American society tries to force debt on you and they try to hook you as soon as you can legally sign a contract. . When you get into college, you are inundated with offers from tons of CC companies with seemingly good terms but they’re actually horrible. It’ll say something like 12.9% interest rate, but in the fine print it tells you that it jump to 23.9% if you’re late on a payment. One brain fart or patch of bad luck and you’re fucked for as long as they can keep you under their foot.
If you’re fortunate, you had parents who taught you how to avoid the worst of them and to manage debt. But even so, it’s not easy because there are so many traps. Worse still, you have to do it. If you don’t get a credit card, you will have a very bad credit rating. That means when you go to buy a car or anything else that has to be financed you will get shit terms. It even makes it harder to get an apartment because the manager will check your credit before offering you a lease.
If you’re fortunate, you had parents who taught you how to avoid the worst of them and to manage debt.
My parents didn’t especially go out of their way to teach me to be frugal, but I guess I learned from watching them. The idea of buying something I can’t actually afford on a high interest credit card makes my skin crawl.
American society tries to force debt on you and they try to hook you as soon as you can legally sign a contract. . When you get into college, you are inundated with offers from tons of CC companies with seemingly good terms but they’re actually horrible. It’ll say something like 12.9% interest rate, but in the fine print it tells you that it jump to 23.9% if you’re late on a payment. One brain fart or patch of bad luck and you’re fucked for as long as they can keep you under their foot.
If you’re fortunate, you had parents who taught you how to avoid the worst of them and to manage debt. But even so, it’s not easy because there are so many traps. Worse still, you have to do it. If you don’t get a credit card, you will have a very bad credit rating. That means when you go to buy a car or anything else that has to be financed you will get shit terms. It even makes it harder to get an apartment because the manager will check your credit before offering you a lease.
My parents didn’t especially go out of their way to teach me to be frugal, but I guess I learned from watching them. The idea of buying something I can’t actually afford on a high interest credit card makes my skin crawl.