Half of all college undergraduates had four OR MORE credit cards in 2008.Ĭredit card penalty fees ALONE reached $20.5 billion in 2009. The average credit card holder has 3.5 credit cards.
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There are 576,000,000 credit cards in circulation in the United States… & the population is only 309,000,000.ĩ8% of the U.S.A.’s debt stems from credit cards, & it totals $864,000,000,000. The average household owes $16,007 in credit card debt.
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Here are some choice facts about credit card debt. The majority of people will be paying off the interest on their card for years & years. Bear in mind that collecting late fees from credit cards is a constant & easy stream of income for a bank. Spending money you don’t have has consequences, & you will learn it sooner or later! I learned the hard way, & you shouldn’t have to. When your bank sends you a sweet little note in the mail asking if you’d like to increase the limit on your credit card, please be smart about it. I could only spend what I actually had in my hand, & while it was immensely stressful & difficult at the time, it actually turned out to be a good thing - & has set me up with good habits.Ĭredit cards can be wonderful (say, in emergencies, or as a way of building up good credit), but they can also be extremely dangerous! It’s so easy to rack up debt without even thinking about it, & if you know you’re irresponsible with money - especially when you’re young - you will save yourself a lot of anguish later on if you can put off getting one until you feel like you can be trusted to be responsible with it. When I started this website (at 23 years old), I was living off my credit card, & eventually I hit my limit. ‘Free money!’, I thought, & so, with absolutely no regard for what I could afford, I spent my way through my youth, & at the end of every month I would sit around chewing my nails, unsure whether I had enough money to pay my rent. In New Zealand, I had been with the same bank since I was about 12, & when I got my first job, they happily offered me a credit card. I was definitely an irresponsible spender when I was younger. You know exactly how much money you have, and so you can spend it or save it without being irresponsible.” Not having a credit card is I think one of the best ways to allow yourself indulgences without getting into the sucking maw of debt. “Not having a credit card is so key! I don’t have one either.
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She knows Sheila & I was telling her about the discussion we’d had - especially the part about not having a credit card. I was discussing this with Molly Crabapple the other day.
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(Putting a bunch of your money into savings every month is obviously another good step!) This puts me in the position of actually having to EARN my money BEFORE I spend it, & while this may sound like an epic drag, it is one of my keys to being financially secure. I think most people would be surprised to hear that! The fact of the matter is that I only recently moved to America, & as I have absolutely no credit history here, it would be nigh impossible for me to get a credit card (even if I wanted one, which I don’t!). When Sheila interviewed me for the Post, I think she was surprised to hear that I don’t own a credit card. (Continued from Mo’ Money, Mo’ Problems Part One.)