credit

• Unconventional Intercession
• The Credit Card Blues, Greens, Platinums…
• Recession Is Over, WOOHOO
• Be Wary of Debt Load
• Flaherty’s Mortgage Fix

A long time ago, I learned my lesson about having a Credit Card, and winding up behind the proverbial eight ball. It was a nightmare then, and that was long before one even heard of all these others, or of each bank having its own. Long before their was Gold Cards, Platinum Cards, Emerald Green Cards, and of course, Capital One & its’ ‘what is in your wallet’ cards. Today, I can only imagine what many are feeling, as they see that debt rising faster than they can raise a cheer for Stephen Harper.

More than half a million Canadians are more than three months behind on their credit payments, according to Equifax Canada.

That represents a 19 per cent rise in the average delinquency rate in the year ending May 31, says Equifax, which provides credit check information on companies and individuals. ( CBC News )

Let’s get serious here. The more CREDIT one receives from a bank, in the form of a credit card, the easier it becomes to get mired in debt.

There was a time when you EARNED those credit cards. Today people have eight or more cards, and each one is gradually being maxed out. And economists wonder why sales are sluggish? Gee, did anyone stop to think that you can only pay so much, and that eventually you run out of money? Like there is no magical money tree growing in people’s houses. If there was, who’d need a credit card? We’d just pluck some fresh blossoming hundred dollar bills and go shopping.

Our entire world is built on disposable goods and high margins. If companies didn’t move off shore to make the goods, and fire people or lay them off, we’d have more people working, earning money that could buy the stuff made. And don’t give me that horse manure that it is about producing the same quality of goods for less, giving the consumer cheaper goods. Prices have not dropped on goods, but have risen. In addition, the quality of stuff has gotten less, not better.

Then too, the more a company moves off shore, the less jobs are available here. Yet we are expected to continue to buy these goods, but no one has figured out the simple reality of off shore manufacturing.  People need an income in order to buy and pay for goods they buy. Without those jobs, who is left to buy the high priced goods that expire after a few years, if that long?

Cars were built to last, not for just the warranty period, but for years beyond. Today they barely make it to the warranty period, before falling apart. Now, who can truly afford a new car every four or five years? And the auto makers wonder why their sales are in the dumper? Think about it, can you really afford to spend $30,000.00 every three years or so for a new car? AND that doesn’t include the finance charges either.

Truth is, credit is given way too easily. It is no longer earned, or based on real facts, which is why so many are in debt. The cost of the cards is steep, as high as nearly 30%, and who can pay that off, with just making minimum payments? I mean even our credit card, at 9%, would be hard to pay off, just making minimum payments.

And so why give people more than one card? I mean let’s be honest here. IF YOU CAN AFFORD TO RACK UP $50,000.00 IN DEBT, WHY DO YOU NEED EIGHT OR TEN CARDS TO DO IT WITH? ISN’T ONE SUFFICIENT?

TRUTH IS, we use multiple cards, to try and hoodwink banks, that are actually, scamming us. They say they lose their shirts, but come on, they get their blood first. As most of the payments you make, are for their INTEREST and they aren’t paying a whopping fee for borrowing money. Hell, they pay LESS THAN ONE PERCENT.

As jobs continue to disappear, as income levels continue to drop for families, the number of people who will resort to using their credit cards for food, bill paying, will increase. They won’t be able to pay them off, the limits will be reached, and we can see how that works. Look around, as the economic crunch comes from too many people buying stuff they don’t need, and not having the money to pay for it. It comes from GREED, and not from necessity.