...Should Americans use credit cards? 8/29/10 University Composition and Communication II Lowrie Fawley Axia College of University of Phoenix Why would a person want to induce stress, have financial burdens, and pay more out-of-pocket expense just for using a credit card? There is no need to strap your self into the continuous game that credit card companies like to play. This is why it is best to not use credit cards for any reason what so ever. According to a study published in the journal Social Science and Medicine (February 2000), found that people with a higher level of debt were more likely to have higher stress levels than that of someone who had lower levels of debt. What this means is that people with the money to spend will spend it and not worry about the consequences until a later date. The stress hits after receiving their statement and often leads to depression related to not having the money to pay or having to pay out more money in interest fees. When you worry about money, it affects every aspect of your life. From doing daily chores to even going to work, it can place a burden on your family and quality of life. Furthermore, if you do not manage the stress correctly, you may end up with chronic depression, anxiety attacks, or even contemplate suicide. This stress is most common in students and graduates whom have a higher debt ratio than any other person. Having credit cards fills your life with even more strain as you have to worry about paying the...
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...Most Americans should not have credit cards. Today many people complain that their never ending credit card debt is based on the economy in crisis. Credit cards are typically misused and create large amounts of debt. Many people use credit cards for daily expenditures, or to buy their “wants”, rather than “needs.” Often credit cards are used for daily expenditures simply because people are living paycheck to paycheck and do not make enough money to pay their monthly bills and buy necessities. Other people may use credit cards to keep their current social status. Most people have some sort of social influences; however, do not need to rely on credit cards to live out of our means, just to keep a group of so called friends. Financial ignorance tends to be a large factor in the issues of credit card debt. The concept that many fail, is to take responsibility for their own poor decisions that made a bad situation worse. People grow wrapped up in the moment of shopping with their credit cards and fail to consider the consequences. The thought of how that bill would be paid next month when it comes in, is not always thought about. There are hundreds of credit card companies in this world. Each credit card company has different rates, fees, interest rates, and annual charges. When a credit card is used, it must be remembered that not only does the balance used have to be paid, but also interest and fees that will accrue on a monthly basis. Credit card debt typically...
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...Rough draft of final paper Credit Cards: People should not use Credit Cards: Axia College When you want to a credit card you will be obligated to give your personnel information. You may be request to give information on your work history, how long you live at the address you have , are you a citizen of the United States. All of the information go through customer service to check if you are qualified. Credit Cards that you get will have your own personnel name on it and no one can claim it if, stolen. There are some good advantages and band advantages of having a Credit Card. Some people use them for entertainment reason, going shopping and to pay bills. Most people get these credit cards and misuse them and then they wonder what happen when the bill come in. They went over the amount and there go your credit record going bad. Using these Credit cards can get you in big trouble if you don’t watch out how you spend. Once you have been provide these cards make sure you put them in a safe place. If you are not using them at the time of purchasing the items you need. There are used for emergencies, business and to buy a house. Over spending is one of the disadvantages of the card and you will be getting a interest rate on whatever you spend. You get a bill every month showing what you have spent. Credit cards will cause bankruptcy if, you don’t watch out how you use them. When you spend on these cards be caution of how much you would be using. It’s like a...
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...Why Americans Should Not Use Credit Cards My thesis will be covering why I think that American’s should not use credit cards and the consequences that come along with being in such an industry. It will be covering the regulation’s benefits many companies have and the don’ts on having them and what will come along with accepting them. I will talk about hidden fees along with annual fees and all the fine print that everyone seems to not read. I will also touch basis on the way how one can stay out of debt in the paying process even though everyone wants a credit card some should not have one due to mismanaging of their incoming funds period. Writing on how my views on the credit card industry and why it is targeting the venerable and the young college students and people they know need credit and give it to them at a APR that is out of this world keeping them bound and in debt to them. My views on the credit card industry are that if they know that a person has more outgo then income then they should not extend the credit. Some people are so desperate and they know it that they will give them the credit but it will cost them just as much for the credit than the credit itself. My view from my stand point of view because I been there is that as long as you pay on time regardless if it’s the minimum they will keep extending credit to you so you can stay in debt to them and by the time you have paid one thing off you could have bought three of the same thing. In my thesis...
