by Beks
I was excited to hear about the Credit Card Accountability Responsibility and Disclosure Act of 2009. I thought it would finally give people trying to reduce debt, a real chance at making headway.
Silly optimistic me.
NBC reports new ways credit card companies can sneakily get around the rules and find ways to make paying off debt more difficult.
It’s up to us to keep up with the game.
Read the article here: http://www.nbclosangeles.com/news/business/ConsumerMan__Have_a_credit_card__Read_this-85107382.html
Beks is a full-time government employee who enjoys blogging late into the night after her four kids have gone to sleep. She’s been married to Chris, her college sweetheart, for 15 years. In 2017, after 3 long years working the Dave Ramsey Baby Steps, they paid off more than $70K and became debt free. When she’s not working or blogging, she’s exploring the great outdoors.
“NBC reports new ways credit card companies can sneakily get around the rules and find ways to make paying off debt more difficult.”
I don’t get the statement. Congress took away an income stream that was equivalent to billions, BILLIONS, for the industry as a whole. No one (except maybe Congress) could possibly have believed that they weren’t going to make it up somewhere. They would be failing their shareholders if they did anything but try to make money.
Why should a Credit Card company help you(Meaning the consumer, not Beks). You got your self into debt and they profit from it. Its their business model. If you go bankrupt, they sell off the debt to a collections agency and still make money.
It comes down to education. Teach your young about debt and it won’t be a problem. Teach them how to budget their money, don’t wait for a bailout.
The credit card companies will always win, that’s how they do business. The only reason ever to use a credit card is in an emergency, or to gain airmiles by using it daily and paying it off in full every month!
It’s important to read the fine print, especially now that banks are going to be looking for ways to make back the money they’re losing to this new set of laws.
Evan and Joe – I totally agree. This is a business and they have to make money. But we as consumers should be aware how the changes will effect us. The best way to prevent charges? Don’t have credit card debt.