Woof. Credit card debt is about the worst type of debt, only to be surpassed by payday loans. If you are finding yourself building either of these types of debt, you need to immediately make necessary life changes as your current lifestyle is not sustainable.
As someone whose credit card has been at the 5000$ limit for a couple of months, I’d say it’s capitalism that’s unsustainable.
Between groceries, rent, and the occasional treat to make life barely bearable, I don’t have anywhere to cut expenses. My vehicle is a bicycle. I live with three roommates in an old building in a neighbourhood that’s more down-and-leaving than up-and-coming. I only wear thrifted clothes. My diet consists largely of legumes and rice.
I don’t think you had any ill intent with your comment, I feel like you’re coming from a place of empathy, but it does rub me the wrong way and gives me the impression you might be unaware of the realities that many people are living through right now. I’m relatively lucky, I at least have a roof over my head and never go (too) hungry. A lot of people have it much worse.
If you have an actual tip to deal with my debts, I’d be all ears, but I highly doubt cutting the little luxuries I do afford myself (an occasional craft beer, 50$ of weed every two months or so, and a takeout meal or two per month) would suddenly make my situation financially sustainable. It’s the landlords and the grocery-monopolies that are unsustainable.
If you have an actual tip to deal with my debts, I’d be all ears
Sometimes letting debt hit collections can give you breathing room and potentially even negotiating room. It’s risky as heck but what I’ve learned from bills my wife physically couldn’t remember to pay after a head injury is that once stuff is in collections you actually have more flexibility.
Collections buys the debt for a fraction of its value, and will often negotiate to get some paid back over none, plus it often doesn’t gain interest in collections. There’s also a period of months to a few years between the debt becoming delinquent and collections actually forcing your hand to take action. I’ve even heard of people successfully getting debts settled or dismissed when collections goes to court by simply requesting a detailed explanation of where the debt came from (however letting it get to small claims court is the highest-risk tactic to take)
Sometimes you can consolidate your debt to a lower interest block. It has helped several of my friends to fix their high credit card debt.
need to immediately make necessary life changes as your current lifestyle is not sustainable.
Oh yea, ill just down size my house. Looks at the housing market nope.
Oh maybe I could just sell it and rent an apartment, maybe even make a little on the sale to pay off this debt looks at rental prices oh that’s not happening either
Ok that’s fine, I’ll just cut eating out and piece meal my way out of this debt…oh I already cut that, oh and grocery prices just went up…
Ah shit while I was writing that up my HVAC system just died andddd there goes another 2-3k towards my debt! Wooo!
Your comment is just as bad and annoying as those “Just stop buying avocado toast! Just budget!” Boomers
I mean, filing for bankruptcy might be less painful than hoping someday you can outrun the interest on these credit cards.
So what’s your proposed solution if you find that persons comment to be bad and annoying? Racking up $100k in payday loans at 200% APR isn’t going to get you out of that situation.
Sometimes the “necessary life changes” turn out to be a revolution to overthrow the current system.
Nearly 70% of Americans are living paycheck to paycheck, same percentage can’t afford a $400 emergency.
I can afford a $400 emergency, I’m just struggling to find an emergency that cheap…
Quite a few trade skills are worth learning the basics of yourself. Fixing a minor plumbing problem can easily be $500 for a simple job, or $30 in parts and an informative video to do it yourself. It has been one of the consequences of telling everyone for decades trade schools are inferior to college. We are short on tradesmen, thus they are very expensive to hire.
Fixing a minor plumbing problem can easily be $500 for a simple job, or $30 in parts and an informative video to do it yourself.
Sometimes it’s not a matter of not knowing how to but being unable to actually do that task the way a skilled professional could. I have some rubber gaskets that wore out on a toilet, and managed to introduce new leaks in the process of fixing it, after spending about $300 on tools and parts (I had to Dremel out the bolts holding the tank to the rest of it since they were completely corroded on, plus replacing more parts as things didn’t quite fit together and kept leaking, plus my wife bought some $50 bolt cutters that we couldn’t use in the right space) and I ended up having to call a plumber to fix both the original problem and my failed attempt to fix it
This is probably the number 1 life skill I learned from Dad and wish to impart on my children.
As a homeowner who went through rough financial times 15 years ago, yes, YouTube and home depot will save your bacon.
I have certainly maxed cards in the past but these days, I don’t know why, they keep raising my limit, I have 6 cards and a $96,000 credit limit between them. Talk about having enough rope to hang yourself.
That is the point. I can right now call my bank, I told em to stop offering CC limit increases if they are not lowering the interest rate, and have them raise my limit over my yearly income. They know what I make as my pay is direct deposited and still kept trying. I guess being a deadbeat CC user makes them want to raise my limit. Deadbeat = pays off CC before interest
If someone spends all of their credit limit just because it’s there, there is no one to blame but that person.
Used to have a credit limit that was like double my annual income. Surely they knew there was no way I could afford even the interest alone if I came anywhere close to maxing out cards…
Forgetting about the super high interest rates. Last card I got for a 0% on a laptop if I paid it off in 12 months was 29%. I think my current lowest is 17% and I have damn near an 800 credit score
I’ve been aggressively paying off debt after racking up credit cards and my wife getting stuff sent to collections while I went back to college, and she had a bad injury with some months recovering and not working. My credit score is now well over 700, and I should have everything except for the mortgage, student loans and car loan paid off within 12 months. Those 3 make sense to ride out on the existing payments given their low interest rates and my current medium term goals
I think my current lowest is 17%
I was about to say “damn that’s high,” but then I realized I didn’t know what my lowest was. Turns out it’s 27%.
So yeah. I’m glad I never leave a balance.
I’ve posted this comment a bunch but I heard dominos had plans to finance pizza orders… things must be rough.
4 easy payments. Pay for food you ate in May in June. With the money you save you just buy options and 10x your investment, buy 10 pizzas.
I’ll have to look into pizza futures
There already are tomato and wheat futures
What kind of dystopian bull is this???
And stocks are at all time highs
The great default is coming, and credit cards seem to continue to push high limit cards and promotions. A huge reckoning is coming at the meeting of corporate profit targets and personal bankruptcies.
