movie 'Maxed Out" very recommendable
 

I just saw a movie I got from our local library. It was a new movie so I picked it up to see what it was all about. It gives you an insight in the abiss the US is headed for as far as the whole credit and debt situation is concerned. It turns out that the banks actually make most of their profit from giving people with the poorest credit history a line of credit. Why? Because the banks know for sure that these people will be paying thir minimum amount every month untill they die since they will never be able to pay it off.

Anyways, don't wanna give everything away, bit this movie is very interesting (and yes entertaining at the same time) and will make you think twice of buying anything at all on credit again (if you ever have).

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Think twice about using credit cards anyway. I got into a seriously deep hole because it was too easy to buy it now and pay later, took me years to get out of that hole, and was only able to do that by sending the wife to work and living off ramen noodles and baloney for years.

Now the money that used to go to pay the interest on my credit cards goes into investments and savings, and my net worth now goes up every month instead of down. Never, ever again.

My kids get drilled on it constantly too, even to the point that they know to check the financial history of anyone they want to get seriously involved in. Told them what to look for concerning spending habits to decide if they really want to get tied up with them or not. It isn't fun living on a third of what your takehome is, so the kids get the lessons on financial responsibility I never got. Also, their school is now requiring a semester of money management before they can graduate, which is a big help too.

This movie also showed how the creditcard company will give new college students freebies like t-shirts and such if they sign up for a free creditcard 9even though they have no income or just an 8 hour part time job). The movie showed two sad cases where college students committed suicide after having accumulated large debts that way and feeling like complete loosers.

It also showed the issue of the national debt in the US. Every president just keeps upping the limit on how much the US can borrow and right paying back debts is costing the US more per year than paying for health care, education and homeland security together! And the amount goes up every year percentage wise, meaning in the future there will be less and less money for anything else than paying back debt. At some point (or actually it has already started) this will seriously weaken health care, education and the ability to defend the US. In the recent past worried parents have bought their sons that serve in Irak body armor because Bush couldn't pay for it.
This same Bush is connected to the large creditcard companies in interesting ways. His number one sponsor is the number two credit company in the US.
Anyways, giving away way too much. Watch the movie. It's an interesting hour and a half.

I just watched this on Netflix online a few days ago. It was pretty good but pointed out the obvious. I've had a credit card since I was 16, but have never not paid it in full that month. I never understood why kids would get a credit card, but my parents made me do it to make it easier to get loans in the future, to show that I can pay bills on time. But now I never use the card since I just thought it was stupid to charge something when I could just use debit and not get a bill. I think if you rely on a credit card, than you need to start worrying about saving money a bit more.

i pay full every month, the wife has a huge pile of debt. she was getting slammed 18-22% for her 3 accounts then her back went out and couldn't work. so i took over the payments. I just transfered the 3 to one 3.99% card with no transfer fees. I figured out i just saved my self $100.00 a month. its good to have extra cash, i can't stand throwing money away to credit card company's. but ill put that extra 100 toward the balance , chopping it down faster.

If you're disciplined, you can turn this situation on its head somewhat.

I also got a credit card early (still in high school) because I saw my older brother have trouble getting a loan with no credit history when he graduated from university.

Fortunately I knew enough to pay in full each month, and wouldn't spend if I didn't have the cash in the bank to cover the purchase.

I now use a card with no annual fee, and one that awards "points" I can spend at my local parts/hardware store.

Effectively I'm using the bank's money for short-term 30 day interest-free loans, and on top of that they're paying me roughly $75 a year do do this with their reward points. As a result, nearly all of my spending is on this credit card.

I'm a bank's worst kind of customer. All they're getting from me is a highly detailed picture of my spending patterns, but I guess that doesn't bother me.

Yes, you can definitely use creditcards smartly. Another example, one that might especially appeal to members of Gassavers.org, who by and large also want to save gas because it saves money, is the creditcard given out by BP (through Chase bank I believe) that will give you a 10 percent rebate on gas for the first 60 days and still 5 percent on gas after that. With gas $2,60 that is a 13 cent per gallon saving. Apart from that you also receive awards points.
I am thinking of getting this card myself after having compared what other gas companies had to offer.

my dad has the same one. they have that saving thing and after you acumulate $20 in savings, they send you a BP gift card good for gas or anyhting else they sell in thier stores.:thumbup:

Also: For those with Costco memberships, an American Express business card is available with no annual fee. It gives 5% back on gas purchased anywhere except other wholesale clubs (subtle, eh? :rolleyes:) and supermarkets, as well as 3%/2%/1% back on other categories of stuff. Every year they send you a Costco certificate (more subtlety! :p) for the prior 12 months' rebate amount.

It's not the same as getting cash back, but if you're going to be spending money at Costco anyway, it works out the same in the end.

Rick