I've simply never been able to understand people spending money they don't have.
I much prefer Debit cards. You spend money you have got.
I use Pay As You Go phones; they can't charge me too much if the money isn't there.
I've never had a mortgage. I bought my small house with the royalties from my first hit, leaving me just enough to pay for my second.
Which enabled me to discover, name and record Genesis.
More hits let me buy 10cc and record The Rocky Horror Show.
My iTunes royalties fund the costs of publishing my books and making my films.
Amazon Kindle monies will pay for my next film and next book.
Isn't that the way to live?

For the vast majority of people they have no other choice other than getting credit, how is the average joe supposed to buy a house or a car otherwise ?

Pay as you go phones are a complete rip off in comparison to the deals that you can get on contract if you shop about. I pay £7.50 a month for unlimited texts 400 minutes and 1gb of data including a free HTC phone .

I am sure if people could pay their debts off they would but seeing as though prices are soaring and the paypacket is getting smaller what can people do.

But I agree many people live way beyond their means .

In the not to distant future it will become the norm to be on the dole with the lucky few having a job then whats everyone going to do.

Evo wrote:
For the vast majority of people they have no other choice other than getting credit, how is the average joe supposed to buy a house or a car otherwise ?

Pay as you go phones are a complete rip off in comparison to the deals that you can get on contract if you shop about. I pay £7.50 a month for unlimited texts 400 minutes and 1gb of data including a free HTC phone .

I am sure if people could pay their debts off they would but seeing as though prices are soaring and the paypacket is getting smaller what can people do.

But I agree many people live way beyond their means .

In the not to distant future it will become the norm to be on the dole with the lucky few having a job then whats everyone going to do.

Surely if people stop spending money they don't have then the whole country grinds to a halt? Maufacturing etc. Evo, what network is that deal on?

Yes; it's not the ramifications I'm querying but the bizarre morality - or practicality actually.

It's not that I feel it's "good" or "better" only to spend money you've got, it's simply I cannot understand any other approach.

When I bought my little house back in 1967, friends in pop asked why I hadn't bought a bigger one. I replied "a) I don't have more money and b) I'm perfectly content in a small house".

So many mates bought huge houses they couldn't afford (image) and took drugs. I did neither.

Mind you, most of them didn't spend 3 1/2 years in prison for crimes that were never committed!

If God had asked me then whether I'd choose living in a tiny room and only eating bread and water but being able to make music, I'd have said Yes Please. Still would.

Angel its with Orange to answer your question. I have been with them a number of years and each time I renew the contract I deal with the retentions department and the monthly payment goes down though I doubt it can drop any further now.

angel wrote:
Surely if people stop spending money they don't have then the whole country grinds to a halt? Maufacturing etc.

... or to put it another way .... if people "buy" (on tick) goods that they can never pay for then the whole country goes bang !

What do you think got us into this mess?

Evo wrote:
For the vast majority of people they have no other choice other than getting credit, how is the average joe supposed to buy a house or a car otherwise ?

You DONT NEED a car !
Generations have managed without. Petrol sales are (apparently) down considerably on 2/3 years ago. What is the point - apart for image - of having a car that you cannot afford to run ?

I am sure if people could pay their debts off they would but seeing as though prices are soaring and the paypacket is getting smaller what can people do.

But I agree many people live way beyond their means .

I doubt that very much (amongst certain classes.
They are the "everything now (without working for it)" class.

In the not to distant future it will become the norm to be on the dole with the lucky few having a job then whats everyone going to do.

Nonsense - there will always be jobs for those that have talent, skills, ability and (probably more importantly) the willingness to work.

Its the "something for nothing" brigade that expect huge wages - when they are not actually qualified to do anything ! - that always make such quotes as "there arent any jobs"!

There are thousands of unfilled vacancies - which is why foreign workers are here (doing jobs that the idle wont do).

"Deal with your debts" he says instead; as usual, obedient to his masters in the media every time.
Headline politics; slogan morality; we are going to hell in a handcart.

Nonsense - there will always be jobs for those that have talent, skills, ability and (probably more importantly) the willingness to work.

Its the "something for nothing" brigade that expect huge wages - when they are not actually qualified to do anything ! - that always make such quotes as "there arent any jobs"!

There are thousands of unfilled vacancies - which is why foreign workers are here (doing jobs that the idle wont do).[/quote]

Well there are already not enough jobs to go round and its only going to get worse due to en ever increasing population and a government that kills off as many industries as they possibly can with more and more tax and stupid rules.

