[sedonaApps]

And I thought I had it bad when I was 20k in debt. Goes to show there is always someone worse of than you. My thought is - if you owe 80 g's to credit card companies, you had problems long before the government stepped in.

[Attention Surplus Disorder]

$80K CC debt = MORON

[fizziwig]

“Never before have people with excellent credit been courted so openly”
____________________________

Payment history is only on part of a credit rating, there are several other factors that matter such as debt load, type of debt, income, etc. Unsecured debt such as credit cards is the worst type and too much of it will bring your credit rating down, even if you have a perfect payment record.

80k in debt means that, at the current minimum payment calculation, she is paying at least 1600 per month, nearly all of which is likely interest....and not deductible either. I doubt if she has anything to show for that debt either.

[Attention Surplus Disorder]

Let me be clear: There's nothing wrong with going into debt for a valid reason. However, there's no more abusive or onerous debt than credit card debt, and I include Guido & Vinnie. Most credit cards nowadays immediately snap to 24.87% and sometimes 29% interest on any balance (PLUS, of course, the late fees) if you miss or are late on a payment. OR IF you are late on some other credit instrument and they hear about it....have you actually read your credit card "terms and conditions" recently? Seriously, it should scare you. Essentially....they can change ANY term and ANY condition ANY time they want...without notice...because the next bill showing your rate has just tripled DOES constitute proper notice. Also, a great many smaller CC cos have been bought by MBNA and are now adminstered/collected under these types of very onerous terms.

I've sometimes carried large CC debt on my business line. Fortunately, the receiving bank is nearby me, in the same state. I always send in the payment far enough in advance so that I can 1: check w/my (checking) bank to see if the ck has cleared 2: with enough leadtime so that if I find no demand on my ckg acct within a few days after mailing, I'll have time to send another check. MOST often, the CC company does NOT have a street address, so you can't send them pmt via Fed Ex in a hurry in case of a snafu.

Now...having read these discussions before on FR, I know there's quite a few folks who immediately pay off their CC charges (which they seldom use) and there can be no criticism of that. But, many less established entrepreneurs use CCs for business expenses; or a homeowner might need an unforeseen roof replacement and might have to go this route. Yes, there are smarter ways. I just want to point out that you can seriously hurt yourself should you forget the payment envelope on the dash of your car for a few days....or if the CC company somehow "doesn't get" your pmt (Advanta is FAMOUS for "not getting" timely pmts)...or...if you're a deadbeat.

[Hidden Imam]

Thanks be to the Republican Congress for having had the wit and wisdom to pass the Banker's Protection Act of 2005 (or however they camouflaged it), which with little notice doubled monthly payments for working people and also made it virtually impossible for those blessed to be in the upper 50% income (which largely includes their chief voting base) to file for any form of reasonable bankruptcy relief if they suffer misfortune.

Having returned us to indentured servitude to the fine folks owning DiscoverCard, Visa, etc., I expect future Republican Congresses to bring back debtors prisons to enforce their righteous judgments.

Nevertheless, it is somehow comforting to see that the Republican leadership bends over for special interests other than the RIAA and the needy oil oligopolies. In Denny Hastert's America, even small family operated firms like Chase Manhattan, Citi, MNBA, etc., are given a sympathetic hearing and their legal needs are met. If Orin Hatch and Jack Valente had the only hot relationship going, well, that would be troubling wouldn't it?

[angelanddevil2]

When I bought my house 18 months ago, I applied for a mortgage for 100% of the value. But I still needed some more money for the remodeling (to actually make the house liveable). I was going to take it out of the credit card, but then someone told me I could ask for a loan against my 401k. I did it. Not only the interest is very low (4.5%) but also, all the interests go back to your 401K account. The only cost is $50 in the beginning. I am in no hurry at all to pay for it. The only dissadvantage is that if you leave the company (or are laid off) you have to pay the loan in 3 months. Now I have the house, it's kind of nice, I'm contributing extra to my 401K and I pay my CC every month. I'm so glad I don't have 10K debt in the CC!. I would have regretted it for years.

[TheLion]

Is this an advertisement?

[freepatriot32]

Libertarian ping.To be added or removed from my ping list freepmail me or post a message here

[ravinson]

Perfect Credit Club founder

More like "Perfect Credit Card Sucker Club".