What is Digg?Sponsored by Dragon Age: Origins
Follow the Dragon Age: Origins development team on Twitter view!
twitter.com/DragonAge - EA presents BioWare's new dark fantasy epic Dragon Age: Origins. '9/10' from Game Informer.
259 Comments
- inactive, on 08/10/2008, -7/+152I never understood the massive desire to spend money that people don't have. My father taught me to only spend what you have, never to borrow more than you can pay back, and to forgo the luxuries that all people seem to want, but very few can really afford.
It's sad that other people didn't get this lesson in life(or didn't bother listening to the advice), and are now learning it the hard way. - inactive, on 08/10/2008, -4/+77I'm noticing just the opposite with these rapid increases in the cost of living, people are digging themselves deeper in credit card debt to make ends meet and credit cards continue to be pushed by lenders. .
- vault, on 08/11/2008, -4/+73Yeah, the end of credit card consumerism. I really doubt that.
- richmomz, on 08/11/2008, -2/+40It's common sense: don't spend beyond your means. Unfortunately modern day consumerism mandates that anyone that doesn't have the latest: (tech gear / spring fashion / hottest car / designer shoes / big house) is a second-class loser - and nobody wants to be a loser of course! Add in the planned obsolecense of all these "must have" items and it's easy to see how people get in over their heads.
The key to financial freedom is giving consumerism the finger - that is, not needing to replace your (computer / car / home / every article of clothing) every other year, even though you could afford it if you wanted to. If you can bear the social stigma of parting with your status symbols, living modestly is the surest path out of debt. - kemp34, on 08/11/2008, -11/+45Our government has worked hard to install a psychology of "spend now at any cost". This type of mentality is at the heart of nonsensical Keynesian Economics. The common sense wisdom you speak of is indicative of classical economics or the Austrian School.
- inactive, on 08/11/2008, -3/+31We cut up 6 of our credit cards in 2003. We kept one.
It's self defense. The corporate credit machine is going to hurt you if it can. Just don't let it. - inactive, on 08/11/2008, -2/+28you see, you are lucky to have a father like that, many people who become fathers are irresponsible themselves, resulting in not giving the right advice to their children.
This happens all the time in poor communities, where the fight to keep afloat is so great that they don't take enough time to teach their kids how to spend in life (among many other lessons).
And the fact that we hear "go spend or they win" isn't exactly helping either. This generation doesn't have saved up cash so we will get supremely ***** when it's time to retire. - Chrissy990, on 08/11/2008, -2/+27People go through phases. Right now, people are being forced to realize that they may not be able to have everything they want due to a number of factors including the housing market, gas prices, and general living expenses, but I doubt this is the "end of credit card consumerism." If things get worse, some people are going to downsize, but other people are going to go deeper into debt to keep their lifestyle. If things get better, people will once again feel free to overspend and get further into debt.
- bdbr, on 08/11/2008, -1/+22A lot of our parents taught us that. The crazy thing about it is, for every one of us who pays off our card every month, there must be people with tens of thousands of dollars in debt for the average to be $16K.
- kemp34, on 08/11/2008, -3/+19Productive debt is good. Consumer debt is bad.
- Rustymetal, on 08/11/2008, -3/+19Credit card era will never end. Thats the whole point of our montery system. It's all based on Debt. Our money has no value is just a measurement of our country's debt.
The banks want you in debt from the day your old enough to get a job. Why do you think student loans for college are so easy to get and don't do credit checks?
Simple, the faster your in debt, the faster you are a slave. - RiverBelow, on 08/11/2008, -3/+18why is the captain of the ship blamed for its sinking?
- Valujet, on 08/11/2008, -1/+16If you pay your credit cards off every month (or wait and have 0% interest) then you're using them smartly. You usually get rewards or something similar. I've made $500 by using my chase freedom card for a little over a year. Using a credit card isn't any different than using cash, except you get a interest free loan on a lot of that money, plus consumer protection.
Credit cards are a great tool as long as you're not a dumbass. - sgiffy, on 08/11/2008, -2/+16Why is it evil? Lets say I have money and you have a great idea for generating revenue such as a new business or product or investment. I lend you my money in exchange for interest to cover inflation, risk and make a profit. You in turn are able to put your idea into place generating enough revenue to cover your interest and make a profit. We both win, and in the event of failure we both share the risk.
- sodade, on 08/11/2008, -1/+14Because our government is thoroughly corrupted by corporate influence.
