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-   -   1 in 3 U.S. adults have 'debt in collections' (http://www.politicalchat.org/showthread.php?t=7937)

Tom Joad 07-29-2014 04:02 PM

1 in 3 U.S. adults have 'debt in collections'
 
I knew it was bad, but I had no idea it was this bad.

http://money.cnn.com/2014/07/29/pf/d...iid=TL_Popular

Quote:

An estimated 1 in 3 adults with a credit history -- or 77 million people -- are so far behind on some of their debt payments that their account has been put "in collections."

That's a key finding from a new Urban Institute study.

It examined non-mortgage debt, including credit card bills, car loans, medical bills, child support payments and even parking tickets.

The debt in collections ranged from as little as $25 to a whopping $125,000. But the average amount owed was $5,200.
continue

nailer 07-29-2014 04:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tom Joad (Post 233590)
I knew it was bad, but I had no idea it was this bad.

http://money.cnn.com/2014/07/29/pf/d...iid=TL_Popular



continue

I'm probably on that list.

Edit: Upon further reflection I haven't/don't recognize the alleged debt, which would put me on another deadbeats list.

Pio1980 07-29-2014 06:13 PM

AFAIK, I'm still on top of it.

Sent from my SM-N900V using Tapatalk

Tom Joad 07-30-2014 03:49 PM

There's probably a goodly number of these that are real deadbeats.

If it's student loans and/or medical bills I think those debts should be written off because I think education and medical care should be provided by the government for free. As for debts from people buying toys they couldn't afford they should be sent to prison camps to do hard labor for 25 cents an hour until they are worked off, fucken deadbeats.

MrPots 07-30-2014 03:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tom Joad (Post 233748)
There's probably a goodly number of these that are real deadbeats.

If it's student loans and/or medical bills I think those debts should be written off because I think education and medical care should be provided by the government for free. As for debts from people buying toys they couldn't afford they should be sent to prison camps to do hard labor for 25 cents an hour until they are worked off, fucken deadbeats.

I agree with the medical debt, not so much the student loan debt. You don't have to take out a loan to get an education. Medical emergencies are just that.

But back to the OP, I was stunned when I read this news. it's even worse when you consider that 1 in 5 adults with a credit history have no debt at all. That ups the deadbeat quotient to what, about 45% of people who have debt? Then you see where the average debt is about $53,000 not taking into account mortgages. WTF are these folks buying?

I've heard that there's a lot of rich wannabe folks out there driving their Lexus, Cadillac and other luxury cars to their trophy homes who own absolutely nothing. I make good money and I've never understood how all these people can possibly afford these things when I know I can't. I think I see it now. They're up to their eyeballs in debt.

My total debt is about 35% of my annual salary, that includes the mortgage. But I like to pay cash for stuff.

Rajoo 07-31-2014 12:26 AM

I recall when I graduated and got a job, only then did I qualify for credit cards. Even then there were serious spending limits that increased as you demonstrated your credit worthiness. One of course needed a credit card in order to rent a car.

When our daughter was a freshman at UC, Boulder, she picked up a few credit cards (with no income whatsoever), promptly went into default and by the time we knew about it and bailed her out, it was too late. Her credit rating had been severely damaged.

IIRC, it was not a lot of money. She just avoided telling us about it until she could not manage her finances. On hind sight, we should have told the collectors to go jump off a cliff since we had not cosigned. We paid her debt in full yet they slammed her with bad credit. :mad:

MrPots 07-31-2014 09:03 AM

That's what happened to my son. He got it straightened out on his own, but since has avoided credit cards and credit. Now in his 30's he has no credit at all. My daughter also does not use credit cards, same story.

I think my bitch about our bankers system of credit is that you are deemed un credit worthy even if you've never borrowed money. Seems to me that if you've never had to borrow money you manage your finances pretty well. But no, unless you pay homage to the banking industry by borrowing money you don't get a credit score.


It's all fucked up to benefit the banks.

