Fiscal responsibility

[Stretch]

I work for a bank that, among other things, is well-known for issuing credit cards.

I am appalled at how quick people are to place blame on their financially precarious position on financial institutions. I spent a lot of time recently listening in on customer complaints, and reading letters forwarded to HQ.

What the hell happened to personal accountability? If you decide that you need that 56" plasma TV right now but you only have $388 in the bank, you're going to pay a premium in exchange for instant gratification.

What's that? 17.99% is excessive? No freaking kidding. Here's a clue, if you're paying for groceries and gas with a credit card and not paying off the card, you might need to rethink your budgeting.

[Bobmuhthol]

It's those fucking liberals, man.

[kgolfer]

It's "our worlds" of dealing with finances now. Plastic is the way to pay for everything, cash is a thing of the past....or getting that way. Look at the new Life game...going to have a plastic CC instead of play money. Paper currency will be going by the wayside sooner or later, due to the expense it takes to maintain it. The problem with plastic, is people don't keep track of their money, charge up the cards....and then don't realize how long it actually takes to pay the balance off. They make the minimum payment, figuring their budgets off how much the minimum is they spend to pay on the CC. The problem, that was recently kinda solved, was that a person could go bankrupt and clear most, if not all, of their debt.....only to restart back over. This in-turn, cost all of the honest people with increased % rates, fees, etc.

[AestheticDeath]

Heh - I just moved last month. In doing so I went through a lot of my old papers, reciepts, and records from CCs and Paypal/ebay etc..

I am pretty upset over my spending habits. I had no idea until I looked at the big picture.

I can't help but think about what I could have bought with all the money I wasted on complete crap. And money wasted on interest.

Even worse, is it probably won't get better anytime soon.

Anyways.. even though I don't call or write and complain about it, I do feel like I am bending over for the CC companies. They seriously don't have to charge such high interest.

My biggest beef is when they go up on rates, for no reason. Late on one, so they all go up. Its bullshit. And these days they are going up for not carrying a balance, or a traffic ticket, bad credit score or whatever. Someone seriously needs to put some limits in place on this stuff.

[Parkbandit]

Many banks have VERY questionable practices. Hell, Bank of America tried to fuck me over a couple months ago.. charging me an overdraft interest charge. I looked at my daily balance and found I never was even close to bouncing any payment... so I called them. They claimed that the checks I was depositing were not actually clearing when they showed cleared on my account.. that it was a courtesy to me that they were giving me access to the money before it cleared.. and this was how I was overdrafting. I threatened to close all my accounts with them and 1 minute later they issued a refund.

Most people wouldn't question a $40 charge.. so it's easy cash to the bank.

[Stretch]

Dude...get that credit card balance to $0 as soon as possible. Or try to get a 0% interest no-fee balance transfer.

In any case, here's the thing about interest rate hikes: for some companies, they're trying to juice you. For others, it's potentially for valid reasons. Our cost of funds goes up just like yours do. If performance is off in a year, or if liquidity isn't there, the credit rating of a bank can suffer, and consequently we have to pay out a higher yield on our bonds. We can only eat those hikes for so long before we have to pass them on to you.

On the other hand, some companies (read: Citi, BoA) take advantage of a little-known rule: we can jack up your interest with a month's notice, for no rhyme or reason. If you're late on one payment, your rate may go up. If you're late on two payments, your rate WILL go up. If you're late on a payment on another creditor, your payment MAY go up, depending on the card issuer.

Late fee? BAM, $39, at some places. Overlimit fee? BAM, $39. The sketchier banks? If late fee puts you overlimit, guess what. $78 because your balance is $2001 instead of $2000.

But again...here's the rub.

No one made you get that card and run the balance up. And FYI, if you call and make yourself enough of a nuisance, they will generally refund you a late/overlimit fee, if you don't have a history of them. Why? Because it costs an arm and a leg to service customer calls.

[Eoghain]

Am I the only one that though "Shoes" when I read the title of this thread?

[Gan]

Am I the only one that though "Shoes" when I read the title of this thread?

Yes, you probably are. :(

[Gan]

The laws recently changed now requiring banks to double the minimum payment due since john q public was riding that minimum payment wave and furthering their path to fiscal insolvency.

Most banks will work with you if you just call them and dicuss different options on getting yourself out of the hole you dug yourself into.

If that doesnt work, there are always debt management organizations that can negotiate on your behalf with the various banks who represent your debtors.

The penalties and changing laws regarding personal bankruptcy now make this the least attractive option in fixing your debt issue.

[Sean of the Thread]

17.99% ?? fucking shit. Hope it was a rewards card :lol:

[Daniel]

Yea. USAA all day every day.

Citibank got real shady with me one day, basicly a check and a payment posted on the same day and they tried to charge me like 80 bucks in fees. I checked my account and the payment posted (early) at 9:05 and the check at 9:07.

I was like...what the fuck...

So I cancelled all my accounts and moved on.

However, before that happened they fucked up @ an ATM and gave me double money for that same deposit. So when I cashed out, I took 300 bucks with me. All they can do is put it on the Chex system so I can't open up another checking account for a while. However, I have an account with the highest rated customer service department in the US. I don't give a shit. SO FUCK YOU CITIBANK.

