Credit cards in a nutshell

Check out this slide show. Every kid should be shown these images before leaving school:


Credit card sculptures

California-based artist Cain Motter explains the inspiration behind his credit card sculptures. "I started college in 1994 and they apparently sold students' information to banks, so I received credit card applications in the mail. I didn't have any intention of using them but one bank said it was good to have in case of an emergency, so I decided to get one."

"A couple of weeks later they sent out a $50 (£32) cheque made out to me so I put it in my account, but then I got a bill and it turned out to be a cash advance. I couldn't believe they could operate that way and was really mad, so I decided I would figure out a way I could reverse that money flow and have money coming back to me."

"I first made pendants out of the cards, but no-one was interested and I was getting frustrated so I thought I'd just burn it. I was trying to set it on fire and that's when it turned to a rubber consistency. So I pulled and stretched it and as soon as I saw how elastic it became I knew I could work with it."

Sadly the artist himself got caught in the trap:

"I then accepted all credit card applications to use them for art, but in time I ran out of money. I had all these credit cards so I actually started using them to live and now I'm in the same situation as a lot of other people in debt."

"At some point I'll pay them off with the money that I'm making from the cards. I wanted to rise above the whole mess but it is more entertaining this way - it's like feeding bacon to a pig. But I don't spend on credit cards anymore."

He only sells prints, as he regards the sculptures as works of art to be preserved.

He also has another interesting reason for keeping the originals:

...credit cards will become obsolete in the not-too-distant future."

Until that day maybe every cc advert should come with a health warning - and one of these images!

haha thats pretty cool ive never owned a credit card but my debt card works just like one outside of canada/online..but it doesnt give me money i dont have it just pulls it directly out of my account....but you see what would the world be like if credit cards never came to be...i bet their wouldnt be so much debt...dont give money to people who dont have it....

reply to post by Calex1987

dont give money to people who dont have it

funny you mention that, I got turned down for credit while working a steady well paying government job. The funny part being, way back in my first year at college I applied for, and got, a Visa, and when filling out the form under Job I put student, under income I put Zero.

And I got that card, now that I can actually afford one? No way. My wife gets junk in the mail monthly either upping her credit limit, or offering her a higher limit with a rate change.

Credit cards, if used correctly, are fantastic. The problem is, people are idiots. They get a plastic card and think, free money.

no sir, it's not. You are taking out a loan, at an incredibly high interest rate, when using a credit card. Now, if you pay it before the month is up, it costs you nothing more than what you spent, and your monthly fee.

If you are late, you get a late fee and that gets taken into account when they change your owing amount, creating a deepening cycle of debt as the more payments you miss, the more you owe, the higher the rate, the more you miss.

My advice if you choose to get a credit card is get it, use it a few times to pay off bills or something, while paying that card bill off before you get an interest, then never use it again unless it's an emergency. Do not get tempted into spending money you don't have.

"I'll pay that off with the next pay cheque"

Yeah, and no other expenses EVER come up next week do they.

Funny story in the OP, guess I kinda rambled

reply to post by phishyblankwaters


see and thats just my point...they got stupid and gave it to EVERYONE....credit cards are just a legal loan shark is all...but if your a loan shark its illegal...but they are the same in every way..... see you have a paying job making money and yet they go no you cant afford to have one!!! but as a student you put ( zero ) income and their like give him money the interest will get so high he'll never be able to pay it off will make killer bucks!.....its a flawed system that needs to go...get rid of it....people should NOT have a lil piece of plastic that allows them to spend money they do NOT have...at all theirs a reason we have so much debt coming out are buttocks...heck its part of the reasons banks needed a bail out......

i like my debt card it works as debt in the country....but outside or online it works like a visa the only diffrence is...it takes only money i currently have out of my account if the money isnt their it gets declined...this is the way it should work no exceptions.

reply to post by phishyblankwaters


Yeah, the credit card companies know that college students do not have any money, and will use their cards. I am sure that 75% of their business is made with 1st year students...who then rack up the bills...I know...I have been there! (gladly out of that debt trap now...my family has 1 card that we pay off each month...they have not made a dime off me in years...)

reply to post by Calex1987

credit cards are just a legal loan shark is all... people should NOT have a lil piece of plastic that allows them to spend money they do NOT have...at all theirs a reason we have so much debt coming out are buttocks...

I thought the images were powerful. The way you put this in words struck me in a very similar way.

I have a credit card, Just for £300 limit at first i got it as student about 10 years ago. I still have not gone over the £300 limit, but still in the last 10 years they have increased the limit to £3,000. Just magicked out of thin air a100% increase in the available amount of credit.

Originally posted by pause4thought
reply to post by Calex1987

 

credit cards are just a legal loan shark is all... people should NOT have a lil piece of plastic that allows them to spend money they do NOT have...at all theirs a reason we have so much debt coming out are buttocks...

I thought the images were powerful. The way you put this in words struck me in a very similar way.

edit on 26/9/11 by pause4thought because: code fixed

because its true...if you lends someone money and say you have to pay back a % if not im going to impose charges your loan sharking and thats illegal...but if you look at how a credit card works a bank is just loan sharking the money the legal way....but if you yourself do it its illegal....so as long as the gov can make alot of money of it...its ok to do it but if they cant....then its a big no no...because your not paying tax's on those extra charges you make off people....