Well, I was just reading through Google News about this bleak economic climate. More and more credit card companies are posting weak gains (some have even dipped into the single-digit profit margins!). Companies such as American Express and Capital One are being forced to shed more and more customers who engage in reckless and shocking behaviors like "paying their bills in full" and "not carrying a balance". I for one am sick and tired of these so-called "responsible" consumers! How are credit card companies and JDBs supposed to remain profitable when people are intelligent about their finances? These "sensible spenders" have NO RIGHT WHATSOEVER to steal -- STEAL! -- the profits from these companies. Let's all get together and vow to help these tiny, poor, struggling credit card companies by agreeing to do the following: 1) Keep your credit cards fully maxed out. Oh sure, your credit card company hits you with that 39.99% interest rate -- but how do you expect them to collect when you keep paying off your balance? 2) Only pay the minimum balance due. Ok, technically it will take you six years to pay off that new $2000 laptop, and you'll pay several thousand dollars in interest and fees. But doesn't it look cool? 3) Keep your account 30 days past due at all times. Sure, you could spend that $39-a-month late fee on cable or groceries. But really, those fees only add up to a petty $468 a year (plus interest). Does $468 even buy anything these days? 4) Buy what you don't need. Especially if you're trying to rebuild your credit, you might think it prudent to squeeze a few more years out of your existing laptop or wardrobe. But the fact remains -- your credit card company can't turn a profit if they can't charge you interest on anything. So spend, spend, spend! 5) Agree to arbitration. The legal process is confusing and complicated, and your credit card company just wants to help you out by hauling you off to a friendly arbitration company of their choosing. There's no need to bother with things like "rights" and "defenses against predatory lending practices" (predatory lending? Haha, what's that?) when you can just sit back and let your card company do everything for you. There you have it. Five simple steps to make a difference. Let's all band together and help out our credit-issuing bretheren! Who's with me?
Arrggh...doesn't this drive you nuts? Never before in history has there been a deliberate, active attempt to penalize those who do the right thing in order to pay for the bad behavior of those who don't do the right thing. I realize these are difficult times for everyone, and I understand there are those who accumulate overwhelming debt through no fault of their own (medical emergencies compounded by job loss, etc.), but let's face it -- we got here mainly on the backs of those who lived the high life even though there wasn't an ice cube's chance in hell they could ever afford to pay for it all. And now the good guys are being forced to pick up their tab. Makes me crazy...seriously. All three of my credit scores are over 800 and now I'm the bad guy...go figure. We carry ZERO debt outside what little is left on our mortgage and our payments are always on time, always have been. So now I'm worthless to the American economy because I'm not spending money I don't have.
Well, to be honest you are still 1000000x better off than that guy who rode your back and re-financed their home to re-model and now are in foreclosure, CC collections, etc. You don't have a tab, they have a tab they will never pay. To be honest, it sounds like you don't even need a credit card (which I mean as a very sincere compliment!), so maybe for you this is good riddance to the CC companies anyway. No one is labelling you as the bad guy, the CC companies are caught up in the credit correction and are having to burn entire crops in order to save water. I will say that I would be miffed if I was you and was unable to keep even 1 CC card somewhere, just to have as a backup.
You are So much better than many other people out there - congratulations to you. Keep up the good work - keep your nose clean and don't let any of the BS bother you. You'll be the type of person that comes out on top.
