There are two things that I am sick to death of. Being FAT and being BROKE! I think we are plenty aware of the first problem, so let me tell you more about my other problem. Like most Americans, I have credit card debt. I didn't used to, nor have I ever struggled with paying a balance down, but changes in employment, the burden of a new mortgage, and recent increases in the cost of living has left me with some pretty hefty debt. Debt that I am not comfortable carrying. I haven't missed a payment, I'm not late or behind, and we have a very positive credit score. No one seems to be concerned that our savings is nil, our debt-to-income ratio is climbing, and too much money is being wasted on unnecessary interest payments. No one seems to be noticing or caring except for us that is. We've been rewarded with even more credit and higher limits, despite what I feel is a clear inability to pay!
Why am I upset with the banks and not myself?? First off, I am upset with myself. I am smarter than the average bear and my keen sense of mistrust coupled with stubbornness and cynicism generally keeps me out of trouble. Well, at least this kind of trouble. I feel a bunch of circumstances beyond my control has landed me in a more vulnerable position than usual and the banks have taken full advantage!
I am a credit union girl. I have a low-interest card that for the most part keeps me happy. But my husband had a few other cards that aren't so generous with regard to low interest rates and fees. Not having access to my card, he began using some of his cards and eventually so did I. All of a sudden, our ability to pay them off each month began to slide. After years of not carrying a balance, you would think the banks would become concerned. But instead, they began to respond in the most unusual of ways. They started raising the limits on all our cards and sending us letters that highlight our credit worthiness. Huh. Then they started sending us applications for more credit cards despite our already new higher limits. We of course, turned them down. We were put on notice that our interest rates would be increasing significantly due to changes in the economic environment. Well that kinda sucks since we had started to carry a balance. How convenient for the banks. Now we began to pay a little more feverishly on the balances. With the increase in interest we were, in fact, budgeting more toward our debt, but seeing less of a reduction in the balance. I noticed that the payment date changed every month, making it difficult to keep at the forefront of my mind when a particular bill was due. Simultaneously, I noticed a decrease in the alerts telling me a bill was due. Many banks switched to paperless billing, meaning a missed email or accidental delivery to your spam box could make you not aware you even have a bill coming due. This seemed to save the banks mailing costs while also gaining them more dollars in late fees. Good deal for them, not such a good deal for you. But hey, don't forget about the guilt induced pressure they levied on you to help the environment.
Finally, after convincing everyone to do away with paying by check, they seemed to change the response time on processing electronic payments. Suddenly, if your due date was a Sunday, you needed to have made that payment by Friday before 5. Some wanted it even sooner in order for it not to be considered late. Doesn't that defeat the whole purpose of eliminating mailing time...?? If it's still going to take in upwards of three days to process my payment, why am I not just writing a check!? Oh, that's right. This is so you can have the money immediately, but I can still be charged as though it was late. Gotcha! Having been late one or two times in a year for this very reason, suddenly I was receiving notice that I had triggered some sort of penalty APR?! My interest rate was going up to 22% because I had made the bad decision of paying four times more than what the minimum balance is, but had done so on a Friday at 9 p.m. instead of Thursday by 5, for a bill that wasn't due until Sunday.
Now I had a few questions about this "penalty APR" and the rather insulting letter that accompanied it suggesting I am now a credit risk. First question, "explain to me how six months ago they were raising my limit without my permission because I was sooo credit worthy, but now suddenly I am a credit risk?!" What is different NOW as compared to six months ago?! I still live at the same address. I still earn the same money. I still drive the same car. I still shop at the same stores. "Oh I know, you gave me all this credit and now that I am actually using some of it at YOUR insistence, I am now a risk?!?" "And by insistence I mean, you have literally bombarded me with paper checks, incentives, coupons, partnerships with my favorite retailers, phone calls, emails, AND an offer to use the card to pay my federal, state, and property taxes!?!" Seems like sorta a dumb thing to do for someone they consider a risk?!! You can imagine the response the not quite English speaking, brainwashed, script-reading, call center employee gave me.
