We are the fortunate few... we bought when the rates were rock bottom. We'll never refinance. We got a ridiculously low rate for our new car last year (<5% they wanted to move cars) and we have a perfect FICO score. It's taken years to get here, but never being late or missing a payment has been worth the effort.
Two days ago I received a solicitation from Synchrony Bank for a Lowe's Card - AT 31.99% INTEREST!
Normally, these things go into the shredder, but I was feeling feisty. I circled the ridiculous interest rate in red and wrote on the sheet "Are you out of your fucking mind?" and mailed it back in their postage-paid envelope. Hell - Loan Sharks don't charge that much!
Not to mention the last thing I need is a big box home improvement credit card - especially at usury rates! As with student loans, credit cards are ridiculously easy to get - and ridiculously difficult to pay off. I speak from experience.
And... depending on how banks play the mortgage game, I can see home prices rising... cheaper money means more borrowing power...
I'm just glad I'm out of the game. My nieces and nephews, though... ::sigh::
I am SO JEALOUS -- I am 3 points away from a perfect FICO score. I just can't seem to nail it! It does suck for the younger people who want first homes....I think if Kamala wins, we'll see movement to build the deficit of houses - more supply will bring prices down.
As with many sectors of the economy, prices rise when a related cost increases or there's perceived risk of it increasing. Many companies are slow to decrease. They prolong the higher prices as long as they can get away with it; profits are higher when costs recede and sales/inflows remain high. There are similarities between Banks/Credit card companies behaving as they do as how gas prices at the pump and related Big Oil companies behave. Consumers have some discretion, but will generally still continue purchasing.
I think the difference between credit card companies and gas stations is that the former often lock people in with a low introductory rate, and then keep raising rates on those people who carry balances. But gas prices fluctuate on a regular basis due to supply, demand, the season, what's going on in the world. People may complain about the price of gas, but they HAVE to buy it to get to work, run errands, etc.
I understand that there are many people who rely on credit cards because they don't make enough money, and therefore need to charge things like food and utility payments -- then they get behind and with the interest cannot seem to catch up.
But I have known a lot of people who charged things they didn't need, just because they wanted them, and I lack sympathy for them. Years ago, I had a friend who loved concerts, and she was always asking me if I wanted to go with her. A concert ticket back then could be $100, and I never had a spare hundred dollars. When I had spare money, it went into that new-at-the-time thing called an IRA. NOT concerts or fancy dinners. She ended up bankrupt and couldn't understand why.
Let's hope this first step and those that follow actually complete a surprisingly soft landing notwithstanding the naysayers, who incessantly assured us that a recession was in the offing.
We are the fortunate few... we bought when the rates were rock bottom. We'll never refinance. We got a ridiculously low rate for our new car last year (<5% they wanted to move cars) and we have a perfect FICO score. It's taken years to get here, but never being late or missing a payment has been worth the effort.
Two days ago I received a solicitation from Synchrony Bank for a Lowe's Card - AT 31.99% INTEREST!
Normally, these things go into the shredder, but I was feeling feisty. I circled the ridiculous interest rate in red and wrote on the sheet "Are you out of your fucking mind?" and mailed it back in their postage-paid envelope. Hell - Loan Sharks don't charge that much!
Not to mention the last thing I need is a big box home improvement credit card - especially at usury rates! As with student loans, credit cards are ridiculously easy to get - and ridiculously difficult to pay off. I speak from experience.
And... depending on how banks play the mortgage game, I can see home prices rising... cheaper money means more borrowing power...
I'm just glad I'm out of the game. My nieces and nephews, though... ::sigh::
I am SO JEALOUS -- I am 3 points away from a perfect FICO score. I just can't seem to nail it! It does suck for the younger people who want first homes....I think if Kamala wins, we'll see movement to build the deficit of houses - more supply will bring prices down.
As with many sectors of the economy, prices rise when a related cost increases or there's perceived risk of it increasing. Many companies are slow to decrease. They prolong the higher prices as long as they can get away with it; profits are higher when costs recede and sales/inflows remain high. There are similarities between Banks/Credit card companies behaving as they do as how gas prices at the pump and related Big Oil companies behave. Consumers have some discretion, but will generally still continue purchasing.
I think the difference between credit card companies and gas stations is that the former often lock people in with a low introductory rate, and then keep raising rates on those people who carry balances. But gas prices fluctuate on a regular basis due to supply, demand, the season, what's going on in the world. People may complain about the price of gas, but they HAVE to buy it to get to work, run errands, etc.
I understand that there are many people who rely on credit cards because they don't make enough money, and therefore need to charge things like food and utility payments -- then they get behind and with the interest cannot seem to catch up.
But I have known a lot of people who charged things they didn't need, just because they wanted them, and I lack sympathy for them. Years ago, I had a friend who loved concerts, and she was always asking me if I wanted to go with her. A concert ticket back then could be $100, and I never had a spare hundred dollars. When I had spare money, it went into that new-at-the-time thing called an IRA. NOT concerts or fancy dinners. She ended up bankrupt and couldn't understand why.
Let's hope this first step and those that follow actually complete a surprisingly soft landing notwithstanding the naysayers, who incessantly assured us that a recession was in the offing.
I don't see a recession. People have been predicting it for so long that it would have happened already.