It’s no secret that our society struggles with credit card debt. Everyday we hear stories of bankruptcies, foreclosures, and personal financial crises, with one of the leading characters in this saga being credit card debt. Although so many have it, how do people actually feel about credit card debt and credit cards in general?
Yahoo recently had an article answering this question: Americans Views About Credit Cards: Negative.
Here were a couple of items that stood out to me from their survey…
- 40% say they couldn’t care less if their credit lines dried up. I wonder how many of those 40% still have credit cards though and depend on them? Although I guess I could fall into that category. I have a credit card that I use for business travel expenses and pay off each month, but then of course, I could still survive without it. 5% say they would be devastated, because they depend on their credit cards so much. This figure seems too low to me. In the current economy, many people are living month to month and making ends meet because of their credit cards.
- 92% say credit card companies should be more closely regulated and 90% say credit card companies make it too easy for consumers to spend more than they earn. While I agree with this, I wouldn’t put all the blame on the credit card companies. The consumer still needs to have a level of self-control. It’s like cigarettes. We all know they are bad for you, but Joe Camel isn’t making anyone buy or smoke the things.
- 72% say they do have credit cards, compared with 28% who don’t have any. Interestingly though, of 18-24 year olds surveyed, only 46% have credit cards, while 54% do not. Maybe students are paying attention to how the average consumer (and perhaps their parents) got into a financial bind and are determined to not repeat history.
So now it’s your turn. How do you feel about credit cards and credit card debt?
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