To tell you how nuts I am, I sent the company (that sent me a letter stating I was now a credit risk ) a letter saying I think their excessive fees, inconsistent interest rates, and constant policy changes have made THEM a risk to MY credit and I will no longer be needing their services :-)
Here is the credit card game stated ever so eloquently by my next of kin brother.
1.) First, we lure you into a credit card.
2.) Then, we convince you to use it for EVERYTHING because "some things money can't buy, for everything else there is MasterDebt."
3.) Next, we change the terms of the agreement and attempt to convince you that you've been irresponsible with your credit.
4.) Finally, we call you on a weekly basis offering to "sell" you help to get out of a mess you never created in the first place!
Tune in tomorrow for the exciting finale. Till then...
"Money is the barometer of a society's virtue." -Ayn Rand
Why am I upset with the banks and not myself?? First off, I am upset with myself. I am smarter than the average bear and my keen sense of mistrust coupled with stubbornness and cynicism generally keeps me out of trouble. Well, at least this kind of trouble. I feel a bunch of circumstances beyond my control has landed me in a more vulnerable position than usual and the banks have taken full advantage!
I am a credit union girl. I have a low-interest card that for the most part keeps me happy. But my husband had a few other cards that aren't so generous with regard to low interest rates and fees. Not having access to my card, he began using some of his cards and eventually so did I. All of a sudden, our ability to pay them off each month began to slide. After years of not carrying a balance, you would think the banks would become concerned. But instead, they began to respond in the most unusual of ways. They started raising the limits on all our cards and sending us letters that highlight our credit worthiness. Huh. Then they started sending us applications for more credit cards despite our already new higher limits. We of course, turned them down. We were put on notice that our interest rates would be increasing significantly due to changes in the economic environment. Well that kinda sucks since we had started to carry a balance. How convenient for the banks. Now we began to pay a little more feverishly on the balances. With the increase in interest we were, in fact, budgeting more toward our debt, but seeing less of a reduction in the balance. I noticed that the payment date changed every month, making it difficult to keep at the forefront of my mind when a particular bill was due. Simultaneously, I noticed a decrease in the alerts telling me a bill was due. Many banks switched to paperless billing, meaning a missed email or accidental delivery to your spam box could make you not aware you even have a bill coming due. This seemed to save the banks mailing costs while also gaining them more dollars in late fees. Good deal for them, not such a good deal for you. But hey, don't forget about the guilt induced pressure they levied on you to help the environment.
Finally, after convincing everyone to do away with paying by check, they seemed to change the response time on processing electronic payments. Suddenly, if your due date was a Sunday, you needed to have made that payment by Friday before 5. Some wanted it even sooner in order for it not to be considered late. Doesn't that defeat the whole purpose of eliminating mailing time...?? If it's still going to take in upwards of three days to process my payment, why am I not just writing a check!? Oh, that's right. This is so you can have the money immediately, but I can still be charged as though it was late. Gotcha! Having been late one or two times in a year for this very reason, suddenly I was receiving notice that I had triggered some sort of penalty APR?! My interest rate was going up to 22% because I had made the bad decision of paying four times more than what the minimum balance is, but had done so on a Friday at 9 p.m. instead of Thursday by 5, for a bill that wasn't due until Sunday.
Now I had a few questions about this "penalty APR" and the rather insulting letter that accompanied it suggesting I am now a credit risk. First question, "explain to me how six months ago they were raising my limit without my permission because I was sooo credit worthy, but now suddenly I am a credit risk?!" What is different NOW as compared to six months ago?! I still live at the same address. I still earn the same money. I still drive the same car. I still shop at the same stores. "Oh I know, you gave me all this credit and now that I am actually using some of it at YOUR insistence, I am now a risk?!?" "And by insistence I mean, you have literally bombarded me with paper checks, incentives, coupons, partnerships with my favorite retailers, phone calls, emails, AND an offer to use the card to pay my federal, state, and property taxes!?!" Seems like sorta a dumb thing to do for someone they consider a risk?!! You can imagine the response the not quite English speaking, brainwashed, script-reading, call center employee gave me.
