Why is the world so credit card crazy?

Question

Why can't we wait until we can actually afford something before we use the plastic money to buy it? Some people can pay off their credit cards every month but most just build up a huge amount of debt and cause stress on their lives.

Answer 1

people want to live beyond their means to make other people think they have more than they do...my husband and I have no credit cards, we have bought and paid for 2 vehicles (1 new 1 used) and recently purchased a home. Because we have no credit cards has not made it impossible to buy things, it just makes us save up for it and gives us time to ask ourselves "do we really need this and is it the best deal?"

Answer 2

Because people want luxuries. We want to go out to dinner, go to the movies, amusement parks, buy fancy things for houses and cars. Sometimes they even buy food for the house with it. People think that they can buy whatever they want and then pay it off slowly like a Lay-a-way at Walmart. But the truth is that most of the time you cant and then ruin your credit. If only people would use them for good instead of evil ;-p

Answer 3

Unfortunately, we have a credit driven society.

Unless you have credit, purchases like homes, cars etc are almost impossible. And if someone does manage to find a lender, they will end up paying extremely high interest.

No credit, little credit and bad credit means higher interest rates for any major purchase.

As for the people who get into debt. Sometimes it happens. Due to divorce, illness etc.

But for some, it is from their parents not teaching them how to handle finances. The parents feel that it is the schools responsibility to teach their children that - which is "wrong". It is the parents responsibility!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Answer 4

Credit cards are so appealing because you can spend money you don't really have. I think that the US population is the biggest abuser of credit cards. People think that they can spend with out really ever having to pay for it

Answer 5

I love your thinking. I'm just afraid we're going to need another "Great Depression" before we can bring prices of items down far enough where individuals and families can actually earn and save enough money to buy the things we now need credit to buy. Also, I think we've got ourselves so caught up in "modernizing" ourselves that we can't revert to straight cash anymore. The world is too computerized and digitalized to allow that, unless we have another "Great Depression" or other world wide calamity to bring us back down to size. I don't think we have the will power to go "cash only" anymore, too. That's sad, because if we had the will power, ANY will power, we could drop the price of gas back to 50 cents per gallon, but we're too gluttonous to do so, or we'd give up our gas guzzling SUV's and big pickup trucks or sports cars or "mini" vans, and we'd quit using airconditioning in our cars so we could get much better gas mileage. But we ain't got what it takes, sad to say. But I sure like your thinking!! God Bless you.

Answer 6

Cause Society dictates to us, that how much easier Life is, with cards! Don't bother having cash, sure, I can afford that, that, etc! My Mom, 81, is constantly getting cards in the mail. Never ending, Time for us to get back on our own feet. Back to Basics, simple life.

Answer 7

People think it's free money. They spend, pay the minimum, their limits get increased, they spend, the minimum won't cover the finance charge, they get another card and start the downward spiral. It finally ends when the minimum payments are eating up their entire paycheck.

Answer 8

because it is away to buy things they can't affoid otherwise not relizing that they pay three times the amount by using credit cards if not payed off monthly.

Answer 9

it's the idea of buying something and being able to not have the cash on hand but still get to own someting. after doing that over and over people just get hooked.