Are credit cards evil?

[CMike]

Personally, I think it's the same thing as legalized lone sharking other than the physical breaking the legs part.

What do you think?

 

[uscitizen]

nope they are not evil. You can always cut them up and throw them away.
They do not come back from the dead or anything.
If it concerns you get the priest to sprinkle and bless them.

 

[American Horse]

Personally, I think it's the same thing as legalized lone sharking other than the physical breaking the legs part.

What do you think?

I think credit cards are fine for people who can manage their affairs responsibly, which includes not habitually spending on things they would not buy if they paid cash or wrote a check for those things. To the responsible individual, unwilling to live beyond their means, credit cards are great.

 

[Anguille]

Personally, I think it's the same thing as legalized lone sharking other than the physical breaking the legs part.

What do you think?

They are a scam. If you read the fine print, you realize you are permitting the credit card issuer to change the interest rate at any time and even charge you retroactive interest if they want to.

 

[Vanquish]

Like a gun, it depends on who's using it. Are the terms grossly written in favor of the companies? Yes. Does that make the companies evil? No. Are there some practices they employ that are bad for consumers? of course. So exercise your right to cut them up or transfer balances.

 

[Zoom-boing]

Is someone holding a gun to your head forcing you to use the credit cards? Is someone holding a gun to your head forcing you to use the credit cards unwisely? Is someone holding a gun to your head forcing you to buy lots of crap (that you can't afford) with the credit cards? Is someone holding a gun to your head forcing you to make your payments late or not in full so you incur those ridiculous fees? Are credit cards evil?

^ No.

 

[jillian]

Credit cards are only good if you can pay them in full at the end of every month.

 

[uscitizen]

Credit cards are only good if you can pay them in full at the end of every month.

Or not so bad if you have a plan on paying them off in say 3-6 months and stick with it. Like for a new fridge or somesuch.

 

[jillian]

Credit cards are only good if you can pay them in full at the end of every month.

Or not so bad if you have a plan on paying them off in say 3-6 months and stick with it. Like for a new fridge or somesuch.

To tell the truth. Except for my car, I don't pay off anything. (and the car is a lease). I don't like credit cards. The thought of paying a rate of interest to a bank that would be considered usury if charged by a private individual bugs me.... which isn't to say I don't use my credit card. But in general, I think people are better off waiting til they can pay for something in full (unless the purchase is time senstive for whatever reason).

 

[uscitizen]

I pay off debt each month. I owe no one for anything.

 

[Liability]

Are credit cards evil?

No.

But the bills are!

 

[Baruch Menachem]

Credit cards are a deal with the devil It is up to you if you use them, but it is a very bad idea.

 

[CMike]

I remember a news program when a reporter when to Harvard U. campus and randomly asked students what the average daily balance is on credit cards. Not one knew the answer.

I think very few people truely understand what the terms and conditions are when they get a credit card.

I realize we are responsible for our own financial decisions.

This is a pet peeve but I think our society almost forces us to get into debt.

From a financial point of view you are almost pushed to get credit cards to build up credit. However, I feel credit cards are a scam. The credit card companies drool for the time that you can't pay on time, so that they can screw you with added interest, penalities, fines etc.

And if you can't make a card payment on time, thats when you get into the hole. And that hole becomes larger and larger, because the penalties and fines, get larger and larger, and if you are financially struggelling it becomes even harder to get out of the ditch.

I think that credit card companies need to clearly explain in the application in plain english what the applicatants will truely get into if they don't pay in time.

 

[uscitizen]

They are a necessary evil in some cases. Car rentals for instance.

 

[CMike]

Credit cards are only good if you can pay them in full at the end of every month.

Or not so bad if you have a plan on paying them off in say 3-6 months and stick with it. Like for a new fridge or somesuch.

To tell the truth. Except for my car, I don't pay off anything. (and the car is a lease). I don't like credit cards. The thought of paying a rate of interest to a bank that would be considered usury if charged by a private individual bugs me.... which isn't to say I don't use my credit card. But in general, I think people are better off waiting til they can pay for something in full (unless the purchase is time senstive for whatever reason).

I agree. I think, with very few exceptions, if you can't afford to pay for something in whole now, you can't afford it.

 

[Zoom-boing]

Credit cards are only good if you can pay them in full at the end of every month.

Or not so bad if you have a plan on paying them off in say 3-6 months and stick with it. Like for a new fridge or somesuch.

Yup. We bought an expensive wool and silk rug for our dining room, put the cost onto a new Macy's credit card to get an extra 10% off then transferred the balance to our Cap. One credit card because they were offering a 12 month interest-free deal on transferred balances, we divvied-up the balance per month and paid the whole thing off by the end of the interest-free period and we didn't use that credit card until the rug was paid off.

Credit cards are fine when used wisely but can get you into trouble if you don't understand how to use them right.

 

[Shogun]

I've never had a credit card. I think that it should be illegal to prey upon college students via frisbees and candy upon signing up. But, on the flip side, no one says you gotta have a credit card and it is a personal choice to get one.

I think payday title loan operations are closer to loan sharking than credit card companies.

 

[Douger]

Credit cards are for morons.
Debit cards are for people with brains.

 

[Anguille]

Credit cards are for morons.
Debit cards are for people with brains.

Debit cards have hidden danger too. They generally come with compulsory overdraft protection (overdraft exploitation would be a more accurate term) which can trap you just like a credit card. It used to be described as a service but when new regulations required the credit card companies make it optional, they just stopped calling it a "service" and now call it a "courtesy" because those are unregulated.

More and more people are using debit cards to avoid the pit falls of credit cards but buyer beware, they are coming up with ingenious ways to trap people into dept and gouge then with fees via debit card too.

 

[RadiomanATL]

Credit is a tool. A big one that can be dangerous. But it is what you make it.