Credit Card Debt
ATTENTION GAINER:
I am going to need some audience participation. Everyone take a $5, $10, or $20 dollar bill out. How many of you are willing to rip your money up? You probably wouldn’t do it and think this is crazy, but we throw money away like this in the name of our car, television, or shoes every month. Let me give you an example.
SIGNIFICANCE (ATLEAST 1 SOURCE):
Let’s say you owe $1000 on your credit card and you have a minimum payment due of $25 and you are being charged 19% interest. How long do you think it would take you to pay it off by just making the minimum payments? The answer is 7 years according to the February 2005 issue of University Wire. And for the first year you
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Although the banks never checked to see if he would be able to pay his debts they still offered him more and more money. Once his limits grew he was able to spend more, which caused his payments to increase as well. Why did he have so many credit cards? Well, what he was doing was taking out new cards in order to pay off others. As time when on, he started receiving numerous letters and telephone calls threatening legal action. Unfortunately he didn’t see a way out of this out of control debt and decided to end his life as evidenced by the February 2005 issue of Daily Mail.
TRANSITION:
Now that you have a better understanding of the risky business of owning credit cards, let us examine who is to blame?
CAUSE (ATLEAST 2 SOURCES):
First, we must blame ourselves for letting this debt build up. It’s so easy to just say “charge it” and deal with the money later. It’s so much more convenient to use a credit card then using our cash. In the April 2005 issue of University Wire, Dr. James Roberts conducted a study about the spending habits of students around the country. He found that students who used credit cards to pay for their books weren’t able to tell within $30, $40, or even $50 dollars of how much they spent compared to the students who used cash and were able to tell within a few dollars how much they
Credit cards have become increasingly popular world-wide, making it easier to buy now and pay later but are they actually helping or hindering someone’s credit? “Maxed Out” by James D. Scurlock demonstrates how credit cards can hurt someone’s credit, while “Why Won’t Anyone give Me a Credit Card” by Kevin O’Donnell demonstrates how someone may have financial stability to pay off a credit card, but still be consistently denied one by the credit card companies. Owning credit cards is not the problem; the problem is being irresponsible with it.
Credit cards can ruin any financial situation if used improperly. Let’s look at what our two financial authorities think about them. Dave Ramsey is completely against the idea of using credit cards. Being a devout Christian, he often finds his ways of financial teaching through The Bible. Proverbs 22:7 states “The rich rule over the poor, and the borrower is slave to the lender.” You are charged a premium for using a credit card in the form of interest. While you can pay off credit before the interest is charged, Dave insists that many people do not pay if off in time. It is better to get rid of the enticement altogether than to play with the idea of using a
Richard Fairbank and Nigel Morris, both diligent entrepreneurs, started laying the bricks for their eventual successful company, Capital One, in the late 1980’s. They both worked in the Virginia-based “Signet Bank”. Fairbank started noticing trends in the financial industry that he felt Signet was missing out on. These opportunities were in the credit card industry. He, as well as all of Signet Bank knew that the credit card industry was very risky, but Fairbank was ready to take a chance in this, what can be, highly profitable field.
In “How to Take Control of Your Credit Cards”, CNBC host and bestselling author Suze Orman provides her professional opinion on how the we can take responsibility and eliminate credit card debt. With Orman’s advice and a little discipline all debts, either by choice or circumstance, can be cleared up in as little as just a few months. To start taking control of your debts you must learn to bring your interest rates down, protect those new low rates, and possibly seek help extra help through a credit counselor.
Iowa is nourished with some of the most beautiful scenic views in the United States. From the vast spread of expanse of prairie lands and woodlands, to the scenic rivers and lakes, we have some of the most unappreciative environment known to date. Nevertheless, these wonderful beauties and opportunities may sound indulging, they do come with the many unique challenges. I will be focusing on a small city called Cedar Rapids, Iowa. In the next few pages I will lay out a platform which will allow you to analyze the strengths and weakness, along with the city’s
Not only for those seeking to retire, the business motivated economy has transfigured how one must live in order to live comfortably. Building credit through credit cards is often perceived to be the only way in order for a buyer to appear credible. Yet in the quest for the optimal credit score people enter into debt. Considering and evaluating the risks and benefits to credit cards may contribute to opinions towards those flimsy pieces of plastic.
When using credit cards, practicing self-discipline and common sense will allow an individual to use the cards as an advantage (Lynott, 2008). Advantageous tips are to limit the number of credit cards to two for personal use and two for business, charge only what you can pay off at the end of the month because that is interest-free, carry cash to pay for small purchases because they add up quickly on a credit card, become knowledgeable about the interest and additional fees and penalties, and focus on items that are needed and not just wanted (Lynott, 2008).
