Cutting Out Credit

I was interested to read yesterday that Australians are ditching credit cards. Maybe not completely but we’re on a downhill trend.

New figures show card applications have hit a nine-year low.

Credit reporting agency Veda’s consumer credit demand index for the September quarter found that year-on-year, applications for plastic are down a staggering 10 per cent.

Veda’s general manager of consumer risk, Angus Luffman, says there are several reasons why people have moved away from unsecured debt such as credit cards. – News.com.au

I’m glad that the tide is turning because I know a lot of people have found themselves in a lot of trouble by overextending themselves with credit cards. We’ve had many offers to increase our credit limit and while it’s tempting when you see the kind of money that we could have at our disposal, we just know it spells trouble.

So, are you one of those opting out of the credit trap? Have you cut up your credit cards?



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Credit Gone Crazy

The two videos in this post are frightening.

They show a report, in two parts, from 60 Minutes Australia and I beg you to take the 15 minutes it requires to watch both parts.

Our young people have gone crazy with credit and refuse to think through the consequences. If you have children you need to see this report and then start to teach your kids about the wise use of money.

Generation Y is used to getting what they want when they want but common sense says it will one day come crashing down. Unfortunately the people in this report seem to have missed out on their serving of common sense.

All those interviewed are convinced that ‘one day’ they will repay their debts, but when will their ‘spend, spend, spend’ lifestyle stop so that they can start to make a dent in the debt? Do they seriously think that they will get such high paying jobs that they will be able to continue their current spending habits and pay back their loans and repay their credit card balances?

Thanks to Sarah from This is what Sed Said for pointing me to these videos.

Are you caught in the credit trap? How do you see yourself paying off what you owe?

Do you have children? What are you doing to teach them the value of a dollar? I notice that most of these young people are living at home without the responsibility of paying rent or a mortgage. What are your thoughts on charging grown up children to continue living under your roof?

I’m really interested in your comments and hope that you’ll take the time to leave your thoughts in the comments section of this post.



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How to tell if a credit card is stolen

Visa_Card.jpgIf the signature on the back of a credit card matches the signature of the person presenting the card there’s a fair chance it’s stolen. I’m working on a similar kind of logic as the well known fact that if you look exactly like the photo in your passport, you’re too sick to travel.

We were recently sent new credit cards and so I’ve just been through the process of activating them. I followed all the prompts from the electronic voice on the designated phone number and without ever having to speak to a real human, I managed to complete the process. Now we can continue to go out and spend money we don’t have on stuff we don’t need.

The thing that fascinates me is the way that we’re expected to sign our ‘normal’ signatures on the cards. Maybe I’m just not that good but I really find it difficult to replicate the way I sign pieces of paper which require my autograph when it comes to signing a small piece of shiny plastic.

I really do try my very hardest but when I’m signing the card the pen doesn’t act the same way as it would on paper, and to tell the truth, my signature is usually bigger than the microscopic box they give me on the back of the credit card.

Oh well, I think I’ll just continue to rely on the fact that people who work in shops don’t generally look too closely at either my card or my signature when I buy stuff from them.



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