[TheEschaton]

Citibank is the fucking shadiest bank ever.


Go with M&T Bank, if you're in NY/PA/MD/VA/WV or D.C.

-TheE-

[Warriorbird]

If you can get USAA...do it.

[Daniel]

If you can get USAA...do it.

Words of Wisdom.

I'll never leave USAA, even if they rape my mom.

[Hulkein]

BoA stopped charging me a finance charge on my credit card for some reason.

I had ~8 months introductory no finance charges. That ran out and I got charged for a few months. All of a sudden they just stopped doing it.

PS. What is USAA?

[DeV]

Citibank is the fucking shadiest bank ever.

-TheE-
As is MBNA. I got that balance to zero and cancelled them for good.

Even more shadier is the fact that when you call customer sevice you get to talk to someone in India who doesn't understand half of what you're saying for the better part of the conversation. You ask for a supervisor and get transfered to somewhere in Georgia and develop an appreciation for someone who understands American vernacular and can actually take care of your problem.

[Daniel]

BoA stopped charging me a finance charge on my credit card for some reason.

I had ~8 months introductory no finance charges. That ran out and I got charged for a few months. All of a sudden they just stopped doing it.

PS. What is USAA?

https://www.usaa.com/inet/ent_utils/McStaticPages?key=about_usaa_main

[ElanthianSiren]

I hate credit cards in general; they always strike me as someone getting something for nothing because you need them for your credit score in many cases. I keep anything I have at a minimum by budgetting. I also hate loans, in the same vein. -Debt, in general, in fact. My dad is quite fiscally responsible, and I pretty much learned to manage money from him.

The psychology of fiscal irresponsibility could go on for hours. Pop culture has encouraged a life style many people can't afford and irresponsibility; what always kills me is that people buy into it. Being responsible with money is so uncool (especially for the mini Parises? Parisians? Parisites?). I'm surprised you wonder why it's so rampant. Just look around you and wonder how many people are living pay check to pay check and don't bother planning or keeping a registry.

[Ignot]

Also, the cost of living is increasing faster then wages. Im not saying that is an excuse for people to be irrisponsible and not live pay check to pay check but it doesn't help either.

[Latrinsorm]

AS: +494 vs DS: +125 with AvD: +24 + d100 roll: +53 = +204

This should equal 446. :S

Melissa is rad, whatever she said was right.

[Ignot]

i knew someone would correct me. thanks!

[Parkbandit]

Also, the cost of living is increasing faster then wages. Im not saying that is an excuse for people to be irrisponsible and not live pay check to pay check but it doesn't help either.

Get a better job.

[Back]

Living beyond your actual means on what your possible worth may be is the American way.

[Parkbandit]

Living beyond your actual means on what your possible worth may be is the American way.


It's not the American way.. it's a ignorant individual way. I happen to be an American.. with zero debt.

[Warriorbird]

No debt is pretty nice. Only debt I'm carrying right now is a tiny bit of car debt.

[Stretch]

You'd be surprised how high interest rates go.

There are a lot of consumers out there with credit scores so crappy that for awhile, the only card that they could get from any bank was a secured card.

Imagine this: you get a credit card with a $200 or $300 limit. You have to put down $150 on that account to start. The annual membership fee is $39. The interest rate is 19.9%, if you're lucky.

And yet people still do it, because they're such a high credit risk.

[Warriorbird]

I'm not. Back when I sold cars the finance manager did some horrible stuff to servicemen/women because he knew he could get the cash out of them.

"Oh! You can get approved for anything!"

19% and so on

[Back]

But I thought that America going into debt was ok. You know, to fund this war in Iraq? Is it not my patriotic duty to go into debt to fund this war?

[CrystalTears]

But I thought that America going into debt was ok. You know, to fund this war in Iraq? Is it not my patriotic duty to go into debt to fund this war?
I just apologized for insulting you in the other thread. Don't make me reverse that decision with this crazy shit.

[Back]

I just apologized for insulting you in the other thread. Don't make me reverse that decision with this crazy shit.

We (American tax payers) are going into debt to fund this obscure war. Or haven’t you noticed?

[CrystalTears]

Right... because Americans only started going into debt when this war started. C'mon man. :lol:

[Back]

Right... because Americans only started going into debt when this war started. C'mon man. :lol:

I won’t argue that we have gone into debt for good things and stupid things in the past, but there is no way you can refute that our surplus has been robbed for bullshit recently. And robbed from good Americans under false pretenses.

[Parkbandit]

We (American tax payers) are going into debt to fund this obscure war. Or haven’t you noticed?


LOL.. you are a such a dumbass.

[Valthissa]

Also, the cost of living is increasing faster then wages. Im not saying that is an excuse for people to be irrisponsible and not live pay check to pay check but it doesn't help either.

The U.S. Department of Labor has a website. At this website is the information provided by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Assuming you are referring to the U.S. as a whole, you will be unable to back up the assertion in your post with actual data. Wages outpace the CPI, it's a fact.

