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We struggled a bit when we first bought our house and put some improvements and 1 yrs worth of Real Estate taxes on a 0% Card. My husband and I both make a lot more money now than we did when we first bought, but we probably had about $15k of home related credit card debt at 0%. Not wanting to be in the hole, I took on an easy PT job (in addition to my FT job) racking in an extra $1200 a month and we were free of it quickly.
Instead of whining about this stuff, people need to take initiative. The people with $17k in debt don't have children, leaving them free to do what I did and take on some additional PT work to free yourself of that debt looming over you! Yes, you'll lose some free time for a year - but that's life!
My gosh, I was at least 21 and had held a full-time job for several years before I got my first store credit card.
I was over 40 before I bit the bullet and obtained my first credit card. Biggest balance ever was $4500 in the early '90s. That's probably about the same buying power as $17,000 with todays funny money.
About fifteen years ago I wanted to start a computer consulting business that occupied a specialized niche in the printing business.
Since it was a one man operation, I had no experience, no credit history, and no business plan, a legitimate loan was out of the question, so I charged about $60,000 on several credit cards.
The credit card companies must have thought they had a live one on the hook so they kept sending me dozens of new offers to transfer my balance with no interest for various periods of time, some up to a year.
When one interest free period was about to run out, I transferred to another one, all the time paying down the balance as I made a little money. After a couple of years the $60,000 was paid off.
What I ended up with was an outstanding credit score somewhere in the 800's and a $60,000 interest free loan to pursue my hobby.
Eventually my equipment and knowledge became obsolete and I got tired of the business and "retired".
Now I use mostly one credit card and charge everything on it including most of our monthly living expenses including food and gas. Of course we pay off the full balance every month and I get all my clothes, fishing, and camping equipment free from Cabela's as kickback rewards for being such a good credit customer.
I admire you creative use of the system! Perhaps you could find a part time professorhsip in the financial department at your local university. This is the kind of creative financing that should be taught to put credit card users on a level playing field with the credit card companies.
Like you, I buy my gear and clothing at what amounts to huge discounts, by building up membership credits at REI every month from my credit card purchases.
I also pay almost all of my expenses on 1 credit card which is paid off monthly. That way I never pay interest, gain rewards (about $500 worth a year), and I also have a great way to track and check every penny that my wife and I spend. If we ever have a problem we can also dispute the charges (can't do that with a check card). AS you can see by many stories on here, credit cards can be very useful and actually benefit you free of charge. It just takes self control.
BTW, I got my first CC when I started college in the late 90's where they hounded me to sign up. I wasn't as smart then and I ran up about $4k in debt paying for stupid things. I finally paid it back and learned my lesson and now only use my CC for things I can afford to pay back every month.
If everyone paid their bill in full each month the CC companies would shut down. Like I said I pay my bill in full each month and the CC company pays me about $500 a year. I love it
Yeah, because Americans have a problem living within their means.
Don't forget entitlement issues. For example, I'm amazed at how some women justify charging a $500 purse because "they deserve it". Well you obviously don't "deserve it" if you can't afford it.
So some people think there "entitled" to charge a vacation, shoes, purses, electronics, even though they don't have the money to pay for it.
Yes - I know people who have done this.
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