Just Cut Them Up and Throw Them Away.

[Tandalayo_Scheisskopf]

They set the ground rules, now, show them how the game is played. Get rid of the cards. All of them, if you can. If not, leave one with a modest limit. The rest, destroy, tell them you have destroyed them, pay them off and walk away from the account. Never do business with them again.

Make them feel real pain. Make them bleed. Make them ache. Show them real hell, not the hell they dabble with.

Show them the error of their ways. You can do this. This is your right. This is the power you have left.

Get off of their hamster wheel. You don't belong there in the first place. Life is way too short for that. They sell illusions.

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

1. only use a debit card

tied to your bank account. Can't overspend that way.

[chalky]

21. The advent of the debit card saved me...

after I realized the convenience of the card was what I wanted, not the interest rates.

Of course, now I'm waiting for the banks to close that profit loop-hole and start charging me for the use of the debit card.

[Dave Reynolds]

2. I have not had any for years,

I also do not have a bank account.

[babylonsister]

3. As has been said on DU, "Done"! It took about 6 years

to get the balance to zero, but what a delightful end result. We'll never go there again.

[whistle]

4. What are you talking about? Credit cards? I agree but can....

...we Americans discipline ourselves not to spend more than we make? No credit cards, no credit history. No credit history, no credit score. No score, no credit for big ticket items like cars, homes and all those things we believe we need in our lives.

[MadHound]

34. I've never had a credit card friend

And I've never had a regret. And one's credit history is more than credit cards. It is also your bills, personal loans, etc. etc. I took out a personal loan in '79, bought two houses since then, paid my bills, on time(for the most part), bought cars, and I've never run into major problems.

The only hassle I've received for not having a CC is Blockbuster refusing to let me rent movies, so I simply went elsewhere.

Get rid of those damn cards, they're a money trap. It will force you into monetary discipline, and you'll never regret it.

[shanti]

42. credit cards are unnecessary

even at blockbuster. if you have a visa debit card, it's treated just like a credit card, so i don't understand why bb would turn you down?

[quaker bill]

36. You are not correct

I have one card. I use it rarely, mostly for on-line donations. I carry no balance and pay no finance charges. On the other hand, the money I save on interest has gone to build savings and an investment portfolio.

When I went to buy my last vehicle, all I had to do was show them the income and money in the bank. It turns out that they saw me as a "well qualified" buyer and gave me the lowest possible interest rate.

The interest rate was so low that it made more sense to leave the money I could have spent to buy the vehicle in the bank.

Using credit rarely and always paying on time is the path to the highest possible credit score. There is no need to pay these vampires a single finance charge to get the highest possible credit rating.

[LynneSin]

39. I think that's why we're pushing for cards with lower limits

and tucking those cards away for emergencies only.

Anyhow, I'll have my Sears card for occasional purchases. My biggest culprit on my regular credit card was clothing, makeup, and CDs. I don't like Sears clothing, they don't really have a makeup counter and they don't sell CDs there. But I can use my Sears Card for car repairs (usually when it's an emergency) and from time to time when I do need an appliance I've used the Sears Card only because I'll get an extra 10% off (about once a month they have a customer appreciation sale). Even then I try to get that paid off immediately.

Shopping is an addiction just like eating junk food, smoking cigerettes and shooting herion. I would get a thrill coming home from the store with bags full of clothes from shopping all the big department stores, getting giddy over the "bargains" I've found. But my thrill would wear off a week later and I'd be shopping again for new clothes. The irony of it all - I have all these pretty clothes and I can't fit into them anymore. (working on that too).

If you've never had a problem with debt on a credit card, then congratulations. But some of us, including myself, got a credit card right out of college with massive spending limits. And yes, I went a little crazy - took me ages to realize the pain I was inflicting on myself and only recently I decided to get my act together and get myself out of this mess. It's not easy but it does seem to be working!

[kliljedahl]

5. Poker?

I LOVE poker.


http://www.kliljedahl.net

[smoogatz]

6. There's an essential hypocrisy to the whole "debtors' prison" mentality

of the congress. Consumer spending, driven by easy credit, is the only thing keeping the country out of financial catastrophe. If people stopped buying stuff with credit cards in the U.S., the global economy would go down in flames. I get at least four or five solicitations from credit card companies a week, offering all kinds of deals--free miles, 0% balance transfers, you name it. Yet the same congress that allows credit card companies to prey on consumers by charging usurious rates has the unmitigated brass balls to wag its finger at those same consumers and lecture them about "being responsible." It's just unbelievable. Given the fact that 9 out of 10 bankruptcies are the result of job loss, medical emergency (thanks for the universal health insurance, guys!) or divorce, the truth about "compassionate conservatism" has never been more obvious--they really don't give a good god damn about anyone but their big corporate contributors.