1 out of 3 shops is currently empty across the UK
The Pub and Club industry has died a death due to the smoking ban and ridiculous taxation. Look how dead London is these days
Manufacturing has completely gone
The contruction industry is in freefall etc etc.

What on earth do you need talent skill and ability to work in an office for ?

In The Know wrote:
angel wrote:
Surely if people stop spending money they don't have then the whole country grinds to a halt? Maufacturing etc.

... or to put it another way .... if people "buy" (on tick) goods that they can never pay for then the whole country goes bang !

What do you think got us into this mess?

I know many people with credit cards (i'm not one) who are financially comfortable. It those who choose to buy things they cant pay off that got us into "this mess." Use a credit card wisely and there are many benefits.

Evo wrote:
Well there are already not enough jobs to go round and its only going to get worse due to en ever increasing population

There are MORE people working now than ever before. Nearly all women work these days whereas previously married women rarely did.

1 out of 3 shops is currently empty across the UK

Its actually 1 in 10 ... but online sales have more than made up for it, plus the HUGE expansion of out-of-town shopping areas more than compensate.

Manufacturing has completely gone

Thank you, loony Labour !

What on earth do you need talent skill and ability to work in an office for ?

We dont need pit props any more ... the skilled and qualified WILL get on, the rest are surplus to requirements.
This is a glorius warning to future generations - waste your educational opportunities at your own peril !

angel wrote:
I know many people with credit cards (i'm not one) who are financially comfortable. It those who choose to buy things they cant pay off that got us into "this mess." Use a credit card wisely and there are many benefits.

Mmmm. Don't you think putting temptation in front of the under-class is a bad idea?

I heard someone from a debt counselling firm on Breakfast TV this morning ... she said her average "client" had debts of 18K. Is that wise ?

Paul Lewis, (of BBC Radio 4 Money Box fame) was on Breakfast TV this morning, and he said something interesting. If you borrow £1,000 on a typical credit card and just pay off the minimum amount, it will take you twenty seven years to pay of the debt. If you pay off just DOUBLE the minimum, it will take three and a bit years.

In The Know wrote:
angel wrote:
I know many people with credit cards (i'm not one) who are financially comfortable. It those who choose to buy things they cant pay off that got us into "this mess." Use a credit card wisely and there are many benefits.

Mmmm. Don't you think putting temptation in front of the under-class is a bad idea?

I heard someone from a debt counselling firm on Breakfast TV this morning ... she said her average "client" had debts of 18K. Is that wise ?

I agree with your points but let's not generalise (again)!

it's called capitalism JK.

Small tip: on Tesco's Mobile Lite tariff, calls cost just 8 pence p/m and texts 4 pence each.

Do loans count? I got a loan before for college but I only went to a community college so it wasn't that much and I was able to pay it all back. But yeah, I only use debit cards too. Some people though only think of the present. They don't like to think about the consequences of their actions. They block it all out and just do whatever. They think they'll find a way out of everything.

the USA and the UK would grind to a halt without credit (and credit cards)

so would Australia (with every person owing about ten times what they are worth)

What the credit providers never tell you is the ginormous amount of 'debt' through fraud and non-payments they write off every year.

My nephew in the UK runs a debt collection company..he says you would be shocked at the amount of debt written off every year...which means profit on debt is staggering.

ps : he tells me the current cut-off point for a credit provider to chase non paid debt is now 5000 pounds (unless you are a homeowner). That means if you run up 4999 quid on credit cards and don't pay, it's unlikely they will pursue you to court.

In The Know wrote:
Evo wrote:
Well there are already not enough jobs to go round and its only going to get worse due to en ever increasing population

There are MORE people working now than ever before. Nearly all women work these days whereas previously married women rarely did.

1 out of 3 shops is currently empty across the UK

Its actually 1 in 10 ... but online sales have more than made up for it, plus the HUGE expansion of out-of-town shopping areas more than compensate.

Manufacturing has completely gone

Thank you, loony Labour !

What on earth do you need talent skill and ability to work in an office for ?

We dont need pit props any more ... the skilled and qualified WILL get on, the rest are surplus to requirements.
This is a glorius warning to future generations - waste your educational opportunities at your own peril !

you must be very young In The Know.
Margaret Thatcher is the one who set about destroying British manufacturing with addmittedly Nu Labour joining in but they were hardly 'loony' and knew exactly what they were doing-handing state owned assets to the lowest bidder.
Also bear in mind that when you shop 'out of town; at a Westfield you are also supporting illegal settlements on Palestinian land.
The Chairman of Westfield (once a member of Haganah and wanted by the British as a terrorist) is a funder of those settlements.

"the rest are surplus to requirements." God only knows what you mean by that.