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...Most Americans should not use credit cards Scott Lester COM/156 February 27 2011 Suzanne Delger Most Americans should not use credit cards 796,500,000,000. This is an incredibly astounding number, what do you suppose it represents? It is clearly too large even for the world population which currently sits at 6.4 billion people. This number is in fact the total U.S. revolving debt, 98% of which is made up of credit card debt, as of November 2010 according to the Federal Reserve’s report(2010) on consumer credit. There is no doubt that America is in the middle of a recession, historically speaking one of the worst ever, and credit cards are being widely overused and abused making the situation worse instead of better. There are certain things that people depend on, the basic essentials such as food and shelter. People very rarely realize one of the most important factors that we all depend on throughout our daily lives is our earning power. It is our earning power that gives us our homes, cars, food, water, and our dreams and our goals. Sadly though, this is not enough for Americans, when the earning power is not enough to give us the things we all want and demand right now, what do we do? Of course we mortgage our earning power and our future with credit cards. The administrative office of the U.S. courts lists an astounding total of 1.5 million bankruptcy cases were processed between June 2009 and June 2010. With that 73.4 % of those bankruptcies were a direct...
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...I believe there needs to be integrity in everything we do. There is integrity in day to day activities, who don’t we hold that standard to ourselves in terms of stealing or copyrighting. There are a number of issues with this and I will go over two of the issues we encounter when dealing with academic integrity. First off is the attitude toward buying assignment and laziness turning into plagiarism and second is the need for responsible blogging. These are the issues I find close to the heart in dealing with the integrity of any piece of work somebody comes up with. There is an absolute need for a code of ethics much like the one Axia has but for everything. With this code of ethics we could change the world so long as people are willing to change. First I want to touch on the attitude toward buying assignments. I have heard time and time again from people who have bought assignments online or produced an article from a fellow student, that it’s ok to buy an assignment. They believe that since big corporations steal ideas and products, it’s alright for them to do so. This is not true in the least but, it’s absolutely unethical in the worst way. This is an ongoing issue and the plagiarism check in our library here at Phoenix is absolutely essential to detect and deter these ongoing issues. The other half of this issue is the idea that it’s alright to copy someone else’s ideas and post them as your own. This includes blogging but effect the academic field in a much severe way...
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... Week Two Assignment Credit Cards play a large role in the average family’s economic crisis in the United States today. It seems that far too many people cannot budget their monthly expenses and credit cards are filling the gap between expenses and income. My advice to anyone that will listen is to live within your means. Some people are able to bridge this gap responsibly, but this is the exception rather than the rule. Every family needs to sit down and realistically prepare a budget. Define what things the family needs and at the bottom of the list define what things that the family wants. Items we can’t live without, (rent, power, water, insurance, food, and gas). Items we want, (cigarettes, soda pop, Starbucks, movies, and cable television). Calculate the monthly cost of our wants and needs. Once that magic number is agreed on calculate the family’s income. Unfortunately, the family income is usually a much easier number to understand. Whether it is one paycheck or two, the net income is what we have to work with. If the expenses are greater than the income, the credit card is not going to fix the problem; instead it will only enhance the problem exponentially. If you are unable to pay off the credit card each month, the interest rate can add up quickly. Once a person is in this predicament balance transfers to new cards, and credit card checks are the next way to fill the gap. Unfortunately, the credit cards companies have seen this played...
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...COMM/156 Casey Jeffers PART ONE The first thing that I would give as feedback is that the author should have gone into more detail with the paper. The introduction paragraph is ok, but it should have stated what points he wanted to go into detail with and then stated facts off those points. I felt as though the paper was all over the place. It should have more knowledge about the film The Dark Knight. By what the author has written it does not make me want to go see the film anymore than I did before I read paper. The author talks about The dark Knight in his introduction paper but the facts after that really do not match up to what I thought the rest of the paper was going to be about. Once he stated the facts he should have went into a lot more detail on what he felt about the film and why us as reader’s should go see this film. The author spoke about the film be a contender to earn an academy award nomination. I would have liked to hear more on how the film became a contender. What were the focal points of the movie that were great? Why, was the film then not picked as a nominee? The author also should have underlined the title of the movie. It would have helped the title stand out. There were some quotation marks missing from the Wikipedia. Also the conclusion of the paper did go back and restate what the introduction said in the beginning. The conclusion was very bland and not...