Tom Joad 07-31-2014 09:23 AM

I can remember back when I was a kid in the 50's there was no such thing as credit cards. Maybe a handful of country club types in New York had them, but where I was they were unheard of. My old man always had at least $100 bucks in his wallet. It may have been every dime the family had, but he had it in cash. $100 bucks in 1955 is equivalent to $889 today. Back then it was not unusual for a dude to have that much cash on him because you paid cash for everything.

We need to get back to that. If I were dictator I would immediately make it illegal to pay for anything under $100 in a face to face transaction with plastic.

It really pisses me off to be behind someone in line at the checkout that is paying some piddling $2.86 charge with plastic. For Christ sake carry some goddamned cash on you. You can go broke paying with cash, but you can't go into debt.

JJIII 07-31-2014 09:26 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tom Joad (Post 233821)
I can remember back when I was a kid in the 50's there was no such thing as credit cards. Maybe a handful of country club types in New York had them, but where I was they were unheard of. My old man always had at least $100 bucks in his wallet. It may have been every dime the family had, but he had it in cash. $100 bucks in 1955 is equivalent to $889 today. Back then it was not unusual for a dude to have that much cash on him because you paid cash for everything.

We need to get back to that. If I were dictator I would immediately make it illegal to pay for anything under $100 in a face to face transaction with plastic.

It really pisses me off to be behind someone in line at the checkout that is paying some piddling $2.86 charge with plastic. For Christ sake carry some goddamned cash on you. You can go broke paying with cash, but you can't go into debt.



There it is!

MrPots 07-31-2014 11:09 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tom Joad (Post 233821)
I can remember back when I was a kid in the 50's there was no such thing as credit cards. Maybe a handful of country club types in New York had them, but where I was they were unheard of. My old man always had at least $100 bucks in his wallet. It may have been every dime the family had, but he had it in cash. $100 bucks in 1955 is equivalent to $889 today. Back then it was not unusual for a dude to have that much cash on him because you paid cash for everything.

We need to get back to that. If I were dictator I would immediately make it illegal to pay for anything under $100 in a face to face transaction with plastic.

It really pisses me off to be behind someone in line at the checkout that is paying some piddling $2.86 charge with plastic. For Christ sake carry some goddamned cash on you. You can go broke paying with cash, but you can't go into debt.


The system is designed the way it is for two reasons Tom.

1 - every transaction by card allows the banks to take a cut off the top. Banks don't like cash transactions because they don't get a cut of every transaction made in the US no matter how small so they discourage using cash.

It's gotten so bad now that you are penalized if you pay cash at gas stations....they make you stand in line 1-3 times by making you pre-pay. And do you get a discount? No, you pay the same rate as card payers but the gas station keeps the banks commission.

2 - every transaction made by card can be monitored by the US government and taxed. Cash transactions cannot.

It's all about screwing people for every penny they can.

It's as fucked up as our 401K retirement system where Wall street, the government and corporate bosses have more control over your retirement savings than you do. Not to mention Wall Street gains more from your savings than you do.....

Tom Joad 07-31-2014 11:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MrPots (Post 233833)
It's gotten so bad now that you are penalized if you pay cash at gas stations....they make you stand in line 1-3 times by making you pre-pay. And do you get a discount? No, you pay the same rate as card payers but the gas station keeps the banks commission.

I stopped paying cash for gas several years ago.

It's a pain in the ass.

First you have to stand in line behind everyone buying their cigarettes, beer, junk food and lottery tickets. Then you have to guess how much gas your car will take. Then if you guess too high and it won't take what you guessed you have to go back in and stand in line again and wait for your change. :mad:

Motels are another thing you have to have a credit card for. If you try to pay for your room with cash they look at you like you are a criminal and make you put up an extra $100 deposit in addition to paying for the room upfront.:mad:

So even though I am trying to resist the cashless society that the bastards are trying to force on us, they are wearing me down little by little.:mad:

Countryford 07-31-2014 12:53 PM

Quote:

It's gotten so bad now that you are penalized if you pay cash at gas stations....they make you stand in line 1-3 times by making you pre-pay. And do you get a discount? No, you pay the same rate as card payers but the gas station keeps the banks commission.
There are several chain gas stations here in Arizona that give a discount for cash payment.

finnbow 07-31-2014 12:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Countryford (Post 233858)
There are several chain gas stations here in Arizona that give a discount for cash payment.