- Taiyoryu, on 08/11/2008, -0/+12@melonhedd
Credit cards are not for emergencies. You save money in an interest-bearing account for emergencies or you purchase insurance. - kenplaysviola, on 08/11/2008, -8/+20I don't get why people are so anti-credit card. It's not their fault you can't control yourself. People who have restraint and know their limits get rewarded with a good credit score and free rewards/money. For example, if I earn $200 in reward money, then I get $50 free (Chase Freedom). I NEVER over spend and always pay back my monthly charges. And, I never carry more than $20 cash in my wallet. Cash is my emergency. I rely on my credit card, even for a $1.00 soda at the liquor store.
- MrSmith34, on 08/10/2008, -6/+18yay!! Too bad many Americans would only wake up after savings rates plummeted for two decades until it was near nothing and many go bankrupt before they finally wake up.
- rebelcapitalist, on 08/11/2008, -1/+12It will take a huge shift in attitude for a change from consumerism to frugality. We need to start by changing our mindset about debt - particularly credit card debt - debt is evil.
- eliasg, on 08/11/2008, -1/+12I'm the same way; use credit cards for everything, pay the balance in full each month, NO EXCEPTIONS.
The perks:
Business Amex gets me 5% cash back on some purchases, 1% on everything else.
Personal credit card gets me points. I cash the points for $100 Ruth's Chris gift cards for my wife and I to enjoy.
If I can't afford to buy it with cash, then I can't afford buy it with a card, either; just because you can afford something doesn't mean you need it or should get it. - purzzzell, on 08/11/2008, -1/+11if you have a mortgage, your credit score isn't 0.
- HeyaBILL, on 08/11/2008, -1/+10You managed to use "wake up" twice but couldn't find a spot to use "sheeple" even once? Your technique is rusty.
- nmessick, on 08/11/2008, -0/+9the real problem is often thats its not the fight to keep afloat, as much as it is the fight to maintain an image with the cell phones and the air jordans.
- sgiffy, on 08/11/2008, -2/+11I'm not sure its so simple. A fair bit of consumer debt is productive. Things like cars, clothes for work, recreation that leaves one rested and ready to work, etc. Also sometimes you need to spend money in advance to fix a needed appliance or whatever. The cost of the debt can often be less than the cost of tapping retirement or investments.
I am not arguing that indebting yourself to the hilt is a good idea, only that the cost of debt can often be well worth it. - dhaval1985, on 08/11/2008, -0/+8If everybody did spend according to their means we would not be this debacle!!!!
- norman619, on 08/11/2008, -1/+9Our own government doesn't live by those wise words. When companies like Enron do it then it's criminal. When the US government does the exact same thing it's OK.
- sgtawol, on 08/11/2008, -0/+8If you can't pay it off that same month, don't buy it.
Nuff said. - kalvinb, on 08/11/2008, -0/+8As long as there is the "need it now" mentality there will always be credit card debt.
I personally have a 15 year debt free plan. The difference between paying off your $165K house at 7% in 30 years and 15 years is about $400 per month. Student loans are set to be paid off in 15 years I believe so I can pay the minimum on those and put extra money on the house which has a higher interest rate. In our case we were already paying extra on the house and I found out that we needed just $100 more per month to meet the 15 year plan. The faster you get your house paid off the faster you free up $1500 or more per month in cash to do what you want with.
Credit cards are only used for monthly expenses and get paid off every month. The reason they're used at all is because I get cash back so it saves money to use them.
Like it or not you need credit. Credit cards are an easy way to build credit so you can buy that house with a lower interest rate or get that car with 0% interest. You have to live somewhere and I'd rather pay interest on a house than throw away money on rent for an apartment. In 15 years I won't have a house payment but you'll still be paying rent.
You just have to be responsible and know how to use it to your benefit. - Testiculese, on 08/11/2008, -0/+8They also aren't smart enough to understand what 30% interest levels really mean.
- sodoh, on 08/11/2008, -1/+9This concept is a bit alien to me. Why would you need 7 credit cards?? OK 1 per person maybe (husband/wife) but beyond that any extra credit cards is basically living beyond your means.
Curious as to the reasoning why. - RIPtechtv, on 08/11/2008, -2/+9Exactly. I am 20 years old. My parents have 4 creadit cards all of them near or maxed out. This is why I do not even have a creadit card (I get made fun of by my friends and my parents push me all the time to get one). I have always liked the idea of living within my means and not spending more then I have. I lost my job in March thanks to the amazing job that California does at managing the state buget. Yet I still have $4,000 in savings, I have $2,000 CD accounty (none of my friends even have a CD account and dont even know what it stands for). I have 300 shares in a mutual fund thats doing fair.
I have a a good computer that I built last Febuary that I payed for with Cash, I have a high Def TV I payed for in cash, and a few other things.
