Variable Interest Rape
I know I've talked about this before since I already have clip art for this topic but I find it really damn irritating to get these credit card applications in the mail these days. It seems I'm ripping up 1 or 2 of these things a day. They all say I can have a great variable interest rate of 18.99% or higher. Some of these things come from companies whose cards I've already closed because they said they were going to jack my low fixed rate cards up to 20-some-percent.
Again, I've already talked about this stuff but I've also noticed that all these applications are coming from banks who got "bailed out" because they're "too big to fail" and stuff last year. So, we bail them out so they stay in business and they're supposed to start lending money to the little people again, right? Did they fail to mention that they'd being bleeding us to death at the same time? I don't think I heard that.
Anyway, I've sworn off the damn things. I have store cards that I use for some of the benefits but the run of the mill Citi, Bank of America, etc. cards have no chance in hell of making me a customer again. I have also taken a liking to the Move Your Money idea. Now, thankfully, my beautiful and intelligent wife of mine already knew the benefits of keeping our money in a credit union. It's been there for the past 7 wonderful years we've been married so I know I didn't help create that "financial crisis" everyone's jabbering about. What about you though? Did you help screw up the economy? Is your money paying for multimillion dollar bonuses for CEOs who wouldn't mind sticking "it" to you for few more bucks?
Update: Bill Maher talks about this movement and why it's important.
Comments
- Rochelle
- Incoming nonsensical rant...
Whenever people come into the shop (where I work) to pay for their order, about 60% of the time they pull out their AmEx card. That's the only card we don't accept and they invariably say something to the effect, "Oh, I guess I'll have to earn my miles on a different card."
What, pray tell, are these "miles" they keep talking about? I'm aware, due to a certain amount of media exposure in the 90s, that they are referring to airline miles that they have "earned" through the use of certain credit accounts. I guess the part that confuses me is what they are saving these miles up for? Is there some vacationing lifestyle of the moderately rich and locally famous that I'm not aware of? Is saving the $200 in airfare off of a credit card bonus plan really a justification to jet over to San Fran for a $4000 vacation? Whoever came up with the brainwashed sales pitch of giving away airline credit, or any other "bonus" for that matter, as a small percentage of overall expenditures should be applauded as the shyster of the century. *sigh* /rant
And yes, I did contribute to the lumbering American financial machine that broke down recently. I was a teenager at the time. We all did stupid things when we were teenagers, right?
Tue Jan 12, 2010 10:57 pm