Down at a local store, I spotted a BRAND NEW LS1 Corvette pull in, with a magnetic sign on the drivers door. (Which made the car look about as stylish as a rented BOWLING SHOE all by itself)

It read:

"NEW CAR, NEW HOUSE, GOOD CREDIT! This could happen for YOU!!!"

Naturally, it was a sign advertising a damned "CARPET BAGGER" credit "FIXING" agency....

Now, think about this seriously people: IF Credit accounts have snake-bit you in the behind to the point where you had to declare a bankruptcy or go to a credit repair agency - what in GODS name makes these people think you want to soak yourelf in debt again?

I know I understand what credit is: Credit is where you pay other people to spend money that you don't have yet. PERIOD!

And in MY OWN view Duane Allman was absolutely right - "You cain't spend what you never done had". What a pity my estranged wife was never into southern rock and roll... Thanks to her (and my own foolishness in trusting her with cards she was not responsible for paying the balances of) I had to file a chapter seven to the tune of $107,000.oo last year, after fighting with it for five (F)ing years.

What good is credit? Well, it allows you to secure a loan for a house for example. Possibly a car.

What good are CREDIT CARDS? They can be highly useful in situations where an emergency arises, but if you think it makes better SHOPPING possible, that slope has a decline, and it is slippery as all hell!

From my perspective (having never spent a dime of, or enjoyed the advantages of the money I had to declare myself incapable of paying back) most contemporary credit card use is the stupidest thing you can possibly do - because no matter how small it it - YES there will be an interest charge on any unpaid balance. In the case of a RUNAWAY balance - no matter what you do you can't avoid dumping so much money into the interest payments that the balance is impossible to bring down quickly. At that point you're doomed!

I have heard statements to the effect: "If you at least make a token payment, you can at least show that you are acting in good faith and doing the best you can"

BULL REFUSE!!!
Such a sceme allows the interest payments on it to continually escalate, even if the rate remains the same. The PRINCIPAL is never reduced, and therefore you are screwed far more thoroughly than Xaveria Hollander...

I've know that ever since eighth grade. What the hell my wife was doing in school I dunno - hanging out at "HARPO'S" I bet. She grew up within two miles of the place, and the best way to put it is that there are 'Southern Belles' and there are 'HELLS BELLES' - and she ain't Miss Tennessee for her year in high school.

So there you go - you got in debt, hired a lawyer, got straight with everyone on all sides, and now what do you want to do???

I guarantee ya these "CREDIT REBUILDER" outfits don't give a pot full of **** if you ruin yourself again, now that you can't do a bankruptcy again for at least seven more years.

BEWARE!!!

THEY think you are STUPID! And that is what they make their money on - commissions. They DO NOT care if you bury yourself in a hole again, one that you can't get out of this time. They skim the cream right off the top - what happens to YOU just doesn't matter to them.

To them you look like a "PROMISING RUBIN". Someone likely to do the same thing again - and they want to help you go to hell, while collecting a fat commision.

"HEY RUBE!!!"

Time to wake up...


Tell me that ain't so...

If I have missed some relevant points here, or if you are in trouble like this POST UP while it is all fresh in my mind. This is FTE - we help eachother here.

 

I've been through a bankruptcy myself - a couple of them, actually...

I don't care if I never see another credit card again in my life - I want nothing to do with them...

I use cash. If I can't get it with cash, then I must not need it that badly...

I'm of the opinion that credit and all the hype that comes with it is a scam perpetrated by corporate cartels and retailers so that the pocketbooks of the wealthy continue to expand...

 

And I think what you just posted is DEAD ON TARGET!

A way to make money off of STUPID people!!!

 

Unfortunately these days, credit can be had by anyone not just credit worthy people. I too have had my issues in the past. I hate the people that are allowed to prey on the unsuspecting and uniformed consumer.

I think the biggest violator of this are the payday lenders and the car title lenders. Legalized loan sharks loaning money to people that have no clue what they are getting themselves into.

 

Theoretically it is against the rules to loan a shipmate cash at a fifty percent payback - but if they are dumb enough to do it they will.

Krikey knows all of the XOI and Captains masts that have resulted over the fights because of it.


What the hell is cab fare in Waikiki worth anyway, when the ship pays for a bus anyhow?

 

My wife and I have both declared bankruptcy in the past. Me, about 10 years now (almost 11), her, longer than that. We both have pretty good credit now (Well over 700), and we have a Chase credit card with a respectable limit. Now that I am living on a retirement check and Domino's money, I was finally able to get her to commit to getting rid of all our debt. The Chase people have raised our interest a few months in a row- because they can, I guess, we've never been late (not even one day) and always pay about 2x the minimum or more- so we got a loan to pay off the card and only 2 days ago we put them through the shredder.... what a great feeling!