To tell you how nuts I am, I sent the company (that sent me a letter stating I was now a credit risk ) a letter saying I think their excessive fees, inconsistent interest rates, and constant policy changes have made THEM a risk to MY credit and I will no longer be needing their services :-)
Here is the credit card game stated ever so eloquently by my next of kin brother.
1.) First, we lure you into a credit card.
2.) Then, we convince you to use it for EVERYTHING because "some things money can't buy, for everything else there is MasterDebt."
3.) Next, we change the terms of the agreement and attempt to convince you that you've been irresponsible with your credit.
4.) Finally, we call you on a weekly basis offering to "sell" you help to get out of a mess you never created in the first place!
Tune in tomorrow for the exciting finale. Till then...
"Money is the barometer of a society's virtue." -Ayn Rand
For starters, I do not (and never did) buy into the "Going Green" BS. Every company on the planet is preaching this crap, but the reality is, the only “green” they’re concerned with, is the amount paid to their shareholders. Give me a break!
ReplyDeleteAllow me to draw to your attention a typical example: Here is a brief synopsis of Walmart’s green policy, pulled directly from their website:
At Walmart, we know that being an efficient and profitable business and being a good steward of the environment are goals that can work together. Our broad environmental goals at Walmart are simple and straightforward:
• To be supplied 100 percent by renewable energy;
• To create zero waste;
• To sell products that sustain people and the environment.
OK, I’m not quite sure where to begin with this crock, so why not start at the beginning.
#1: 100% renewable energy – Bullshit // period // end of discussion.
#2: Zero waste – Really? I challenge you to go out and research just how wasteful this company is.
#3a: Products that “sustain” people – Ah like the outstanding wages Walmart pays its employees, or how they ensure that the near-slave labor conditions over in China meet their “we pretend to care about the community” mantra. Got it.
#3b: Products that “sustain” the environment” – Really? When’s the last time you bought anything at Walmart that didn’t need to be replaced in less than a year (that is, if it wasn’t already broken by the time you got it home). You know, excluding consumables; things like toasters, tables, bedding, shavers, wall clocks, etc. All those high quality, made-in-China products we’ve come to know and love. Ah-ha. And just where do you think that stuff ends up when you decide it needs to be replaced? That’s right, in the trash. They only thing Walmart is helping to sustain, is your local landfill! (And before you say it, I know this isn't just Walmart. After all you they don'y make the products, right? OK, but you can't argue the fact that they sell the absolute worst of the worst, and therefore are a major contributor to the problem.)
Bottom line, if we’re being completely honest here, the only accurate thing in that entire paragraph is the word “profitable” - That, they’ve managed to master… 100%!
Having said that, I could go on and on, but this isn’t my blog, I’m just a visitor here. So I’ll leave you with this parting thought:
Anything these companies do is for profit, and profit alone. They’re not [green], they’re [greedy]. They turn their charitable donations into an opportunity to maximize company exposure and gain free advertising, while destroying the communities they claim to support. They don’t give a shit about you, their employees, the environment, or safety, despite their carefully written policies. So beware. It’s a shame, but that’s just the way it is…
WOW! That comment was as long as my post. Maybe you should guest post sometime. I didn't want to edit your comments because, well, they are your comments, but shorter gets more of a read. I see I'm not the only one who is angered by this! I like your [green} vs. {greedy} argument! I agree with you! ;-)
ReplyDeleteFeel free to edit anytime. After all, it's your blog, and as your "anonymous" older brother, I'm used to being critiqued by you, as I'm sure most others in your social circle can attest to.
ReplyDeleteLOL - Just kidding of course... well, kinda.
;-)
Don't you find it ironic that the only person who would go on a rant as ridiculous as mine would be related to me...Blaha ha hahahahhaha!!! I think we need to make you a guest blogger, maybe not on this blog since you are fit, but definitely on a future blog!
ReplyDelete