Kinda off topic and I apologize for it but every now and .......

[General Ray]

then a issue grabs me and this one does, normally I keep post like this on the views forum and never bring my thoughts in here but I have so many friends in this forum and this forum is where my heart and soul is so I'll take my once a year shot now

I read tonight that credit card companys will be raising their minimum monthly payment to twice the minimum monthly payment come next month.

Consumers are in more debt than ever before, anywhere from
$800 billion to $2.1 trillion in consumer credit card debt, man thats a lot of money. They say the average American household holds any where from $2,000 - $10,000 in credit card debt alone.

 

[todd[ma]]

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[Butch in Colorado]

...I save for the things I want and so does my wife. Sometimes we do the impulse buy but not very often. We pay off our credit card bills each month. We do not carry a balance on any of them. And I still have time to have fun and enjoy my hobbies. It's just a matter of discipline.

 

[Brian(upstateNY)]

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[Craig in Alabama]

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[MK_(MO-snakedigger)]

great post general !! Thank god I realized that having credit card debt was crazy 25 years ago.
We pay our balance every month on a "no fee" card and would have been in deep trouble if we had had any CC debt when my job went away.

The sad part is that through advertising our society is trained that CC is the way to go for everything from gas to groceries.... but there is no schooling for the youth of America on how to use them.
I don't know of anything that can sink you faster than excessive CC debt.
(except maybe copperheads loan shark)

mk

 

[cyberdan (SoCA)]

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[cyberdan (SoCA)]

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[Bobbie]

People are fools with their cards and businesses are making it easier for them to spend more on the cards. First off, stand in line at Dunkin Donuts while someone charges a small cup of coffee on a credit card. Now that charge that just went through just cost the merchant $.25 plus anywheres from 1.5% to 5% or 8% (for American Express)interest for that little purchase. Then there are daily batching fees, etc. etc. etc. Now where do you think the price of a cup of coffee is going to go? Nowheres but up because the merchant has to recoup his expense. As a small shop owner we discourage purchases on a credit card under $10 because we have to compete with prices of the "Big Boys" and don't want to raise our prices and we explain our reasoning to the customer. So many people are so cash strapped that they have no choice other than to use the credit card and it is sad. Then there are the fools who think they are getting a deal with airline miles on their cards.....in the long run it would be cheaper for them to pay cash for the ticket because that money is coming out of their pockets anyhow in the form of interest on all sides. Banks and credit card companies are the greediest @#$&* on the planet, legalized swindling of the public. Most people are unaware of all the hidden charges involving credit cards. So when you are at Dunkin Donuts or McDonalds and the price just went up on everything you will know why.

 

[Bobbie]

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[Ed SW Fla]

... like when you use your specialty "eating" card. Priceless!
[attachment 12057 rayscredit_card.jpg]

 

[charlie (ky)]

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[Elson(La)]

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[Elson(La)]

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[General Ray]

visa cards where I shop, Roys Market, for every day normal stuff like milk and bread and other items, these people are well dress and drive nice cars and I just think to myself they have to be nuts or hurting for cash or some thing. I have been shopping at Roys for 15 years and never seen this before but the last two years I've seen it more and more.

General Ray

 

[General Ray]

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[General Ray]

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[Ed SW Fla]

.... someone's card in your shop does not swipe in the reader, if you enter it manually, it costs you more than just the transaction fee and percentage of the sale .... for circumventing the swipe security ... of the card being proven to be at the store because you were able to swipe it through the reader.

You are right. Most folks don't know the credit card interbank processors charge a transaction fee plus a percentage piece of the action. For a small, unaffiliated with a national account merchant, the fees can be very high.

Years ago, our credit card sales were less than 20%. Today they are well over 50%. Unfortunately, all customers pay more for their goods and services than they should due to credit / debit cards.

What gets my goat just as much, is the charge for using an auto teller machine. They were introduced to save the banks money in not having to have someone at a window to cash a check or make an account withdrawal. Most banks have a charge even if its their own machine ... other banks charge if the machine you used was not owned and operated by your bank.

My daughters were always forgetting to apply the ATM charges to their accounts and ended up kighting checks. I never had and do not plan to ever get an ATM card.

 

[Ed SW Fla]

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[Ed SW Fla]

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