There’s no doubt about it. Credit card companies have their greedy little eyes on one thing and one thing only…your money!
Is there still something inside you that is asking – “How can a card that rewards me for spending be bad? Sounds like a pretty good deal!”
Let the latest numbers on credit card debt and interest rates make it clear to you why using personal checks makes so much more sense – and why credit cards do nothing but perpetuate greed.
It certainly seems that more and more Americans are getting the picture when it comes to credit card debt. People are writing bigger checks and paying down those balances at a record rate because they’re sick and tired of putting up with all the bologna being handed to them.
Credit Card debt fell to an eight-year low in the first quarter of 2010. The average is now $4,591. It’s also the fifth quarter in a row that there has been a decline and the first time since 2002 that average debt fell to less than five-thousand dollars.
Credit card delinquency is down too! Less than 1% of consumers are 90 days or more behind on their credit card payment.
Ezra Becker of TransUnion, which is one of the three major credit agencies, says consumers keep paying down debt from credit cards “in response to economic uncertainty and high unemployment.”
You could argue that all this is happening because people are being forced to act more responsibly with their money. But maybe it’s a lesson we all needed to learn.
Getting back to basics by budgeting our spending, starting to save more, and using personal checks may have never happened if Americans had not fallen on hard economic times.
We’re learning to keep our own greed in check by resisting the urge to buy everything we want right when we want it.
As for the greed of the credit card companies…well, that’s another story!
Here’s your reward for paying down debt and being responsible with your finances…
Credit card interest rates have soared to a nine-year high!
That’s right! The credit card companies need to keep making money off of us, but that’s hard to do when there’s not as much debt. So now the average interest rate on existing cards has jumped to 14.7%. That’s more than 13% above what the average interest rate was one year ago.
Researchers believe the increase in interest rates was spurred by the recent passage of the Credit Card Accountability Responsibility and Disclosure Act of 2009. The so-called CARD act forced credit card companies to raise rates quickly before the law would no longer let them do so.
You know what’s great about personal checks? There’s no interest rate at all. And you don’t go into debt when you use them.
When you order checks from Check Advantage you’re taking the first step toward showing the credit card companies that you aren’t going to take it anymore.
The cheap checks offered at Check Advantage can even help you save money. You could save as much as 75% off what your bank would charge you to order checks.
Checks don’t have to be the only way you pay – but they can help you stay on top of your personal finances and stick to your budget.
It’s important that Americans avoid falling back into the trap. While credit spending is still less than it was before the financial meltdown in 2008, it’s on the rise again. Market research group Synovate says credit spending is up 6% in the first half of this year to the second highest level ever!
Don’t think the credit card companies haven’t noticed. You’re probably already seeing more offers in the mail. 640.3 million credit card offers were sent out in the second quarter of 2009. Compare that to 349 million during the same time last year.
Make no mistake – greed is the driving force behind a lot of things – and credit cards are on the top of that list.
Image credits: mompes, lotushead
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