the shop. But when she scanned the card the machine said I hadn't. "I phoned Camelot and they fobbed me off with some story that -6 is higher - not lower - than -8 but I'm not having it." Tina Farrell, a 23 year old thicky from Levenshulme, Manchester.
martin_hughes wrote:
I was chatting to some of the younger (20-23 year old) guys and gals at my company today and one of the topics that came up was money - or rather the lack thereof: debt.
This is one of the largest topics since the beginning of work for income. Admitedly I left school with about 15,000 in school loans which placed a VERY heavy burden on me and my first job. I've had my share of problems along the way, and although I have a big screen TV, it was paid cash (90 days same as) as well as my current computer. Having taken on a wife with new debt (and a dead-beat-dad ex who I have to make up for), I am still working on things, but hopefully 2008 will mean a larger acceleration into those payments.
_________________________ Asu no koto o ieba, tenjo de nezumi ga warau. Talk about things of tomorrow and the mice in the ceiling laugh. (Japanese Proverb)
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I was chatting to some of the younger (20-23 year old) guys and gals at my company today and one of the topics that came up was money - or rather the lack thereof: debt. I was surprised that none of the 15 of them had any savings and that they were all continually overdrawn at the end of the month. I was more surprised that they didn't seem to be particularly concerned by this, or the fact that they all had some kind of personal debt (including loans, credit cards, store cards etc.) with no actual assets (apparently the majority of the loans and credit card debt went on plasma tv's, car enhancements, clothes & etc.) Being the helpful chap I am, I decided to impart my wisdom - which for a change went down quite well! - so I thought I'd share it here as I know there are (at least) some < 24 year olds here. 1) Try and cut back on the lifestyle for a few months and try to build up a bit of nest egg. 2) Treat this fund as a treasured item, and try to add to it regularly. 3) Don't necessarily deny yourself something you really want - dip into your savings... 4) ... BUT imagine you actually borrowed the money from a bank and pay *yourself* back at the same rate and period you'd pay on a loan.
"On one of my cards it said I had to find temperatures lower than -8. The numbers I uncovered were -6 and -7 so I thought I had won, and so did the woman in the shop. But when she scanned the card the machine said I hadn't. "I phoned Camelot and they fobbed me off with some story that -6 is higher - not lower - than -8 but I'm not having it." Tina Farrell, a 23 year old thicky from Levenshulme, Manchester.
at 24 i have a very manageable amount of debt. other than the usual insurance / rent / gas / groceries / internet bills, i only have a student loan payment and an auto loan payment(~ $350 per month). ive managed to live this long with out a credit card, unless you count my debit card with the visa logo. i even contribute ~$200 every 2 weeks to a 401K. now that being said, usually, i only have about $250 a month for extras(movies, games, fancy meals). it does get hard to actually save some money on the side though. i've fallen into a "one up" contest with a few of my friends from college. one of us gets a 40 inch tv now someone else has to get a 42 incher. debt is part of being young, and its the natural consequence of scraping and saving during 4 years of college. "oh my god! look at all this money im making! i can finally get that ____ and that ___ too" i got a small raise not too long ago, so im living at the same pace as before the raise, but im putting the change away into savings. its not much, but its building.
[Insert Witty Sig Here]
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I was chatting to some of the younger (20-23 year old) guys and gals at my company today and one of the topics that came up was money - or rather the lack thereof: debt. I was surprised that none of the 15 of them had any savings and that they were all continually overdrawn at the end of the month. I was more surprised that they didn't seem to be particularly concerned by this, or the fact that they all had some kind of personal debt (including loans, credit cards, store cards etc.) with no actual assets (apparently the majority of the loans and credit card debt went on plasma tv's, car enhancements, clothes & etc.) Being the helpful chap I am, I decided to impart my wisdom - which for a change went down quite well! - so I thought I'd share it here as I know there are (at least) some < 24 year olds here. 1) Try and cut back on the lifestyle for a few months and try to build up a bit of nest egg. 2) Treat this fund as a treasured item, and try to add to it regularly. 3) Don't necessarily deny yourself something you really want - dip into your savings... 4) ... BUT imagine you actually borrowed the money from a bank and pay *yourself* back at the same rate and period you'd pay on a loan.