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...My thesis will be covering why I think that American’s should not use credit cards and the consequences that come along with being in such an industry. It will be covering the regulation’s benefits many companies have and the don’ts on having them and what will come along with accepting them. I will talk about hidden fees along with annual fees and all the fine print that everyone seems to not read. I will also touch basis on how one can stay out of debt in the paying process even though everyone wants a credit card some should not have one due to mismanaging of their incoming funds period. Writing on how my views on the credit card industry and why it is targeting the venerable and the young college students and people they know need credit and give it to them at a APR that is out of this world keeping them bound and in debt to them. My views on the credit card industry is that if they know that a person has more outgo then income then they should not extend the credit. Some people are so desperate and they know it that they will give them the credit but it will cost them just as much for the credit than the credit itself. My view from my stand point of view because I been there is that as long as you pay on time regardless if it’s the minimum they will keep extending credit to you so you can stay in debt to them and by the time you have paid one thing off you could have bought three of the same thing. In my thesis I want you expect that the information that I...
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...Running Head: Americans Should Not Use Credit Cards 1 Americans Should Not Use Credit Cards Christopher McDonald COM/156 Donna Madison-Bell, MS Running Head: Americans Should Not Use Credit Cards 2 With more Americans in financial trouble than ever before and personal debt at an all-time high, most Americans should shun credit card use. Americans are having trouble paying for their credit card purchases and they are taking on more debt than is fiscally sound based on their income. Many people are being mislead by the appealing advertising tactics of credit card companies and most don’t understand or receive the information they need to make intelligent use of their credit cards or make important personal finance decisions. In addition, today’s economy has left many people unemployed or underemployed. To compensate for their lack of income, many people are using their credit cards to pay for basic items like food and gasoline. Because they lack a substantial income, they then can’t pay the credit card companies. Still other people might lack the will power to resist buying items that they can’t afford. Instead of rationalizing that they do not have the cash for the purchase, they use a credit card and worry about it at a later date. Americans now have more personal debt and financial struggles than ever before in the nation’s history, in part because of irresponsible use of credit. A 2007 article in the magazine Mother Jones stated that Americans owe a staggering...
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...Credit Card Reporting Literacy: It’s Effects On The Quality Of Life Within The African American Community. By: Kaye D. Jackson Credit Reporting Literacy is defined simply as the consumers understanding of the basic of credit reporting and the disputes process, if needed be. The (GAO) Government Accountability Office, states that many consumers understood just what a credit report contained and the sources of this information (for example Equifax) and about 60 percent had seen their credit report. The GAO furthers states that many consumers did not know more detailed information, such as, how long items remained on their credit report or the impact their credit reports or the impact their credit history could have on their insurances rates and potential employment. Further behaviors, such as, using all their available credit could negatively affect their scores. Many consumer knew their right to dispute an inaccurate credit report (to be exact about 18 percent), but most consumers did not fully understand their right in the dispute processes. First, there is no cost to dispute inaccurate information, or that they could contact the Federal Trade Commission, which is the Federal agency primarily responsible for enforcing consumer rights with respect to credit reporting agencies, if they could not resolve a disputes with the (CRA’S). Bottom line; How does this reporting affect the Quality of Life for African Americans? Let’s examine the following factors: For African...