Evaluation: This article, posted on April 1, 2016, was originally published on TheConversation.com. Throughout the article, the author cites sources that come from 2012-2017, with the majority of them coming from 2015-2016. Moreover, these cited websites are credible, well-known, and have information that can be corroborated with other sources. Some of these sites included The Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, and a report from the Federal Reserve. Moving on, the author, Mechele Dickerson, is an expert on this topic. Dickerson received both her B.A. and J.D. from Harvard University and currently works as a professor of law at the University of Texas at Austin. Here, she teaches classes on consumer law, debt and spending to law and undergraduate students. In her current research, she explores causes and consequences of consumer debt and how the culture
According to an article by CNNmoney.com, a survey done in 2008 by the U.S. Public Interest Research Group found that 80% of students received direct mail from card companies, and 22% said they received about four phone calls a month, on average, from these companies. This extremely persistent marketing and extreme lack of financial experience and discipline leads many college students into serious debt. Students are also a large target because credit card companies know that they often hold onto their credit cards until adulthood; and this is how one builds loyalty to a company. Also, if they fall into severe debt, parents are more likely to help bail them out than parents are likely to bail their adult children out (Dickler). In a survey taken of college students, 66% said that they do own credit cards already, and more than half of that 66% say they use
In the world of personal finances, credit cards play an important roles in lives of many people. Sometimes, it's out of choice while other times it happens out of necessity. Regardless of why it happens, the numbers surrounding credit card debt are worthy of scrutiny in order to determine whether having or using credit cards is a sound financial decision.
Students are graduating with an enormous amount to debt. This is a perfect reason to stop marketing credit cards on college campuses. The average outstanding balance on graduate student credit cards is $8,612, an increase of 10% from the 2003 average of $7,831 (Nellie Mae, 2007). This shows the trend that students are graduating with more debt than just their student loans. Students should not be worrying about any other debt after graduating. With credit card companies preying on students on campus, students will get these credit cards and ruin their financial future after college. Students which are 4 year undergraduates that borrow to pay their education, graduate with an average debt of $24,651 according to The Smart Student Guide to Financial Aid on www.finaid.org. That total with the average credit card debt equals $33,263, which is double the annual income of a minimum wage worker in the state of Maryland. Students will more than likely make less money a year than the total amount of debt they accumulate in college. Why then have credit card companies on campus dimming the potential light these students
Paying credit card bills does not put food on your table, keep a roof over your head or provide you with transportation. What happens if you choose not to pay your credit card bills? The current economic situation has caused financial hardships for many. Unemployment and layoffs are increasing every day in our country. Easy credit has lead to the collapsing financial industry. Some families are facing decisions of which bills to pay. They simply do not have the finances available to pay all of their bills.
I am sure that everyone of you have heard about aliens and UFOs. Indeed, we all have heard about the famous case of aliens and UFOs in Roswell, New Mexico. Most people might be interested in the topic of aliens, but I know that the majority of you just think of it as rumours and the existence of them are impossible. Therefore, I am standing here in front all of you to make you change your perspective. I am strongly confident that I have found the evidence of their real existence to convince all of you.
For example, using a leftover coffee can for loose nails or screws, or even washing and reusing a plastic zip-loc bag instead of throwing it in the garbage. Thrift shopping is a way of reusing someone else’s unwanted goods. As I spoke about in an earlier speech about thrifting, I included many locations and ways to thrift, also the benefits to the shopper and the donator. One place in particular was shopping at the local boys and girls club. I personally shop there, keeping my eyes open for a good deal. For example, the pair of jeans that I am wearing today was purchased from this store just a few months ago. I paid only $8.00 for this pair of Lucky Jeans and according to buckle.com, a retailer for lucky jeans the retail price is $99.00 that is a savings to me of $91.00.I am not the type to worry about name brands, but quality usually does cost more. If I can get a quality pair of jeans at a fraction on the price, I am glad to shop at the thrift store. I am thankful to the person that made the donation of the lucky jeans and they can benefit from that donation. According to the IRS webpage, IRS. Gov it explains that an individual can donate items like clothing, household furniture and furnishings, a car or boat, even taxidermy. The donations are appraised, by the donator, and recorded. At the time of filing taxes if the donation equals at least $500 for the year, the donator may take advantage of the
companies assertively targets college students because they are expected to have a higher than average power for earning, which make them a perfect targeted market. Credit card companies use gift tactics by offering the latest iPod, an exotic vacation, a computer, frequent flyer miles or an initial low to zero percent interest rate and even cash to entice college students to apply for credit cards. In fact, many students only get a credit card initially because of these incentives, but soon become accustomed to the convenience of just pulling out a card to pay for purchase due to want and not because of need. As Kamenetz (2006) stated, “Students are living in the present at the expense of their future” (p.13) (Gresnick, 2006).