I'm doing a school project on Credit card debt/usage. Please take the time to go through the 8 questions if you are between the ages of 18-30. There's nothing that asks for e-mail or name, etc, so it's completely confidential.
http://FreeOnlineSurveys.com/rendersurvey.asp?id=35847
Thanx all!
I know some of you racers have some CC debt. I've got a card on my Mom's account, and I think I've easily done over $2K of transactions this year so far. (I don't carry a balance ever, though)
I answered, but you don't really want to know. ;D
Too bad I'm 33 and can't do your survey. I am on the recovery side of paying off massive unsecured debt I accumulated in my 20's thru racing, ski trips, and having fun. I'm just glad that I am able to recover without filing bankruptcy and will soon enough be able to get that monkey off my back (greatly looked forward to after years of being in that stranglehold). It has been a lesson learned the hard way and will not ever be repeated by me again!
hahahaha....paid them all off once already ($40000+) from my early 20's. Now starting to pay off my mid-20's debt...lol. My wife is making me pay it all off. :( I still sneak the motel bills from racing weekends onto one of my Visa's so I can secure the rooms for late arrival. SHHHHH ;D
By the way though... I got a lot of cool toys and stuff. ;) Unfortunately that stuff ages and I need some new cool toys and she always says no. >:(
;D
30? I'm out.
gsxrmike, you can make estimates for when you were 30 ;)
I'm 28 and just got out of CC debt! I was up to about $18K a few years ago and it only took about 2 years to happen. Worst part is I don't even know what I bought, just dinner here, clothes there...
Sheesh Don, 18K!
Nate, done.
What can I say, I was having a really good time ::) I think the worst part is at 15-18% interest, I probably paid almost double that back. I't kind of funny that racing isn't that much more expensive than my former night-clubbing habit...
I just lied about my age ;D. Hey, I just maxed out my 3 rd card yesterday. Racing gets expspensive! Time to refinance my house again!
Craig
Thanx everyone! I got all the info I needed :)
I realize you are done with your survey Nate but I just thought I would add this info anyways.
Being that I am a Tool & Die Maker I generally get approved for any credit I apply for. After being at my job for only a couple months I started recieving pre-approved credit card applications with generous credit lines, a very dangerous weapon in the hands of a 19 year old who could easily make the minimum payments. Around this same time I got my first car loan very easily and was blindly being drawn into the trap of debt to income ratio. When I was 26 I had this great awakening as to how bad my situation really was, but sadly it was when I was already buried. Having a Domino effect of unexpected problems which all required money in a short period of time, immediately sent me into the depths of credit Hell.
I finally stepped back and took a look at my situation as a whole. Realizing that making minimum payments doesn't really get you anywhere on the balance I totalled up my payments, balances, and accounts in an effort to take control. Upon writing down all my expenses I saw that I was carrying 5 loans, 19 credit cards (all of which were maxxed or close), and I had a debt to income ratio in the 60% range (most banks want you less than 36%)! UH OH!
After this I went thru a couple very difficult years financially but never did have to file bankruptcy. To this day I am still working away at the unsecured debt and I only carry 2 loans currently. I now pay cash for almost everything and don't use a credit card unless I am going to pay it off right away. I am glad that I learned this lesson when I was young enough to recover on my own and I won't ever let it happen again!