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...Income Limitations on Lifetime Learning Credit The amount of the Lifetime Learning Credit is limited over a phase-out range. If your adjusted gross income is below the phase-out, your credits are not reduced. If your income is in the middle of the phase-out range, your credits will be reduced. If your income exceeds the phase-out range, you are not eligible to claim the Lifetime Learning tax credit. Below is the income phase-out range for the year 2011: • $51,000 to $61,000 : Single, Head of Household, or Qualifying Widow • $102,000 to $122,000 : Married Filing Jointly The Lifetime Learning Credit is a tax credit for any person who takes college classes. It provides a tax credit of 20% of tuition expenses, with a maximum of $2,000 in tax credits on the first $10,000 of college tuition expenses. You can claim the Lifetime Learning Credit on your tax return if you, your spouse, or your dependents are enrolled at an eligible educational institution and you were responsible for paying college expenses. Unlike the American Opportunity credit, you need not be in the first four years of undergraduate classes. Even if you took only one class, you may take advantage of the Lifetime Learning Credit. The American Opportunity Tax Credit is a refundable tax credit for undergraduate college education expenses. This credit provides up to $2,500 in tax credits on the first $4,000 of qualifying educational expenses. The tax credit is scheduled to have a limited life span: it will be available...
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...Costco and American Express terminate a 16 year old business partnership Costco, a wholesale retail giant and American Express, a financial services corporation, recently announced that they would be ending their contract. According to the terms of their agreement, American Express was the sole credit card accepted at Costco. Additionally, American Express and Costco had issued a co-branded TrueEarnings credit card, which could also be used at other stores. After March 31, 2016, customers will no longer be able to use American Express credit cards in Costco. The TrueEarnings credit card will also be discontinued [1]. From a marketing perspective, this could have several consequences for both firms. What are the implications for each company's brand with this decision? American Express’s brand image has been adversely affected with the termination of its contract with Costco. There are several factors that contribute to the same. • Low confidence of Costco in American Express’s brand: The termination of the contract, albeit from a financial perspective, implies that the exclusivity that American Express had commanded has ceased to exist. Costco clearly sees no benefit in being associated with American Express’s brand, which may result in declining confidence among American Express customers, particularly those associated with the TrueEarnings card. • Declining status symbol: An erstwhile force in the credit card industry, American Express currently faces stiff...
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...Americans and Money Today Americans are generally becoming more irresponsible with their money. In some cases Americans are spending more money than they make in a year. This is partly due to not having a budget, bad spending habits, credit card debt and impulsive purchases. Some Americans are also not saving money for incidents or emergencies. For instance the primary vehicle breaks down. There is no savings, what will he or she do? Get a loan? Use the credit card? Or perhaps borrow money? By not having a savings this will cause the person to be in debt. Because of the ease of obtaining credit cards and convenience Americans have generally become more irresponsible with their money. It can be easy for Americans to get into a large amount of credit card debt. After acquiring one credit card with a low credit limit the card holder can make a small purchase, then make small monthly payments on the amount charged. After making the on time payments, the credit company will often raise the credit limit allowing a larger dollar amount to be charged. This is fine, as long as the credit card holder continues to make the monthly payments. As the monthly payments are made the credit card holder’s credit score is on the rise. This could raise the limit on the card so that a larger amount can be charged on the card. This will also give the credit card holder more chances to apply for new credit cards. Some Americans can end up with more than five different credit cards, allowing their...
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...Final Draft Although there are many advantages of possessing credit cards, most Americans should not use them; because they do not use them properly to where they become liable or subject to overwhelming debt, which could damage their credit history. Personal credit card debt has doubled in the past four years and personal bankruptcies are at the highest ever, and still more Americans are spending money that they do not have. Credit cards allow and encourage individuals to buy more than budgeted, and this is obviously a situation, which is best to avoid. Knowing when it is a bad idea to use a credit card can help you to avoid adding debt to your credit card. It is no doubt that the use of credit cards have eased the rate in which people obtain goods and services, but the use of credit cards have done more damage to the finances of Americans credit card users than good. Credit cards have become a problem for most American credit card users and there are even cases that some Americans have committed suicide because of the heavy debts he or she owes the credit card companies. Should Americans continue using credit cards? The answer is definitely no as the detriment that comes with using credit cards outweighs the benefits. Credit cards are a huge convenience in everyday life, yet most people are irresponsible when using them. The convenience of possessing credit cards increase the risk of overspending because people can convince themselves to spend more than what they...
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