My ex-wife and I were victims of the loan-sharks in Nevada. As much as I hate those places, I support their right to exist. I would rather go hungry for a few days than get involved with another payday loan shark. I also desperately want to get my car paid off. No more credit for us, if I have any say in the matter. In fact, we'll be making a road trip to see the son of a good friend graduate from high school in May, and we'll be paying for the trip in cash. Even a three day mini-vacation is more relaxing when you pay cash for everything.

I think that those 'credit fix-it' places are offering something that is illegal. I mean, there is only one or 2 legal ways to get bad credit off your record (if the record is accurate), right? Time is one way, paying it off is the other, which takes time, anyway. Any other form of 'fixing' credit should be considered shady... right?

 

They were outlawed in this state, along with payday loans.

Credit cards?............If you don't have the cash,......don't buy it!
Living under constant debt is worse than doing with out the latest electronic crap or newest car.(mortgages excluded)

 

So...here's my question.....vettes have aluminum and fiberglass bodies.......how'd the magnetic signs stick????

LOL

 

People were able to purchase entire homes for cash 40 or 50 years ago because they were NOT sending a large chunk of their disposable income towards credit card debt.

If they wanted something bad enough (car, vacation), they saved for it.

 

Yep...its amazing how much we pay in interest today...

 

Just to throw in my .02, It's practices like this and people who knowingly use and abuse the system, that make it close to impossible for people like me who are trying to start out, but can't because people use and abuse credit and loans. It's alot like "The song remains the same" the good person gets the short end of the stick while the bad reap the rewards. Just today i was on my break at work and got into a conversation with a very nice older man must of been about 70, he told me pretty much exactly what cmpd1781 said he told me the only loan he ever took out was when him and his wife bought their first house, he said when it was time for a new car the old one was traded in and paid the remaining in full right there, said if he didn't have the money to pay if off right there then he kept saving. said he can't even imagine trying to start out in today's world, that and all everyone knows it spend spend spend and worry about the bill later, and then it's too late and that is why the economy is the way it is today and why were in the shape we are in, said the majority of people lost their common sense. And it's true i have friends who just graduated high school went out and got a credit card or a loan for a car and now are already in debt and still have no idea how they got there. That's the end of my blab sorry for being so long but the sad fact is it happens all over and some how people still fall for it, and i can't see when or where it will stop.

 

My grandpa always used to say that "If you ain't got the money, well, you ain't got the money!" and since I happen to fully agree with that statement I never bothered to get a credit card. Now I realize that even auto insurance companies are trying to use credit score when determining your rates - I am lucky in that the governor of my state told them a few years back to take this practice of theirs and shove it where sun never shines, but said practice is really not fair towards people who try to break away from the "spending money I don't have on things I don't need to impress people I don't know" lifestyle credit cards and all the associated mess are pushing... Well, tell ya what, I still believe grandpa got it right back then!

 

The Virginia law makers are too scared to drive these people out. Consequently, people get caught in a blender so to say.

I have one small CC for emergencies and I pay cash for everything else except the house and car. It just makes me feel better.

Now, next year I am going to treat myself to a new truck.

 

Stu....Furyus1....

I fell into the same 'get it now on credit' trap you guys did. Never got close to bankruptcy (I never racked up that much credit debt), but I distinctly remember during college having to beg and cajole my way with my bank so they didn't repossess my car.......

I cut up my credit cards years ago.

I also remember my grandparents moving to NC from Boston in 1980 when grandma retired from state street bank. Pops gave them 1/2 acre on the property, and they paid cash for the 2bed-2bath house they built.

***Do people still use American Express? I'm not talking about the catchy 'blue' credit card.....I'm talking about the old green 'charge' card. Remember the Karl Malden commercials from the 70s and 80s? People paid a fee for the privelege of carrying it, and AmEx pretty much let you use it to your heart's content.....PROVIDED YOU PAID THE BALANCE IN FULL EVERY MONTH..........Saved folks from having to carry a bunch of cash, but rack up a coupla grand on a vacation? No sweat. When you get home, write AmEx a check for the balance, because you have $30-K or $40-K sitting in your savings account!!!

What a concept! (haha)

I also remember when credit really started kicking in in the 80s and 90s, all the commercials about "But they won't take American Express"........

Ever wonder about that? I think, since the credit card companies are getting interest on your debt, vendors that accept them get a 'cut' of the transaction. I don't think that was the case with AmEx charge cards. If THAT doesn't tell you how rigged the game is towards the concept of carrying a bunch of debt, I don't know what is........

 

I sure wish our society / culture could find it's way back to a single family income. Mom or dad stays home because you can afford it. I realize those days were decades ago.

So, my wife's job with the school system has been abolished effective this July. She's a part time assistant librarian and all part timers were eliminated. She has a great chance of getting rehired as she has fantastic performance marks and she's regular in attendance.

We just may try life from decades ago if she's unsuccessful in her attempts to gain employment. We'll have to tighten up a tad bit, my truck may have to wait but quality of life may improve. We shall see.