10 Reasons Credit, Debt and You Should Be BFF
Rebutting "Ideas For Living Without Credit Or Debt," Blueprint For Financial Prosperity came up with 10 reasons why credit and debt can be great. Here's a good one (and one that we ourselves have made in the past):
5. ...credit cards will actually give you protections and warranties just for using them. ...if you use a credit card to make a product purchase, many of them offer to double the manufacturer's warranty up to a year; if you use a credit card to rent a car, many of the offer liability insurance. These are tangible benefits with actual cash value that can save you money in the long term.
Credit and debt are powerful financial tools if used carefully and properly, but one must always be aware that the sword cuts both ways. The point of the original article was to show that, unlike what the commercials would have you believe, you can live a happy and fulfilled life without credit cards, and for those with poor impulse control, there are alternatives. Finally, considering the nation's current negative savings rate, people could probably use more inducements to not use credit cards than to use them... When is the last time someone came on an in-flight public address to remind passengers to pay off their credit cards in full every month?
10 Reasons Credit, Debt and You Should Be BFF [Blueprint For Financial Prosperity]
(Photo: Sonny-)
Post a comment
Comments:
If you have self-control credit cards with good rewards programs and no annual fees, along with extended warranties and car rental insurance is almost a no brainer. Pay it off every month, and your vendors basically pay for those benefits and rewards for you. I like to get Target gift cards with my rewards to pay of stuff I needed any way. More savings for me.
Also good luck renting just about anything without a credit card. And using a debit card for online purchasing is incredibly stupid. Nor is paypal a suitable alternative.
For those without self-control, Amex is a great alternative. Great benefits, and very good track record with me when I had to dispute something with a merchant-- (I won- flawless victory!)
so as not to get struck down by the gawker overlords...let me just summarize to say...there are ways to view any website ad free.
@Gibsonic
Aye, but your cloaked suggestion does not help when the large sexual image is part of the story, as is the case with this story and the guitars.
Debt is good because it allows you to leverage other peoples' money for your own benefit. For instance, say you have a good job opportunity, but it is so far away you have to drive. But you cannot afford to buy a car outright. So a car loan allows you to leverage someone else's money so that you can make more money.
Anything is useful in moderation. Unfortunately there's a lot of dumb fcuks out there.
what's good for the goose is good for the gander.
right click "Adblock image" works just as good for "regular" images as it does for "AD's"
if you don't have that option, google for it.
Credit CARDs, yes, very useful.
DEBT (except for house and perhaps car loans, perhaps) are bad bad bad.
When used wisely, debt and credit are great. How else are you gonna' start your own business? I think the problem is a lot of people don't have impulse control, or just lack budget skills. Also, too many people hit strokes of bad luck, get behind, and waste years catching back up.
What companies are you buying from that you need extra protections and warranties? Maybe you ought to rethink where you buy stuff.
I love #9 - debt makes your credit score better! Geez.
Who tries to carry $5000 in cash?
Interesting pic. Where's the "ass rape" tag?
@Cowboys_fan: "When used wisely, debt and credit are great. How else are you gonna' start your own business?"
Cash is the answer you are looking for.
The biggest reason why debt, and especially credit card debt, is such a problem in this country is because they totally negate the inherent risk. Its there, whether you admit it or not.
from the BFP article
"There you have it, a layman's response to a zen master's thoughts, what do you think?"
Two words: Dumb Ass
Are y'all trying to decrease your readership? Because with pictures like that, I can't look at this at work....
I don't like the picture. I expect better from Consumerist.
I agree that the picture is inappropriate here, but... it's funny, and it's not stopping me, personally, from reading Consumerist at work.
Love the pic!1!1!1 Those of you reading at work, you're lack of productivity is the reason Walmart and Home Depot lost money last quarter. You're also the reason for the whole sub-prime meltdown and the war in Iraq. Unless it's job related quit reading this and get back to work right now!
@proginoskes: That sounds like the professional computer animator's, "It's rendering." heh.