"On one of my cards it said I had to find temperatures lower than -8. The numbers I uncovered were -6 and -7 so I thought I had won, and so did the woman in the shop. But when she scanned the card the machine said I hadn't. "I phoned Camelot and they fobbed me off with some story that -6 is higher - not lower - than -8 but I'm not having it." Tina Farrell, a 23 year old thicky from Levenshulme, Manchester.
I'm 24 and I have the following debt: 1 house loan 1 loan for house improvements (central air, new furnace, deck, patio) 1 car loan. We don't have any credit cards. The first 2 debts I look at as investments. The last one is inevitable; who has enough spare cash to pay for a car outright?
Tech, life, family, faith: Give me a visit. I'm currently blogging about: The Lord Is So Good The apostle Paul, modernly speaking: Epistles of Paul Judah Himango
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This problem is getting worse with each successive generation. Increasing family debts meant fewer parents pay for their kids' education; meaning the children carry the education debt, which is rocketing skyward at an incredible rate. I'm lucky I got out with most of my flesh; my $20k of student debt pales in comparison to the $150,000+ that some kids are stuck with. Imagine owing $800+ a month in student loans and knowing that even at that rate it'll take 15-20 years to pay off. Want a house? A car? Sorry, you have a ridiculous amount of debt to pay off. Couple that with an increasing cost of living and stagnant wages, and debt becomes inevitable. I can't ignore that kids aren't being taught to be responsible with money, though. The debt I've mentioned above is one thing; $THOUSANDS in unsecured debt is simply retarded, and I know plenty of people my age with that problem. :-O :doh: I've come to the conclusion that unsecured debt - credit card debt - is pure and absolute evil. No, it is never useful. Shut up. NO, it isn't. It is pure evil. We survived 10,000 years without it. We don't need it.
It has become appallingly obvious that our technology has exceeded our humanity. - Albert Einstein
Patrick Sears wrote:
I've come to the conclusion that unsecured debt - credit card debt - is pure and absolute evil. No, it is never useful. Shut up. NO, it isn't. It is pure evil. We survived 10,000 years without it. We don't need it.
being stupid with it (by carrying a balance long term) definitely is bad but that's not the same as saying that denying people without any assets to borrow with is good. The one study taken of people (urban poor in south africa) who were borrowing under what would normally be labeled the most predatory type of loan: 3 (6?) months at 50ish%(higher???) APR, actually found that the people who were granted the loans were better off than those denied. The group consisted a people who fell just below the normal cutoff criteria for granting the loan, but half of which were randomly approved anyway. This was written up a few months ago in The Economist.
-- Help Stamp Out and Abolish Redundancy The preceding is courtesy of the Department of Unnecessarily Redundant Repetition Department.
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I'm 24 and I have the following debt: 1 house loan 1 loan for house improvements (central air, new furnace, deck, patio) 1 car loan. We don't have any credit cards. The first 2 debts I look at as investments. The last one is inevitable; who has enough spare cash to pay for a car outright?
Tech, life, family, faith: Give me a visit. I'm currently blogging about: The Lord Is So Good The apostle Paul, modernly speaking: Epistles of Paul Judah Himango
Judah Himango wrote:
The last one is inevitable; who has enough spare cash to pay for a car outright?
One who buys cheap (used) cars :)
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I like unsecured debt. I make all large purchases with it and use the 30 days of free time to accrue interest from my other investments. Its like free money. Of course, I haven't owed interest on a credit in years.
Need a C# Consultant? I'm available.
Happiness in intelligent people is the rarest thing I know. -- Ernest HemingwayEnnis Ray Lynch, Jr. wrote:
I make all large purchases with it and use the 30 days of free time to accrue interest from my other investments. Its like free money. Of course, I haven't owed interest on a credit in years.
Likewise. I also like the 1% kickback from discover. The only time I paid interest on my CC was for a furniture purchase right at the start of my first real job. The difference between the sale and regular price was much larger than paying a months interest on the larger part of the balance.
