...and there would literally be L.A. type riots on a mass scale across the US, as people do whatever it takes to pay for gasoline, food and other essentials of life. I have seen more people pay $5 and even lower bills with credit cards at convenience stores, gas stations and even fast food joints than I ever have in the whole of my life. When I ask the waitresses I know how many people pay for dinner with credit cards at some of the restaurants I frequent, the answer is a consistent 80% to 90%. I realize there is a convenience factor built in to credit card use, but it really is different now. Credit card use is spiking based on illiquidity rather than convenience. Take away the credit cards and we'd all be shocked by what an alleged civilized society would devolve into in a matter of days. You'd literally have to hunker down with firearms, plenty of ammo, a network of allies, and storage of food and clean drinking water to survive the pandemonium that would ensue. And I'm no crazy conspiracy theorist or survivalist. Credit is dope.
sir u do realize that many are folks are acutally using debit cards, which actually look like credi cards? are u saying: cashless society is bad or are u saying credit card debt is bad? :eek:
I pay off my bill and carry 0 balance, I use it for points. I redeem at least worth of $500 in gift cards per year on my amex.
Some people use debit cards, true. But credit cards use is absolutely spiking, and credit card payment deliquency rates are spiking, too. Check out the figures AMEX and MA cited in their recent reporting. And I'm saying credit can build a nation, as well as destroy a nation. It can destroy an economy when it hinges on simple debt which is not secured, or is based on borrowing based on unrealistic assumptions about the value of assets which are, in reality, declining in real and even nominal value (think residential housing, to take but one example). At some point, the willingness to lend becomes so unappetizing, and the risk of default becomes so great, no matter what premium people claim they are willing to pay to obtain cash, that the musical chairs stop. That's what is happening in commercial real estate. Even though Bernanke and his entourage keep lowering rates, borrowing costs on commercial real estate have actually risen dramatically over the last year.
i'm currently receiving 5% cash back on every transaction with Citi and pretty happy with it. plus, convenience is huge factor to me personally. easy to track all expenses, one bill for all of them and even in case of robbery i will be covered. what's wrong with that?
I'm using my AE card everywhere i can and at the end of the month I'm paying all the balance.I'm not using my money at all . Why???? if for one month i can use someone else's money and get reward points I'm not losing anything .
People likely to post here or on other financial/trading oriented forums are not likely to be the ones racking up huge credit card bills and making the minimum payments, incurring huge interest charges in the process. But this forum is in no way indicative of the average American consumer. I, too, use credit cards, and pay the full balance off at the end of each and every month. There are many more people who are literally living off of credit cards than can be gleaned by the comments of those likely to post here. These are the same species who were using HELOCs to finance the purchases of expensive goods that have fast depreciation, such as luxury cars, Bosch nickel appliances, and Gucci or Hermes Handbags.