Nobody had a credit card when I was a kid. No one had credit card debt. But these big companies and banks wanted to know how to get more money out of people - get them charging things.
Sentiment: NEGATIVE
When I was a kid, there were no credit cards. Instead, retailers offered layaway plans. My mom would go to a store, such as a furniture outlet, choose the sofa she wanted, and put it on layaway. That meant she put a little money down to hold the sofa, and every payday she'd pay a little toward the purchase.
The minute a Wall Street firm purchases your debt, your bank no longer has it on its financial statement, which then allows the bank to look for more credit card customers. That's one reason why you get so many credit card offers.
What this country needs is a credit card for charging things to experience.
You don't realize how much you use your credit card not even to buy things. It's a card you get so you can navigate society.
There are lots of families who - who make irresponsible purchases. There are also a lot of families who have debt on credit cards because they use those credit cards to pay for medical bills.
I very rarely use a credit card, but I do if I know I have big bills coming and I need to stagger payment.
When I was young, people lived from paycheck to paycheck. Today, it seems like they live from credit card payment to credit card payment.
Debt is a drag, a reality you may experience with every credit-card bill you open. But for a corporation or a government, it can be even more of a drag - on economic growth and job creation.
Without any formal personal finance education or trustworthy resources to tell them otherwise, the majority of people in the 18-to-24-year-old age bracket do not know how to use credit effectively, tackle debt or make wise decisions when it comes to spending.
When I was young I would spend more money than I should with my credit card but my father cut it off, so I had to find creative ways of making money.