-- Help Stamp Out and Abolish Redundancy The preceding is courtesy of the Department of Unnecessarily Redundant Repetition Department.
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I was chatting to some of the younger (20-23 year old) guys and gals at my company today and one of the topics that came up was money - or rather the lack thereof: debt. I was surprised that none of the 15 of them had any savings and that they were all continually overdrawn at the end of the month. I was more surprised that they didn't seem to be particularly concerned by this, or the fact that they all had some kind of personal debt (including loans, credit cards, store cards etc.) with no actual assets (apparently the majority of the loans and credit card debt went on plasma tv's, car enhancements, clothes & etc.) Being the helpful chap I am, I decided to impart my wisdom - which for a change went down quite well! - so I thought I'd share it here as I know there are (at least) some < 24 year olds here. 1) Try and cut back on the lifestyle for a few months and try to build up a bit of nest egg. 2) Treat this fund as a treasured item, and try to add to it regularly. 3) Don't necessarily deny yourself something you really want - dip into your savings... 4) ... BUT imagine you actually borrowed the money from a bank and pay *yourself* back at the same rate and period you'd pay on a loan.
"On one of my cards it said I had to find temperatures lower than -8. The numbers I uncovered were -6 and -7 so I thought I had won, and so did the woman in the shop. But when she scanned the card the machine said I hadn't. "I phoned Camelot and they fobbed me off with some story that -6 is higher - not lower - than -8 but I'm not having it." Tina Farrell, a 23 year old thicky from Levenshulme, Manchester.
26, only outstanding debt I have is my school loan and my car payment. Both are at lower rates than my high yield savings account, so I'm only paying the minimum on each while saving for a house.
-- Help Stamp Out and Abolish Redundancy The preceding is courtesy of the Department of Unnecessarily Redundant Repetition Department.
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I was chatting to some of the younger (20-23 year old) guys and gals at my company today and one of the topics that came up was money - or rather the lack thereof: debt. I was surprised that none of the 15 of them had any savings and that they were all continually overdrawn at the end of the month. I was more surprised that they didn't seem to be particularly concerned by this, or the fact that they all had some kind of personal debt (including loans, credit cards, store cards etc.) with no actual assets (apparently the majority of the loans and credit card debt went on plasma tv's, car enhancements, clothes & etc.) Being the helpful chap I am, I decided to impart my wisdom - which for a change went down quite well! - so I thought I'd share it here as I know there are (at least) some < 24 year olds here. 1) Try and cut back on the lifestyle for a few months and try to build up a bit of nest egg. 2) Treat this fund as a treasured item, and try to add to it regularly. 3) Don't necessarily deny yourself something you really want - dip into your savings... 4) ... BUT imagine you actually borrowed the money from a bank and pay *yourself* back at the same rate and period you'd pay on a loan.
"On one of my cards it said I had to find temperatures lower than -8. The numbers I uncovered were -6 and -7 so I thought I had won, and so did the woman in the shop. But when she scanned the card the machine said I hadn't. "I phoned Camelot and they fobbed me off with some story that -6 is higher - not lower - than -8 but I'm not having it." Tina Farrell, a 23 year old thicky from Levenshulme, Manchester.
I'm 45 and have no real assets and considerable debt. Essentially, my son's private school education I've been paying for has resulted in that situation (estimated to be about $100,000 over the last 13 years with no assistance from the ex-wife or any relative). At this point (he's in 11th grade) it's sort of like Texas Hold'em--you've bet heavily on the flop and river, so you might as well go all in for the turn. In poker that's not the best of moves, but it's where I'm at with this education. So, you might say I've invested in my kid. :) Still, I wish I had someone hit me over the head with a 2x4 when I was a teenager. My mom kept harping about "get good grades, go to a good college, get a good job". Well, I got crappy grades, dropped out of college, and still have a good job, yet I'm still learning financial responsibility. But hopefully my son will know better. I've already hit him over the head with the financial responsibility 2x4! Marc
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Judah Himango wrote:
The last one is inevitable; who has enough spare cash to pay for a car outright?
