U.S. Credit Card Debt Closed 2018 at a Record $870 Billion

a reply to: CriticalStinker

Oh yeah doubling of prices

The re is a ton of hidden inflation

originally posted by: annoyedpharmacist

originally posted by: FamCore
a reply to: toysforadults

We also have 1.53 trillion in student loan debt and over $1 trillion in auto loan debt...


Not to mention usdebtclock.org...

But nobody seems to care... tick.. tock...

the student loans are a killer. there are so many people out there that are just not paying them back. I make a decent amount of money, and still have trouble paying back the extensive loans accrued over the years.......cost of education needs to come WAY down imo.

Can't bring down the cost of education until useless subjects like White Privilege, African Studies, Liberal Arts, etc. are terminated.

a reply to: toysforadults

This is what happens when inflation is at 3% and wages only increase by 0.5%.

a reply to: CriticalStinker

Our electricity has stayed relatively the same. Natural gas went down dramatically when gas prices dropped and is still pretty low.

a reply to: dfnj2015

No it's not it's because people buy starbucks!!!

The entire USA industry and marketing is all about going into debt. It's crazy. It sucks most people in.

They should make Dave Ramsey's financial peace class mandatory for all high schools. But then big banks and credit card industries would torpedo that since they'd be the big losers.

a reply to: toysforadults

So then what is the end game in all of this? Kind of scary to think about even though I'm not sure what the outcomes even look like...

originally posted by: network dude
Credit is of the devil. It takes a long time to learn that for most. If you go back to the old school teachings, you find that buying what you can afford to with cash, and not buying the things you can't afford with credit, will yield much better results over the long haul. yes, it makes thing take longer, and the instant satisfaction we all crave just ins't there, but when you look back at what you owe, it's nice to see a very small number there. Most need a mortgage. Get a small one. that may mean you don't get the big house you wanted. Buy a car, pay it off, and keep it for a while.

It seems as if I heard this all before, perhaps from my parents and grand parents......but what did they know?

Or you can find a fixer upper. I bought my house when I was a bachelor. I paid $60K for a 4 bedroom 2600 sq ft house on a little over 3 acres in the country. None of the rooms had flooring, just plywood, and nothing had doors besides the bathrooms. Since I've gotten married and attained a "honey-do" list, I've put flooring in every room, doors, molding, etc. Before my new roof and flooring in my master, the house alone (not including the land) appraised for $128K and it'll be paid off in 5 more years.

SELL WHEN EVERYONE IS BUYING

This is good advice. I have always been a contrarian investor.

Right now there isn’t any way other than the market and real estate to preserve the value of your savings. Gold and other tangible assets are great for a SHTF scenario, but they don’t appreciate in the long run during normal market conditions.

a reply to: Metallicus

Gold and other tangible assets are great for a SHTF scenario, but they don’t appreciate in the long run during normal market conditions.

Depends how bad on a scale of 1-10 SHTF....

If it's ten seeds may be worth more than gold.

originally posted by: LSU2018
a reply to: CriticalStinker

Our electricity has stayed relatively the same. Natural gas went down dramatically when gas prices dropped and is still pretty low.

Anecdotal stories are not very scientific. Your comment is like saying global warming is not real because it's 5 below outside. But when the actual data is analyzed there are clear trends based on yearly averages over regions.

The same thing is true with Natural gas pricing in terms of purchasing power of the dollar. Here's a more composite view of the data that is not based on anecdotal superstitious perceptions:

Purchasing power of the consumer dollar

originally posted by: ofleming
a reply to: toysforadults

So then what is the end game in all of this? Kind of scary to think about even though I'm not sure what the outcomes even look like...

Dumbed down cashless communism for the plebs?

I presume that the last quarter of 2018 running high on the credit card balances increased drastically because of the government shutdown. Everything but mortgages can be put on a card.

Would we really expect the wasteful federal government to operate so wastefully with public assets, then magically be able to properly fund their own personal beings any better while being shut down from their over funded pay checks?

All that was spoken about wastes like school loans and Jones competitions is true, but the recent spike should be attributed to the shut down...

a reply to: Irishhaf

We work similar to you on our cars. We're a commuter family. We have a newer one that we carry a payment on that we bought program and that we're close to paying off. It does our serious travel miles (family visits and stuff) although we usually rent a car for vacation trips. Our other one is a little runabout that's 10 years or more old that we bought cash off a used car lot.

We though about picking up another newer one, but decided we could either drop the money as downpayment and get saddled with second car payment or simply pick up a decent beater. We took the second route and haven't regretted it. You don't need new and flashy, just solid and reliable.

I don't know what we'll do when the newer one is paid off.

We carry two credit cards and one carries some debt on it while the other is for quick turnaround stuff. We might use it, but we pay it off just as quickly.

Our biggest issue is husband's student loans still. Mine are paid.

a reply to: annoyedpharmacist

At Colorado Tech online it is a 5 week class typically a lecture a week, 1 discussion board post on a topic given by the teacher and 2 replies to students, with an Individual project each week occasionally a group project.


I did not have to be there for a lecture they had them all archived, turn in dates were the only thing that was mandatory and the Individual projects can be turned in late with the expected mark down depending on how late you are, No late turn in for the DB posts.


full time at CTU was 2 classes every 5 weeks and depending on holidays a week in between classes.

edit: If you do the 2 classes every 5 weeks, you can go from nothing to degree in 2 years.




edit: Masters can be done for an additional year, still working on getting things lined up to start the masters program.

a reply to: toysforadults

Yea but at my age I need that degree to leverage my way in, working on security+ and A+ right now to pair up with a masters in Security management, and my SF50 to push into the GS world and hopefully relax a little till retirement.

originally posted by: ttobban
I presume that the last quarter of 2018 running high on the credit card balances increased drastically because of the government shutdown. Everything but mortgages can be put on a card.

I don't think 400,000 people could add 2,000,000 90+ day delinquencies in an 8 day period.

Well, I guess they could, but that would mean that they were already in that debt before the shutdown, and that the shutdown just exposed it all...which is a significantly larger issue.

a reply to: Irishhaf

Just finished up the CCNA R&S and working on CCNA Security right now looking for a job in NOC.

I am 68 and never had a credit card.

Never needed one and never wanted to pay the interest rates out there.

This is the only reason my credit rating is below 500.

As i never went bankrupt or had a foreclosure and have always paid off my bills.

a reply to: toysforadults

Sounds like individuals follow Uncle Sam's lead and teachings.