I just live within my means I do not spend that much money. The only down side to this is I keep myself from buying even more things I want (like getting another 2 gigs of RAM just so I can have 4 and getting another SLI Nvida Geforce 7950 so I can have a gig of video memory (512 isnt cutting it anymore). - JFallon126, on 08/11/2008, -1/+8People always look at me weird when I say this but RTS games like Command and Conquer taught me to avoid lifestyles like this. You learn right away in those game if you spend all your money you're *****. Spending money you don't have is such a foreign concept to me I can't wrap my head around the fact that the average American has 16K in credit card debt. Maybe they should've played more C&C growing up...
- inactive, on 08/11/2008, -0/+7yes.. its called the library
- sgiffy, on 08/11/2008, -3/+10Most People have plenty of elasticity in their budgets and can cut spending to pay down some debt. This will be helped by the collapse of the commodity bubble which equals the end of inflation as a real threat. Couple that with the US being well poised to come out of this downturn in good shape and we should be just fine.
We will pay down our debts, some will simply be written off, but otherwise things will continue as they have been. - ileftfark, on 08/11/2008, -0/+6I think the "sharp slowdown" and "high consumer debt levels" are proof that people aren't going to stop using credit (and unwisely at that). We've been trending towards more and more credit debt per person for the last 10 years, I think tougher economic times will only exacerbate that streak. There are simply just too many people that don't get the concept of "living within your means".
- inactive, on 08/11/2008, -0/+6just to point something out.. there are only TWO college loans that don't require credit checks. Stafford and Perkins. And schools have to be signed up for them for a student to be able to recieve them. The maximum for each is $4000 for the year.. the WHOLE year.. not per semester..
- cowman80i9, on 08/11/2008, -0/+6why is he being dugg down? I think "real life lesson" should start in 9th grade where they teach you things like how to use credit card.
- markgl, on 08/11/2008, -1/+7its easy to just pull that card out ans swipe away. no one thinks twice about it till it's too late. ask me or the millions of other people who have done it in the past. only now am i changing my spending habits.
- blackpearl, on 08/11/2008, -1/+7Some of us were not that lucky to have folks that would teach them this lesson. My father figured that as a child of the depression, if he had money he could spend it. In addition, after the war if you spent more than you had, it was not a problem because you could always make more. He started his family in a fifth floor walk up and ended in a 15 room house.
Unfortunately, I was not so lucky. - wem003, on 08/11/2008, -0/+6It's advertisers/marketers/profit centers/etc. against a good financial eduction base that is just not there in US schools.
I remember in middle school having a 2 or 3 week project the teacher called 'Look out world, here I come'. The goal was to look in papers for jobs, apartments, a car, groceries, etc. To see how much things cost vs. what you could bring in.
A nice start, but sadly never saw anything like it again in school.
This was 20 years ago. No clue what they teach now. - perogi21, on 08/11/2008, -0/+6Saving != investing
Have enough cash/cd etc to let you live for 3-6 months without a job, and invest the rest. - bdbr, on 08/11/2008, -0/+6Seven is probably not necessary, but its smart to have at least two or three cards. Examples:
- Not every vendor accepts every card, particularly outside the US
- Having to close an account due to fraud
- Sometimes when you're traveling, they lock your account for "suspicious" activity
Credit cards are very handy when managed right. They're downright essential when traveling (try reserving a car or hotel without one). - thehawk23, on 08/11/2008, -1/+6Those who have credit will continue to use their credit until they have no credit. Americans are highly-trained consumers, not savers, and we will remain that way until someone else takes our credit cards away from us.
- DiscoLando, on 08/11/2008, -5/+10My credit score is 0. You know what? I still have a house, a car, I feed and clothe my family, buy toys and games, and do everything else a red blooded American is supposed to.
The only difference is I'm aggressively paying off my mortgage and paying for everything else with cash or my debit card. - pwnerofnoobs, on 08/11/2008, -1/+6I've got 8 cards. My total line of credit is over 40k. My debt is $250.00. It's called being resonsible.
- drlha, on 08/11/2008, -1/+6"My credit score is 0."
No, it isn't. If you have a mortgage and are not in credit card debt, your credit score is most likely around 700+ as well. Also the fact is that the lowest possible credit score is not zero. - dystra, on 08/11/2008, -0/+5Bamont i totally agree. alot of people replying here are blaming their parents though. My sister and I are the same age and were brought up by the same parents yet we both have different oulooks on debt. She's in debt and i'm far from it. the difference between her and me is that she cares alot about what people think of her and maintaining a certain "status and lifestlyle." I could give a *****. Point is, my mother was stingy with her money, my dad wasnt...my sister went my dads route. Was her choice, stop blaming your parents and the government.
-
Show 51 - 100 of 269 discussions
Browsing Digg on your phone just got easier with our enhancements to the 
© Digg Inc. 2009
— Content created and posted by Digg users is