I've never seen a penalty for cash. Around here, there are numerous stations that charge $.05 more for credit card payments (to compensate for the charges they pay to the credit card companies).

Wasillaguy 07-31-2014 01:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tom Joad (Post 233842)

Motels are another thing you have to have a credit card for. If you try to pay for your room with cash they look at you like you are a criminal and make you put up an extra $100 deposit in addition to paying for the room upfront.:mad:

When they ask for the additional $100, I'd say "show me the hooker first"

Tom Joad 07-31-2014 01:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by finnbow (Post 233861)
I've never seen a penalty for cash. Around here, there are numerous stations that charge $.05 more for credit card payments (to compensate for the charges they pay to the credit card companies).

I've never seen a monetary penalty.

But the having to pre-pay and wait in line is penalty enough to me.

Rajoo 07-31-2014 01:24 PM

Here in the Bay Area a lot of gas stations charge an additional $0.08 to $0.10 per gallon to use a credit card. I now have an ATM card just for filling gas only to find out that certain stations charge an additional transaction fee. So if I save $2.00 per fill up, I give back $0.65. The system is rigged.

Note: I mostly use Safeway gas stations where they do not charge ATM fees.

finnbow 07-31-2014 01:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tom Joad (Post 233870)
I've never seen a monetary penalty.

But the having to pre-pay and wait in line is penalty enough to me.

Agreed. There is a chain of gas stations around here (FreeState) that are invariably $.05/gallon cheaper than any competitor. However, they don't accept credit cards (and are therefore rarely crowded). I get generous enough kickbacks on gas purchases on my credit card that I never consider paying cash for gas.

one1 07-31-2014 01:49 PM

one thing good about having no money is ,no debt. In a lot of ways I have no stress about paying my debtors,Utilities and rent are covered,house is so old everything that is going to wear is long worn out a while back.Like the say more money ,more problems.

icenine 07-31-2014 02:11 PM

At AM PM there is a .35 cent charge if you use a debit card (same as cash from your checking account). On the plus side is they have the cash machines where you can put the money in right there at the pump....the only downer is that you have to go inside to get any change that you are owed.

And one time I put in 40 bucks and got screwed out of my change for some reason....
the thing said it did not owe me change and the clerks did not believe me...but I know I had some money coming back.

piece-itpete 07-31-2014 02:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by one1 (Post 233886)
one thing good about having no money is ,no debt. In a lot of ways I have no stress about paying my debtors,Utilities and rent are covered,house is so old everything that is going to wear is long worn out a while back.Like the say more money ,more problems.

That brightened my day, thanks one1.

Pete

MrPots 07-31-2014 03:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Countryford (Post 233858)
There are several chain gas stations here in Arizona that give a discount for cash payment.

Why that's the first positive thing I've heard about Arizona in several years! ;)

Tom Joad 07-31-2014 03:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MrPots (Post 233907)
Why that's the first positive thing I've heard about Arizona in several years! ;)

There's Kyrsten Sinema.

MrPots 07-31-2014 03:39 PM

Not even she can redeem the state...

Tom Joad 07-31-2014 03:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MrPots (Post 233933)
Not even she can redeem the state...

I think she's hot.

MrPots 07-31-2014 04:53 PM

Gotta stop thinking with yer dick :)

bobabode 07-31-2014 05:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MrPots (Post 233971)
Gotta stop thinking with yer dick :)


Haw!!! :D

Tom Joad 07-31-2014 05:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MrPots (Post 233971)
Gotta stop thinking with yer dick :)

Why would I want to do that?:confused:

Tom Joad 07-31-2014 05:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MrPots (Post 233971)
Gotta stop thinking with yer dick :)

I've been doing it since I was 11, why would I want to stop now?:confused:


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