It really gets my goat how some people act ...

Barely surviving on credit cards

Take Lois Eldridge. The Arizona retiree has watched in dismay as her credit card balance doubled to $2,000 over the last few months...She has since drastically reduced her spending on clothing, entertainment and dining out

Rule of thumb -- you shouldn't be spending money on things you can't afford unless they're fixed expenses like mortgages. Entertainment and dining out don't qualify. As for clothes... she's retired. Who does she need to impress?

The retired criminology professor also has tried to get a job at a local college in order to supplement her Social Security and savings. But she found would-be employers either paid too little or told her she was overqualified. Her only other options were minimum-wage jobs at local retailers.

So she's too good to take the minimum wage jobs? Every day she refuses to work is a day when more interest accrues on the debt. Where else is the money going to come from, thin air? No wonder her credit card balance is going up.

I'd have a lot more sympathy if she had gotten into the debt because of something totally unavoidable like a medical expense. NOT "clothing, entertainment and dining out" -- especially not when they're retired.

Can't CNN find more deserving people to write about?

What really bugs me is not the fact that people like this exist..., but that CNN keeps pushing the issue of "bad economy" and rising food and gas prices. There's no accountability or personal responsibility mentioned anywhere...

I borrowed about $150,000 and increased my number of cards since January. Do you think CNN can do story on me?

depalma13 said:I borrowed about $150,000 and increased my number of cards since January. Do you think CNN can do story on me?

It would be good fun to draw them in with a line like that, tell them about an elaborate spreadsheet you created to help you pay off all of the cards, and that you estimate that you will not be rid of this debt for at least 225 days (est 7.5 months left on 12mo AOR). Remember to complain that the worst part is paying all of the (BT) fees.

The Federal Reserve reported Wednesday that Americans' credit card debt jumped 6.7% in the first quarter of this year to $957.2 billion

Wow...

thok said:The Federal Reserve reported Wednesday that Americans' credit card debt jumped 6.7% in the first quarter of this year to $957.2 billion

Wow...

$957.2B....that would be a sweet AOR

DiMAn0684 said:thok said:The Federal Reserve reported Wednesday that Americans' credit card debt jumped 6.7% in the first quarter of this year to $957.2 billion

Wow...

$957.2B....that would be a sweet AOR

Just imagine how lengthy the list of cards would be in the Quick Summary...

swandown said:Wait.....CNN just did a story on someone with a grand total of $2000 in credit card debt??
It's not news, it's CNN.

Thanks to these knuckleheads, people who use their brains just a little bit can take advantage of 5% rebates, 0% APRs, free plane tickets, and all the other crap that the banks use as loss-leaders.

Even some "smart" people are financially retarded.....

"The retired criminology professor also has tried to get a job at a local college in order to supplement her Social Security and savings. But she found would-be employers either paid too little or told her she was overqualified. Her only other options were minimum-wage jobs at local retailers."

CNN said:"Once they've fallen behind, it's increasingly difficult for them to become current on their credit card payments again," said William Black, senior vice president at Moody's.

Uh, no it's not. You just STOP USING THE CARD!

My husband and I once had $14,000 in credit card debt, back in 2003. Well, we ate a lot of ramen, turned off the cable, turned off the cell phones, got rid of frills like caller id on telephone, stopped going out for meals, stopped buying new clothes, and started putting more money towards the cards. We took what little money we had in savings and put it towards the cards. We paid off the $14,000 in about a year and a half by doing these things. That shows you how much money was being wasted on stupid crap.

Regardless of what some people might think, you don't need cable tv, steakhouse dinners and cell phones to SURVIVE. We only use 1 credit card now, think twice before charging (do I really need this item?), and pay off the entire bill every month.

I appreciate you posting these stories, but the people in them MAKE ME SICK. They could take control of their life, but they would rather whine and blame gas prices, food prices, etc., instead of themselves.