Debt isn't either good or bad; it's what you have in exchange for the debt that makes a difference. Paying 18% interest to eat a meal at nice restaurant is a poor choice (going out to dinner and then not paying the entire balance on your credit card), taking out a loan to earn a law degree is probably a good investment in the long run (at least financially).

C/Valth

[Warriorbird]

I just felt bad for the soldiers getting screwed over by the finance manager. Doesn't have to do with there being a war or not. Our dealership was in a relatively military filled area.

[Back]

LOL.. you are a such a dumbass.

Screenshot or it did not happen?

<---- Awaiting facts to back up the wild claims.

[TheEschaton]

Dude, I'd consult your dealer and ask him if he's lacing your pot with LSD, because you are far fucking out there.

-TheE-

[Ignot]

Get a better job.

Oh great idea! We must inform the people that they should get better jobs!! Problem solved woo hoo!!!


...Dumbass

[Parkbandit]

Oh great idea! We must inform the people that they should get better jobs!! Problem solved woo hoo!!!


...Dumbass


If your job is not giving you a cost of living increase each year.. which according to the US Labor Department is basically happening at most jobs, I conclude the following:

1) You are in a job in which the employer does not give a shit about their employees enough to give them a yearly raise.

2) You suck at your job so much that they won't even give you a COL raise.. that even the most basic employees get.

3) All of the above.


Now.. who's the dumbass?

[Bobmuhthol]

<<If your job is not giving you a cost of living increase each year..>>


Also, the cost of living is increasing faster then wages.

<<Now.. who's the dumbass?>>

You. The job market is NOT boundless. It is, in fact, very limited.

[Gan]

But I thought that America going into debt was ok. You know, to fund this war in Iraq? Is it not my patriotic duty to go into debt to fund this war?


We (American tax payers) are going into debt to fund this obscure war. Or haven’t you noticed?


I won’t argue that we have gone into debt for good things and stupid things in the past, but there is no way you can refute that our surplus has been robbed for bullshit recently. And robbed from good Americans under false pretenses.


Dude, I'd consult your dealer and ask him if he's lacing your pot with LSD, because you are far fucking out there.

-TheE-

Glad its not just me thinking that.

wow

[Valthissa]

<<If your job is not giving you a cost of living increase each year..>>



<<Now.. who's the dumbass?>>

You. The job market is NOT boundless. It is, in fact, very limited.

Please prove the assertion that the cost of living is increasing faster than wages. Source data for the US economy is typically found at www.bls.gov (http://www.bls.gov) . What you are trying to prove is that the CPI is greater than the average wage increase. Keep in mind that data past 2005 is subject to revision.

As far as I have been able to tell, Wages usually increase faster than the CPI.

Everyone's probably seen this quote before -

"It ain't what you don't know that gets you into trouble. It's what you know for sure that just ain't so." - Samuel Clemens

Of course on the internet there's a lot of people that know things for sure, myself included.

C/Valth

[Parkbandit]

<<If your job is not giving you a cost of living increase each year..>>



<<Now.. who's the dumbass?>>

You. The job market is NOT boundless. It is, in fact, very limited.

So Bob.. in your huge employement history.. how many jobs have you left because you felt you were not being treated fairly? Have you even had a job yet? I mean one where they pay you with a check.. not with a candy bar or a couple bucks for raking up leaves.

I have never, ever had a job where my employer decided to not give some sort of yearly raise. Now.. I know of a couple employees that didn't get one.. but they sucked at their job and it was the Manager's way of trying to get them to quit.

[Parkbandit]

Screenshot or it did not happen?

<---- Awaiting facts to back up the wild claims.


The fact that everyone makes fun of your stupidity is evidence enough that you are indeed a dumbass.

[Bobmuhthol]

<<Please prove the assertion that the cost of living is increasing faster than wages.>>

Please tell that to the person who said it.

[Bobmuhthol]

<<I have never, ever had a job where my employer decided to not give some sort of yearly raise.>>

There's a difference between a raise and a sufficient raise.

[Ignot]

Please prove that cost of living is not increasing faster. My employer has had a wage freeze for 5 years. it doesn't bother me because im commision based but how much does it suck for the thousands and thousands of employees that work there? Im quite sure other corporations are the same.

Im not some dork who is going to go rummaging through data to prove a point. You talk like it is so easy for everyone to just go out and get a high paying job if they are not getting the pay the want. if you believe this then YOU ARE A DUMBASS.

Like Bob said, job oppurtunity is limited.

[Ignot]

<<I have never, ever had a job where my employer decided to not give some sort of yearly raise.>>

There's a difference between a raise and a sufficient raise.

thank you

[Stanley Burrell]

I think everything computer and information age with respect to just about anything income within the last 10 years pretty much ensures a neo-inflation medium associated with the cost of living tab.

In this same train of thought; if you really, really want to break it down, you could probably argue that the downfall of the middle class has a lot to do with the above, regardless of White House party, i.e.

I've only taken two poly sci economic courses, but with my limited knowledge of social/technological macroeconomics, I don't actually think there's any clever way to truly subvert the gap.

[Latrinsorm]

Im not some dork who is going to go rummaging through data to prove a point.I think Francis Bacon's head just exploded.