[Tandalayo_Scheisskopf]

7. All you say is true.

That said, we must fight back. Not doing business with the credit card companies is the only way we can fight back. It will be, I predict, uniquely effective.

Do it. You have nothing to lose but your chains.

[smoogatz]

9. Paid off the last of ours in January.

We're all debit, all the time. Fuck MBNA.

[Occulus]

47. If the global economy depends on *that*,

maybe it deserves to go down in flames and get replaced by something else.

What that might be, I have no idea.

[cornermouse]

8. Did that about 3 years ago.

Its really nice not having a monthly bill. I spend less, but have more.

[seabeyond]

10. i make money off my credit card

i pay 65 dollars annually and get frequent flyer, i never pay interest or charges, i pay off end of every month. and i bought a flat screen of the frequent flyers last year. i use my card for everything. one card. 65 a year

[Tandalayo_Scheisskopf]

12. Did I not suggest that one card makes sense?

You know, there are a lot of people out there with tons of cards and tons of debt. They could use a cluestick moment.

Seems like you either had yours or never needed one. Kudos. :thumbsup:

[Stephanie]

14. You talking to me?

I am working on it! Tell me who is the worst villain and I'll cancel them first!

[seabeyond]

17. i agree, i had mine mid twenties

college student and not earning a lot of money. walked away from cards and banks for over a decade. only started using them again when i got married. actually took me five years into marriage, a stolen wallet and hell with banks over checks being used for me to ever go back to credit card

i am just real opposed to bending over and being f*ed. not my thing, wink

yes, i would love to see people grasp a healthy perspective with credit card

but then being in fourties things arent a big deal to me. not many wants. pretty happy with family love peace quiet. all free

[amazona]

15. me too

I make too much money off my credit cards. No way I'm throwing them away.

It's too bad that some people can't manage their money, but credit is a tool, and most big goals -- one's own business, one's own home, one's advanced education -- cannot be accomplished without credit.

The conservation movement is a breeding ground of communists
and other subversives. We intend to clean them out,
even if it means rounding up every birdwatcher in the country.
--John Mitchell, US Attorney General 1969-72

[Starlight]

26. Same here.

Credit cards are a tool. Having a lot of credit cards and a high credit limit is not the same thing as having debt. All of my credit cards have great rewards programs and no annual fees. I choose to pay all my bills & living expenses with credit cards to earn cash, discounts and gift certificates. I already have the cash in the bank and I pay the balances in full every month. I have excellent credit in case I ever need it. :)

[quaker bill]

37. Anything you get for "free" is worth exactly what you paid for it

The seller pays a handling charge on credit transactions. This is where the money for all the percs comes from. Trust me they add it back into the price of everything you buy and still make a profit from you.

Now with this new law you can have the added joy of knowing that the very high interest rates (up to 30%) that they charge the poor paid for your flat screen.

Feel better?

[Speck Tater]

11. Pay ahead...

You want a new TV next year? Start making payments on it NOW. But make those payments to your own savings account. Instead of paying interest you collect interest. Then when you've "paid off" that TV set, go out and buy it for cash.

It takes patience and discipline. If you don't have patience and discipline then get some! If you can't be bothered to develop patience and discipline, then you get what you deserve: You're hooked up to the corporate milking machine and turned into a cash cow for the rich.

So get some backbone or go on being a cash cow hooked up to the milking machine and bled dry till the day you die.

[Toby109]

13. Hey mister!

Americans are doing their patriotic duty by driving themselves into debt. Why the President himself said that shopping was more important than making any kind of sacrifice after that horrible day in September when he flew around the country reassuring us that he was safe at regular intervals.

And the bankruptcy bill will drive that message home.

[elmoish]

16. Get a grip

I know alot of people have buried themselves in credit card debt. The only way to end this is to grow up and be more responsible with your spending habits. Yes, I know the case where credit cards were used to pay hospital bills...but the majority of the debt the average American has is from wanting and spending recklessly. I have little debt but alot of credit. It's like anything else, you have to use it responsibly and not blame the world when you dig yourself your own hole and can't get out. I say, if you have alot of debt, go to a credit counselor and cut up your cards...learn to live within your means.