One who buys cheap (used) cars :)
Sensible policy if you asked me - the first owner of the car is the one who finds all of its faults and spends time or money or effort (or all three) having them rectified! :)
"On one of my cards it said I had to find temperatures lower than -8. The numbers I uncovered were -6 and -7 so I thought I had won, and so did the woman in the shop. But when she scanned the card the machine said I hadn't. "I phoned Camelot and they fobbed me off with some story that -6 is higher - not lower - than -8 but I'm not having it." Tina Farrell, a 23 year old thicky from Levenshulme, Manchester.
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I was chatting to some of the younger (20-23 year old) guys and gals at my company today and one of the topics that came up was money - or rather the lack thereof: debt. I was surprised that none of the 15 of them had any savings and that they were all continually overdrawn at the end of the month. I was more surprised that they didn't seem to be particularly concerned by this, or the fact that they all had some kind of personal debt (including loans, credit cards, store cards etc.) with no actual assets (apparently the majority of the loans and credit card debt went on plasma tv's, car enhancements, clothes & etc.) Being the helpful chap I am, I decided to impart my wisdom - which for a change went down quite well! - so I thought I'd share it here as I know there are (at least) some < 24 year olds here. 1) Try and cut back on the lifestyle for a few months and try to build up a bit of nest egg. 2) Treat this fund as a treasured item, and try to add to it regularly. 3) Don't necessarily deny yourself something you really want - dip into your savings... 4) ... BUT imagine you actually borrowed the money from a bank and pay *yourself* back at the same rate and period you'd pay on a loan.
"On one of my cards it said I had to find temperatures lower than -8. The numbers I uncovered were -6 and -7 so I thought I had won, and so did the woman in the shop. But when she scanned the card the machine said I hadn't. "I phoned Camelot and they fobbed me off with some story that -6 is higher - not lower - than -8 but I'm not having it." Tina Farrell, a 23 year old thicky from Levenshulme, Manchester.
I the modern world it is almost impossible to live a dept free life when you are young, without your parents paying your way. I'm 24, have a decently paying job, and a fiancee also with a good job. We have a £15000 student debt each, a £125000 mortgage (100% at the time 1 year ago) and small personal loans for cars, yeah ok, we could possibly cut back a bit and pay off the car loans, but their a small fraction of what we owe. None of these loans are extravagances, the student debt was required to get the good jobs we now enjoy, the mortgage gives us somewhere to live (and repayments just replace rent anyway), and cars are required because british public transport is overpriced, unreliable, dirty, and takes too long. We now want to get married, and an average wedding these days costs upwards of £15000. Our parents can't pay, and we certainly can't afford that, so i guess we'll be heading to the bank for more debt. Or is getting married only for the rich? Belive me, I'd love to live debt free with a nest egg, but it's just not realistic.
Simon
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I the modern world it is almost impossible to live a dept free life when you are young, without your parents paying your way. I'm 24, have a decently paying job, and a fiancee also with a good job. We have a £15000 student debt each, a £125000 mortgage (100% at the time 1 year ago) and small personal loans for cars, yeah ok, we could possibly cut back a bit and pay off the car loans, but their a small fraction of what we owe. None of these loans are extravagances, the student debt was required to get the good jobs we now enjoy, the mortgage gives us somewhere to live (and repayments just replace rent anyway), and cars are required because british public transport is overpriced, unreliable, dirty, and takes too long. We now want to get married, and an average wedding these days costs upwards of £15000. Our parents can't pay, and we certainly can't afford that, so i guess we'll be heading to the bank for more debt. Or is getting married only for the rich? Belive me, I'd love to live debt free with a nest egg, but it's just not realistic.
