Follow-up to this.

this is awesome.

i think, though, that in order to truly fight the "war," we all need to learn how to be responsible with our debt. sure, the credit companies are greedy sons-of-b***hes, but everyone already knows this...

also, i'm a new bank of america customer. i transferred all of my chase credit card debt to a bank of america card last year so i could pay it off (15 months 0 interest). just paid it all off today. being debt free is pretty sweet. definitely learned a good lesson about not spending more money than i actually have.

video was posted here yesterday:

1. Wait Americans pay up to 24% interest for their debt?! That's insane!

2. Ah so God's the guy who makes video's go viral. I have to say I don't always agree with his choice in video. I wonder if he also made that 2 girls 1 cup website go viral...

in India we pay 36% credit cards and even pay a penalty of 2-3% on outstanding principal if we want to close on a regular loan early.

The govt says they do not like it but want the banks to self regulate. the govt owns 50% of the banks :)) of course the govt guy who said he did not like it was not in any of those banks boards ...

Seriously, why the hell do you want to use a creditcard anyway ?

Use DEBIT cards. At least then you can keep your expenses in check.

Pay with what you have, not with what you "might" have.

Some of these rates are astronomically bad. The credit card industry is pretty messed up. Someone who pays their bill every month is called a deadbeat. If you have poor credit, you have to pay more for the privilege of borrowing money.

My father in law has stellar credit, and has had to credit card jump a few times in the last few years, as they would raise his rates for no apparent reason. He'd switch to a card with a year at 0%, pay like heck for a year, then switch to another with a low rate. He's now on an 11% interest rate card, and a bit upset that this is the absolute best rate available nowadays.

I have a card for a specific clothing store, which is currently paid off. I have no other debt, but don't have a house. It IS nice to know I don't owe a thing to anyone, and I can afford to buy what I want, or wait and save for it if I must.

i like credit cards give u 30 days cash with no interest if u use wisely - with what u have in bank earning interest or what u will get in ur salary - for work your doing right now

control, do not indulge, stay in means ... all same but for emphasis ...

For those who cannot handle credit, Doggy, you are absolutely right.

However:

1) if you plan on having a car or a house one day, you need to be able to get a mortgage- and that requires credit. You cannot build credit without a couple of credit cards that you maintain consistently. If you have no credit history, you will get a bad mortgage rate. Simple as that.

2) if you get a defective product and the store does not want to let you return it, you have leverage. Simply call your credit card company and tell them you were cheated and you are denying that charge. It gives you the upper hand. A debit card, on the other hand, deducts the purchase from your balance immediately, so you will have to fight for a refund - a much harder battle

I have a separate question. Is 12.99 considered good? When savings banks give you 2% on a CD, the rates should be in 7% range. I am a capitalist, and I understand you could charge whatever you want as long as it doesn't qualify as loan-sharking. But the banks have you by the throat and they know it. And this is why public opinion is so very much against Wall Street.

WOW 12.99% that is still high I think....People shouldnt have credit cards if they can't pay them off every month....

I don't even know what the current interest rate on my credit card is, I won't charge any more than I can pay off on time. But according to this source, 12.99% is on the high side of average.

To be fair though, the credit card companies are not in the business of floating your cash for free for 30 days - while that would be charitable, it does not make for a profitable business model. They require people to carry a balance in order to stay in business.

What this means, however, is that right from the start, they are at odds with the idea of individual fiscal responsibility. And the interest rates they charge are outright usury.

Her method can work at the expense of harming her credit.

When the raise your rates like this you can choose to not accept the rate change. Doing so cancels your account and you continue to pay off the card with no possible increases and without any dings to your credit.

She realized she could hurt her credit rating in doing what she did but wanted to take a stand against the 'evil, thieving b*****d' banks, for herself and everyone else. Especially as they are now operating on (her) taxpayer dollars.