Nice nick, BTW. I loved those books when I was a kid.
@spinachdip: Yes let's see contrived acts of bestiality, homosexuality and inte-racial toy sex, please. All in the context of explaining the financial markets, of course!
Not a fan of the pic in this context. Say it's art, fine, but I'm really trying to focus on a different kind of information here. Finances, pithy writing, consumer horror stories, yes. Colorful and creative images, to a point. Santa-on-Barbie ass rape? Doesn't really work for me.
Yo,
Take down the pic. That is NSFW and a lot of people like to read this from work. Also what does it really have to do with the story? You could have put up David Spade from the Capitol One No Commercials.
The idea that it's wise to run your home like a business and use debt as a tool is not taking into account that the average spender has no clue how to run a business.
The examples given are credible, however, they are too outlandish. It's 1 in every 10,000 people that get stuck in a foreign country and need to buy an emergency plane ticket home. The other examples of paying for college, a home, and other large ticket purchases with cash are simply exchanging hard work, sacrifice, and patience for a quick solution and a lifetime of payment plans.
It's because we have such an "on demand" society that credit is even conceiveable.
What kind of cash? Thats like saying it would take forever to save enough money to buy a car for cash, or a house for cash. With patience and some sacrifice, anyone can do it. It also helps if you change your line of thinking and step out of debtor mode. Buy used! Start small! Col. Sanders started with one restaurant (that was really more of a kitchenette) on a not-so prime piece of real estate with a modified pressure-cooker. Actually, he started with a frying pan, the pressure-fryer came later. And he was not young when he did it.
If you are deriving more benefit from the borrowed money than it is costing you, then debt is a wise choice.
I maxed out student loans even though i didn't need the money, and invested it. Returns on this investment have already made back the interest on the loan, and the investment will keep compounding until my retirement.
By the way, for all the idiots who think debt is bad: what do you think investing is? Companies borrow your money by selling equity so that they can grow their businesses.
You also wouldn't earn any interest at the bank, because that interest comes from you loaning your money to the bank.
So i guess all you anti-debt people store your money under a mattress, huh?
Credit cards....send you the bill late and then hit you with a ridiculous late fee, quickly wiping out most cash-back bennies.
@Gibsonic
Oh wow.
Thanks for the AD block image tip
np. i realize Ad's fund this site, however I don't need scantily clad figures in the "art" banners nor do i need some of the potentially offensive images such as the barbie-santa one in this article shown while at work. I would never have blocked anything from this site if it were not NSFW or for my kids. I can understand the Jezebel site having a format for racey images but i fail to see the reasons for why the consumerist needs to.
this site as well as pretty much every other site out there allows other scripts from other websites to run to collect information ie. google-analytics.com quantserver.com and sitemeter.com
i also choose not to let those run as well to protect my own privacy.
Poor Barbie. Now that no one can play with her anymore, she's really let her self fall so far.
My parents never owned a credit card.
I like the cashback rewards my credit card offers, but I hate debt & refuse to aquire any. I always pay off my credit card in full every month. I plan on buying my next slightly used car with cash.... no more car loans for me.
And I stopped using a debit card alltogether.... credit card is easier, safer to use.
@bbbici: I think you made a wise (and possibly very lucky) choice in maxing out on the student loan and investing the excess. Debt isn't "bad" per se, but it ends up working out that way for many people because it is mostly a vehicle for "getting stuff", and not for investing. Also the "interest" that banks give you is a pittance. They are just throwing you a bone, like gas stations offering 3 cents off per gallon for cash, and the interest they give you on your savings has practically nothing to do with their loan business. It's just a marketing scheme to attract and retain deposits. That's because banks all run on fractional reserves and the loans they make always far exceed their reserves, plus whatever piddly interest rate those reserves may pay out.
I Consumerist and Gizmodo TRYING to drive away their 'at-work' readers?
Naked butts in Washlet ads, naked lady guitars, Santa in the act for no reason what-so-ever.