[Dyedinthewoolliberal]

18. Hi elmoish!

Welcome to DU! :toast:

[elmoish]

40. Thanks for the welcome...

Nice of you.

[Toby109]

19. Welcome to DU!

:hi:

[elmoish]

41. TU, too. eom

[The Doctor.]

20. Welcome to DU. Now re-read post 13.

You will find a remarkable sardonic element here.

Post 13 is a very good example.

[elmoish]

43. Yep...

I felt duly mocked.

[chalky]

22. Yeah, welcome.

Hope you're never laid off.

Or have a medical emergency.

[tnlefty]

25. Belated Welcome chalky and don't forget divorced or other

unforseen events that might come along. The people that I know who have huge credit card debt are Bush** voters who have to have the new clothes, new shoes, vacations, etc. and think that I'm nuts for being what they consider frugal. I have more credit card debt right now than I've had in 5 yrs. and it's a whopping $450.00. These folks are running debt in the range that I consider to be a car paid for in cash or a down payment on a house - $20k to $40k. This crappy bill may not effect them, but it will hurt those who get into trouble because of circumstances beyond their control.

[elmoish]

44. Thanks...

Hope I never have a medical emergency, either. I work for myself, so the lay off thing isn't in the cards, I guess.

My point was not to dump on people with real emergencies...I know they happen. However, I stand by my theory that most credit card debt is due to the average Joe trying to fulfill their desires with no realistic way to pay the bill when it comes due. I don't particulary feel sorry for these people and think bankruptcy should be harder for them to use as a tool to dig themselves out of their self made hole.

[walldude]

23. So you know "the" case where credit cards

were used to pay hospital bills. Funny, from what I understand more than half of bankruptcies are due to catastrophic medical bills. While I agree with you that people need to be responsible and live within their means, there were already laws in place to make sure that people who spend recklessly did not sneak out of all their debt.
I personally have a good bit of debt. None of it credit card. All medical. How did I get that debt? Well I haven't seen a raise in 5 years. Health care for my family has tripled in those 5 years from $200 a month to more than $600 a month and that doesn't include co-payments. Get cheaper insurance somewhere else you say? I tried, I have a son with Autism and a wife with Muscular Dystrophy, both pre-existing conditions, no insurance company will even talk to me. So when my kids need to see a doctor or my wife needs pain meds I get to pay out of pocket. All this and sky high gas prices courtesy of the administration that brought us the bankruptcy bill you seem so smugly proud of..

[elmoish]

46. Sorry for your

medical problems. That sounds like a rough situation.

I keep seeing on this site that 1/2 of the bankruptcies are due to medical bills. Could you tell me where you saw this info. I'm not challenging you, just would like to inform myself.

Re: there were already laws that penalized people for sneaking out on their debt...I don't know about this. Seems like these are the types I was referring to (being irresponsible and filing bankruptcy), that got a free pass.

[MissB]

50. Here is a link for you

http://www.law.harvard.edu/news/2005/02/03_bankruptcy.php

[ariellyn]

28. You assume that everybody who files bankruptcy does so frivolously.

That is not the case. People lose their jobs. They get hit with medical bills, and now they will never be able to recover from that. That's fair to you? You talk as if the bankruptcies hurt you. They don't. They hurt the people who file regardless of what you think.

[caledesi]

31. Amen! I am a victim of BOTH (loss of job AND illness) nt

[elmoish]

48. I understand....

that people have crises. You are right, some never recover. It is very sad. I'm talking about reckless spending.

Bankruptcies hurt every consumer as the companies yank prices up to compensate.

[caledesi]

30. This absooutely false.

The vast majority of bankruptcy filers are not wealthy individuals trying to cheat the system. The average person filing for bankruptcy earns just $22,000 per year (according to a 1999 study by federal bankruptcy judges). Most have suffered a significant period of unemployment before filing. According to Consumers Union, among elderly debtors, 85% cite medical or job problems as the reason for bankruptcy. Consumers Union also says that single moms trying to make ends meet make up a large portion of bankruptcy filers -- divorced women raising children are 500% more likely to end up in bankruptcy than married or single women without children.

cobrands.business.findlaw.com/bankruptcy/ nolo/ency/B0B66870-4C52-4303-919B10B9611D3EF9.html

Case in point: After this moron came into office, my husband was laid off from a major company after almost 20 years. 6 months later I became seriously ill and couldn't work. Don't talk to me about "responsibility." We HAD excellent credit until these unforeseen catastophes.

