credit is key – w/o it, there is no economy…we’d be China

It is Choices that get people into trouble.

you are most certainly correct

I dont think they should be banned. Why punish the responsible ones. I am tired of people not taking responsibility for their own actions and wanting the government to hold their hands and punish the companies when things get rough

I absolutely agree!!!!

They are somewhat of a necessary evil. We have ONE for emergencies, but pay cash for everything else or do without. We made a real mess of our finances while we were both in college, and are finally months away from being debt free!

As Dave Ramsey says, we are weird! (or about to be!)

The bank is not the one who made the charges. The bank is not the one who made late paymnets, resulting in the customer deserving a higher interest rate.

Don’t blame banks for trying to make money and feed their families. Parents and schools should do a better job of teaching young people how to manage their credit.

If you can manage your credit, there is nothing wrong with cards. There are actually a lot of positive benefits.

You can shop online.
You can get cash or pay for a motel room if you are out of town and did not bring cash.
You can cover emergency expenses.

The problem is not the cards. The problem is the users.

Never had one – only have a debit card. Agree with you.

You can’t blame the credit card companies. I get sent credit cards all the time, but I have the sense to cut them up and throw them away. I know my financial limit and so should everyone else.

not so much credit cards ,as it is people who can’t afford them shouldn’t have them ,i don’t use them i use debit card from my bank,,

It’s not the credit card that get’s people in trouble.
I’ts the way you use the credit card !!!

yes, credit card companies are evil. i recently watched a documentary on this. Kids in college committing suicide over being allowed to get tens of thousands of dollars in debt. it should be criminal the way they push these onto 18 year olds, some of whom think, if they didn’t think i could pay it back, they wouldn’t give me so much credit.

i will never use a credit card again.

Credit cards don’t get people in to financial trouble, people and their spending habits do. My wife and I have several credit cards, however ALL are completely paid off every month and we earn cash back or other rewards on top of it.

Honestly, aren’t you blaming the wrong people here? Everyone does not to be so greedy and have 8 credit cards because they cannot go without their designer handbags and Abercrombie and Fitch clothing. If you cannot pay it off at the end of the billing cycling, then you should have a credit card, period.

Look at MarD. She is to be commended for being a responsible adult. Kudos to her.

Paying minimums is how they fuck you over. They bait the uneducated with it easily and in huge numbers… then cash in on interest rates because of it, but I’m sure you’re aware of this. It’s a perfect example of the those who exploit the stupid for their own greedy endeavors.

The economy will not be strong if it wasn’t for people spending money they don’t have… If you ban credit cards, then the country will go into a recession and many people will be out of a job. This is not healthy for the security and well-being of our country. Greedy people who love to buy stuff with money they dont’ have must suffer for the rest of us to have job security. Yes the credit card companies make it easy for people, but at the end of the day its greed that makes you buy all that stuff.

I don’t think its the banks fault. They assume that since the person is 18 and has a job they are capable of managing their own finances. I think parents and schools should do more to educate teens about how to be financially responsible.

credit cards have its merits and demerits. best thing is always paying in full when you use them and using them on rare occasions when you really need to. like recently my company messed up my wages and had some bills going out by direct debit. i had no money else where, had it not being for my credit card i would have incurred charges with my bank and it would have affected my credit rating as well. i just paid the bills in advance with a credit card and paid the card company in full when my pay got sorted, interest free as most cards give you 56 days interest free now.

Your a slave to high interest rates because you are not finacially reposible!!! Who says you have to only keep making the minimum payment all the time????

CLUE: You do NOT have to borrow large sums of money at high interest rates to get a good credit score! That is one of the worst ways of doing this! It will also mean that if you do get a good score this way, you took the longest way around the pond!

I disagree entirely. What is your source that “most households have 8 cards and most are maxed out”? I read an article not long ago by Financial columnist Laura Rowley, stating that statistics that show some large balance that the average American has is actually greatly overstated, and that the average household actually pays off their credit card bills in full each month.
Its not the credit cars that are the problem. It the irresponsible people that cannot control their spending which is the problem. My cards are not maxed out- I pay the balance in full each month, and have done so since I got out of college. They have helped out my credit score immensely, and have allowed me to travel the world with very little cash in my pocket. I can buy expensive items without having the risk of being robbed carrying a lot of money to complete the purchase. I have bought a few items from scammers on eBay with my credit card, and have gotten my money back every single time (but the 1 time I pad with a personal check- wham, my money was gone, and there was nothing I could do about it). And I earn rewards each month- often in the form of a check which I deposit into my account, just for using my card instead of cash, which is a huge advantage over anyone that just pays in cash/check.
Credit cards are great if you are responsible. For the irresponsible, there is always something out there that will get them in trouble. Some people always have to learn the hard way.