Simon
There's a difference between an investment and unsecured debt. Your mortgage (although in my opinion the way the housing market has bubbled will prove to be negative equity in the short term - dependant on what you got and where for that price) is an investment, as are the cars and the student debt. Weddings - well it's a special occasion and it costs what it costs (largely because women usually get their say, and budgets tend to go out the window). But there is a very real difference between having a loan on a car (which is essential to most jobs) and having a loan to pay for a 42" Plasma tv, a £200 pair of shoes or £50+ designer shirts. Some of the "kids" I was talking to today had over £40,000 worth of personal debt blown on such frivolities with nothing to show for it - even the short on one guy's back belonged to the bank! Being debt free may be unavoidable, but being asset and equity free is not.
"On one of my cards it said I had to find temperatures lower than -8. The numbers I uncovered were -6 and -7 so I thought I had won, and so did the woman in the shop. But when she scanned the card the machine said I hadn't. "I phoned Camelot and they fobbed me off with some story that -6 is higher - not lower - than -8 but I'm not having it." Tina Farrell, a 23 year old thicky from Levenshulme, Manchester.
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I like unsecured debt. I make all large purchases with it and use the 30 days of free time to accrue interest from my other investments. Its like free money. Of course, I haven't owed interest on a credit in years.
Need a C# Consultant? I'm available.
Happiness in intelligent people is the rarest thing I know. -- Ernest HemingwayEnnis Ray Lynch, Jr. wrote:
I make all large purchases with it and use the 30 days of free time to accrue interest from my other investments. Its like free money. Of course, I haven't owed interest on a credit in years.
The only acceptable use of a credit card, in my opinion. Few people have the self control to stick with that. I've often wondered why people who CAN do that, though, DO. If you can afford to pay it off within 30 days, doesn't that mean you could have paid for the item without the card in the first place? Do you do it just for the rewards, e.g., airline miles or "3% back" deals?
It has become appallingly obvious that our technology has exceeded our humanity. - Albert Einstein
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Patrick Sears wrote:
I've come to the conclusion that unsecured debt - credit card debt - is pure and absolute evil. No, it is never useful. Shut up. NO, it isn't. It is pure evil. We survived 10,000 years without it. We don't need it.
being stupid with it (by carrying a balance long term) definitely is bad but that's not the same as saying that denying people without any assets to borrow with is good. The one study taken of people (urban poor in south africa) who were borrowing under what would normally be labeled the most predatory type of loan: 3 (6?) months at 50ish%(higher???) APR, actually found that the people who were granted the loans were better off than those denied. The group consisted a people who fell just below the normal cutoff criteria for granting the loan, but half of which were randomly approved anyway. This was written up a few months ago in The Economist.
-- Help Stamp Out and Abolish Redundancy The preceding is courtesy of the Department of Unnecessarily Redundant Repetition Department.
dan neely wrote:
The one study taken of people (urban poor in south africa) who were borrowing under what would normally be labeled the most predatory type of loan: 3 (6?) months at 50ish%(higher???) APR, actually found that the people who were granted the loans were better off than those denied. The group consisted a people who fell just below the normal cutoff criteria for granting the loan, but half of which were randomly approved anyway. This was written up a few months ago in The Economist.
Ick. There are serious things wrong with this idea, but this isn't the soapbox :)
It has become appallingly obvious that our technology has exceeded our humanity. - Albert Einstein
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Sensible policy if you asked me - the first owner of the car is the one who finds all of its faults and spends time or money or effort (or all three) having them rectified! :)
"On one of my cards it said I had to find temperatures lower than -8. The numbers I uncovered were -6 and -7 so I thought I had won, and so did the woman in the shop. But when she scanned the card the machine said I hadn't. "I phoned Camelot and they fobbed me off with some story that -6 is higher - not lower - than -8 but I'm not having it." Tina Farrell, a 23 year old thicky from Levenshulme, Manchester.
martin_hughes wrote:
Sensible policy if you asked me - the first owner of the car is the one who finds all of its faults and spends time or money or effort (or all three) having them rectified!
Hmmm.. if they really had to go through all that, I probably wouldn't trust the car as far as I could throw the first piece of it that breaks off.