[VOX]

35. I'm sure that Toby109 was employing sarcasm...

:kick:

[Zorra]

24. Yeah. These companies are truly our enemies.

I've never had a credit card. I knew right away the whole purpose of credit cards was to enslave the US poulation.

Bankers know from statistics that for many people, the temptation to buy things that they otherwise could not afford is too great to resist. So they get all these people in deep debt, jack the interest rates, and have an indentured servant consumer workforce that is desperately and perpetually in debt.

Yes, some people can handle credit cards responsibly, but IMO these folks should not use them and should not support credit card companies because of the immense harm that these companies have done to our people and our nation.

Yeah, let's make them bleed.

[Melynn]

27. I'm close to paying off my credit card

I wanted to do this before the new bankruptcy law just to improve my financial status. Now paying off my credit card is a political statement. Double play.

You're right. Yelling, screaming, protesting, posting on the "internets" doesn't mean anything to the credit card companies. Cutting off their supply of money is the only way to hurt them.

[caledesi]

29. I can wait for the Xmas season...NO SALES! Think about it. nt

[Technowitch]

32. Already doing it

We've learned that it doesn't pay to have ANY outstanding credit balances out there.

[REP]

33. Destroying Your Credit Will Not Get "Even" With Them

Sure, cut up the cards but keep the accounts OPEN. Closing credit accounts just hurts YOUR credit rating, so when you go to buy a car or a house, you have a loust FICO score and get stuck with the highest interest rates.

The easiest thing to do is just pay them off each month. If that's not possible, do without so they can be paid off. Take advantage of 0% balance transfer offers - but keep the old account open. Don't screw yourself by closing accounts in what will amount to a futile gesture.

[LynneSin]

38. This is the absolutely best advice I've ever seen on DU

And everyone should do exactly this.

There is absolutely one reason why anyone should have a credit card and that's for EMERGENCIES ONLY!! A surround-sound home theater is not an emergency and neither is a vacation at some caribean hot-spot. Emergencys would be needing a last minute airplane ticket because your mother, who lives halfway across the country, is in emergency room.

I've been on that hamster wheel and I'm just about completely off of it (I've slowed the wheel down to a manageable speed). I've had my debt and I've cut up my cards so I can get the hell out of debt and in the past year I've made sacrifices in order to get rid of 50% of what I owe.

My advice on the plastics (which is my plan):

Debit card all the way - if you can afford it on your debit card you probably don't need it.

I keep one credit card tucked away at home for emergencies. It's actually my credit card for work which I am not to use for personal stuff unless an absolute emergency. I figured that's enough to keep me honest.

I also keep a Sears Credit Card and as long as Sears offers automotive repairs I'll keep that card simply because I can always use it for emergency card repairs.

All the rest of my cards are toast and I like it like that!

[Cassandra]

45. I have one personal card and...

one for my business. I have absolutely no debt, pay off my bills in full each month and have really been examining if the shopping I've always loved to do is really providing me with much that I need. I'm trying to live lighter because at some point I'm going to have some serious dental bills and will need a new computer. Might as well start saving now.

[scarletwoman]

49. YES!!! You CAN live without credit cards!

I only had one ONCE, over 20 years ago. The only thing I ever used it for was groceries for a few months when my husband was unemployed. After we got back on our feet, we cut it up and threw it away.

I've never had one since, and in the meantime I've bought 2 houses, several cars, and taken out bank loans -- ALL WITHOUT NEEDING TO HAVE A CREDIT CARD!

It's a LIE that you can't manage in the modern world without a credit card! That's what "they" WANT you to believe -- but it simply isn't true!

I finally got my first ever debit card a little over 2 years ago because I needed to book a hotel room in another city I was going to be travelling to and wanted to make sure I'd have a reservation. Plastic is definitely a handy thing to have, but MY little piece of plastic doesn't enslave me to a big corporation (I bank at a locally-owned credit union). I only spend what I already have, and put away extra money in an interest bearing account for future emergencies.

I've been making "cut up the credit cards" posts on DU for as long as I've been here (4 years now), and it always astounds me how many people will show up and disagree. Why do people want to persist in enabling their own oppression?

If you truly want to change the political system in this country, you have to fight the corporate powers that OWN it. You want a "Revolution"? You want to join "The Resistance"? Then pull out your support of the economic status quo -- CUT UP THOSE CREDIT CARDS!

POWER TO THE PEOPLE!

sw