The Real Cost of Credit Cards

I get bashed often about my attitude towards credit cards. Responsible users (those who never carry a balance) are very proud of the rewards and benefits they provide. Other personal finance bloggers devote substantial time writing about the various rewards cards available to us, hoping to garner some extra income through affiliate links. Read more

Consumers to Banks: Take this Card and Shove it

Consumers are unhappy with their banks. No surprise there. What is remarkable is the tangible way in which they are expressing their unhappiness. Credit card debt declined 13.1% in August. This was the 11th straight month of decline, an all-time record. Read more

Help with Your Credit – Can it be True?

Most readers of this blog know that Mr. ToughMoneyLove is no fan of credit and is an avowed enemy of the credit score. But I made a little discovery this morning and need to give credit where credit is due. (How is that for a play on words?) Read more

The Problems with Credit Card Reform

I’ve been in some debates with other personal finance bloggers about the merits of the bill that the Senate passed yesterday. This is the bill that “regulates” the credit card industry. In this case, “regulates” means that the federal government is now setting some key terms of the agreement between the bank and the cardholder. I don’t like it. Here are my issues: Read more

Obama Wipes the Noses of Crybaby Consumers

This week we saw the spectacle of President Obama wiping the noses of whiny consumers because credit card companies were being mean. He summoned the leaders of those companies to the White House to tell them to stop being such bad people, or he would spank them. Read more

Guilt May Be the Antidote for Debt Addiction

On the various personal finance message boards that I read regularly, it is easy to find posters who debate the wisdom of purchases of non-essential goods and services by use of credit cards and other consumer debt.  The defenders of such purchases are often debt or credit addicts, carrying large balances on multiple credit accounts.  Equally often, these debt addicts argue that their purchases are justified because they work hard and therefore “deserve” or are “entitled to” things that bring them pleasure, even if they do not have the money to pay for them. Read more