It has become appallingly obvious that our technology has exceeded our humanity. - Albert Einstein
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I the modern world it is almost impossible to live a dept free life when you are young, without your parents paying your way. I'm 24, have a decently paying job, and a fiancee also with a good job. We have a £15000 student debt each, a £125000 mortgage (100% at the time 1 year ago) and small personal loans for cars, yeah ok, we could possibly cut back a bit and pay off the car loans, but their a small fraction of what we owe. None of these loans are extravagances, the student debt was required to get the good jobs we now enjoy, the mortgage gives us somewhere to live (and repayments just replace rent anyway), and cars are required because british public transport is overpriced, unreliable, dirty, and takes too long. We now want to get married, and an average wedding these days costs upwards of £15000. Our parents can't pay, and we certainly can't afford that, so i guess we'll be heading to the bank for more debt. Or is getting married only for the rich? Belive me, I'd love to live debt free with a nest egg, but it's just not realistic.
Simon
What he said. I tried to say what you did, only yours came out much better ;P
It has become appallingly obvious that our technology has exceeded our humanity. - Albert Einstein
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martin_hughes wrote:
Sensible policy if you asked me - the first owner of the car is the one who finds all of its faults and spends time or money or effort (or all three) having them rectified!
Hmmm.. if they really had to go through all that, I probably wouldn't trust the car as far as I could throw the first piece of it that breaks off.
It has become appallingly obvious that our technology has exceeded our humanity. - Albert Einstein
Trust me they do - I bought a brand new Mercedes once, and the thing was riddled with bugs, faults, Friday afternoon workmanship. Last brand-new car I will ever buy.
"On one of my cards it said I had to find temperatures lower than -8. The numbers I uncovered were -6 and -7 so I thought I had won, and so did the woman in the shop. But when she scanned the card the machine said I hadn't. "I phoned Camelot and they fobbed me off with some story that -6 is higher - not lower - than -8 but I'm not having it." -Tina Farrell, a 23 year old thicky from Levenshulme, Manchester.
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Ennis Ray Lynch, Jr. wrote:
I make all large purchases with it and use the 30 days of free time to accrue interest from my other investments. Its like free money. Of course, I haven't owed interest on a credit in years.
The only acceptable use of a credit card, in my opinion. Few people have the self control to stick with that. I've often wondered why people who CAN do that, though, DO. If you can afford to pay it off within 30 days, doesn't that mean you could have paid for the item without the card in the first place? Do you do it just for the rewards, e.g., airline miles or "3% back" deals?
It has become appallingly obvious that our technology has exceeded our humanity. - Albert Einstein
Basically, as well as leveraged risk. Don't forget bank errors can empty a bank account, most credit cards have consumer protection, and rewards + interest benefits are nice. There are many, many good reasons. (Also, it builds credit history)
Need a C# Consultant? I'm available.
Happiness in intelligent people is the rarest thing I know. -- Ernest Hemingway -
Basically, as well as leveraged risk. Don't forget bank errors can empty a bank account, most credit cards have consumer protection, and rewards + interest benefits are nice. There are many, many good reasons. (Also, it builds credit history)
Need a C# Consultant? I'm available.
Happiness in intelligent people is the rarest thing I know. -- Ernest HemingwayTo this list I'll add cashflow management. MY discover card gives almost a month between the billing date and when the payment is due. On average this allows me to borrow upto 6 weeks into the future to cover large purchases or unexpected bills (fixing my old beater car) without having to temporarily borrow from my savings account.
-- Help Stamp Out and Abolish Redundancy The preceding is courtesy of the Department of Unnecessarily Redundant Repetition Department.
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Ennis Ray Lynch, Jr. wrote:
I make all large purchases with it and use the 30 days of free time to accrue interest from my other investments. Its like free money. Of course, I haven't owed interest on a credit in years.
The only acceptable use of a credit card, in my opinion. Few people have the self control to stick with that. I've often wondered why people who CAN do that, though, DO. If you can afford to pay it off within 30 days, doesn't that mean you could have paid for the item without the card in the first place? Do you do it just for the rewards, e.g., airline miles or "3% back" deals?
It has become appallingly obvious that our technology has exceeded our humanity. - Albert Einstein
Yep, I do that for the air miles.
I'm largely language agnostic
After a while they all bug me :doh: