Credit cards.The biggest problem?

Gastines3

Was the introduction of Credit Cards the end of personal financial control?The best thing my wife and I did 25 years ago was refuse the Banks offer of Credit Cards. I wonder how many of the present teenage generation will have their future controlled by their former use of these cards?

MadProf

Control resides with the person, not the plastic. I believe modern consumerism as a whole and the instant gratification/reward notion some younger people have nowadays are at fault. It's not due to the existence of credit cards. It's due to a lack of financial discipline and fin-ed.

Yes, you totally need to have this flashy toy *now*.

a) You don't need it
b) You've been convinced by very clever marketing that you do
c) You "need" it now but can't afford it
c) You're going to get into debt for it

Credit cards are merely a financial tool. It can be used effectively and responsibly but is also open to abuse. I'm making money from using my credit cards so there's no way I'm going to stop using them.

grumbler

A CC is just one of numerous ways of lending/borrowing money.
What about overdrafts, various loans, payday loans, pown-shops etc.?

That said, I don't simpathise Islam, but pretty often I think that Shariah Law is right in trying to discourage borrowing and landing. Both are, IMO, the major factors spoiling western world, and not at the bottom only (people), but at the very top (governments).

Hazzinho

If you have no credit that's fine unless you want to buy a house, no credit then no credit history. Credit cards are fine if you know what you're doing, i always use them for holidays due to the extra online protection.

We got in the mess we did because of people being useless with money. There is a lot of people that don't take personal responsibility for their problems. I think we need to teach finance in school as too many people don't get it and don't think past next month.

stator

When they baby boomers screwed over young people by introducing student loans they desensitised students to debt. When you've been forced to take out a huge debt just to get an education, other debts don't seem so bad.

CLAPTON

stator wrote: »

When they baby boomers screwed over young people by introducing student loans they desensitised students to debt. When you've been forced to take out a huge debt just to get an education, other debts don't seem so bad.

that might be true for the really stupid people and they may regret that boomers enabled more than the richest 5% of the population to go to uni.

OnTheRun

CLAPTON wrote: »

that might be true for the really stupid people and they may regret that boomers enabled more than the richest 5% of the population to go to uni.

It wasn't the richest, it was the cleverest.

Everything used to be paid for, and some
(unless you were from a rich family)

Even then you could claim the dole, HB, etc for the 20 weeks a year uni wasn't open. :beer:

EssexExile

There's nothing wrong with credit cards, it's the way people use them. Just like there is nothing wrong with guns, it's the way.... Oh, dear, bad example, sorry.

CLAPTON

OnTheRun wrote: »

It wasn't the richest, it was the cleverest.

Everything used to be paid for, and some
(unless you were from a rich family)

Even then you could claim the dole, HB, etc for the 20 weeks a year uni wasn't open. :beer:

Well, probably better to say the rich, well connected and clever with a few clever boys (as it was mainly boys then).


and the taxpayers did pay for the subset of the 5% that were not rich.

zerog

grumbler wrote: »

A CC is just one of numerous ways of lending/borrowing money.
What about overdrafts, various loans, payday loans, pown-shops etc.?

That said, I don't simpathise Islam, but pretty often I think that Shariah Law is right in trying to discourage borrowing and landing. Both are, IMO, the major factors spoiling western world, and not at the bottom only (people), but at the very top (governments).

What have you done with the real grumbler?

(I'm not attacking the content of the post, but the delivery! You should be ashamed... )

Gromitt

Gastines3 wrote: »

Was the introduction of Credit Cards the end of personal financial control?The best thing my wife and I did 25 years ago was refuse the Banks offer of Credit Cards

The best thing I did was accept the banks offer of a credit card. They pay me each year to use it and it costs me nothing. They have also allowed me to buy better things (higher cost) than what I could afford at the time, again at no cost to myself. I can also use it abroad instead of taking foreign cash or cheques, again at no cost to myself.

The only problem I see is that if you are not sensible, you can incur charges and fees, but this is world we live in, where people to prefer pay more for things to get them sooner (ie, paying £50 per month for 10 months instead of £399 up front).

What amazes me is people who complain about big, bad banks making millions of pounds, then using a pay day loan company at interests of over 1000% and not thinking the same thing.