ANONYMOUS personal finance poll

[redkow97]

Casper or other admins may be able to see who selects what answers.

I'm not looking to dig for other people's info that they're not comfortable sharing, but I recently read that the average US bank balance is $6300 and change.  I also found out that several coworkers I consider responsible individuals carry a TON of credit debt...

[Bad324]

are they talking 1 checking account or combined accounts at one bank or what for that average?

[4DAIVI PAI2K5]

I'm poor, but carry almost no credit card debt, maybe 150 bucks depending on when the pay period hits. I also make no money. 

[Tonik]

There are age issues in here too.  I would expect the answers for a 30 year old with 2 kids making 100K a year to be far different than a 50 year old making 100k.

[redkow97]

1 hour ago, Bad324 said:

are they talking 1 checking account or combined accounts at one bank or what for that average?

fair question. I don't know. 

We have 3 accounts at 2 banks...  Checking & savings at one, and then another 'checking' account at another - but we don't actually have any checks for that account, and it's set up purely to pay our mortgage and a few other set expenses each month.  The only time we withdraw from it is to transfer money into the savings account.

Our primary checking account (the one we actually draw money from) would certainly pull down that $6,xxx average a lot.

[redkow97]

8 minutes ago, Tonik said:

There are age issues in here too.  I would expect the answers for a 30 year old with 2 kids making 100K a year to be far different than a 50 year old making 100k.

Fair point. 

I am just finding it SHOCKING how much debt some people are carrying.  I know there are horror stories out there, but I didn't expect those stories to be about people (okay, one person in particular that has sparked this thread) who I know and consider friends.

I recently learned that a friend carries over $25,000 in credit debt.  I'm trying to figure out how they were able to buy a house...

[redkow97]

It's also possible that I'm just better off than I realized...  I make pretty average money, but my wife does well, and our household income is respectable.  I joke that I finally feel "middle class" since her most recent promotion/raise. 

 

I just find it odd that people spiral into (what i consider) crazy debt, rather than adjusting their lifestyle.  And I'm not talking about drastic changes, I'm talking about simple things like buying a used $10,000 car instead of a new $40,000 car.  That shouldn't be a hard thing to look at, and realize you can save a lot.  On a smaller scale, I would reference said friend with $25k in debt.  She had 100 shoes at work and was always the person suggesting we go out for lunch.  I often declined and had a $2.50 can of soup instead... 

[Tonik]

Lot of stupid people in the world. Simple as that.

[redbarron77]

Let's not forget about some folks who, through circumstances out of their control, have to deal with taking care of family members' welfare...and now have 5 phucking mortgages they are trying to cover by working their asses off by working 60+ hours/week.  

So the household income may look really great, but the $$ going out is pretty damn painful.

The Credit card balances could be paid off by what is in liquid funds, but having an awesome credit score make the interest negligible.  My wife will get 0% on transfers and shift balances around, and pay nada in interest while the liquid funds gain interest.

Everyone has a different set of priorities, so everyone's finances will be different.

[redkow97]

22 minutes ago, redbarron77 said:

Let's not forget about some folks who, through circumstances out of their control, have to deal with taking care of family members' welfare...and now have 5 phucking mortgages they are trying to cover by working their asses off by working 60+ hours/week.

That's not an enviable position.  As you noted, people's priorities vary - I think I'd put up relatives in my house before paying their mortgage(s). 

0% interest on balance transfers is an interesting factor that I hadn't thought about.  I've never had a balance to transfer, but in a bind, that's a good thought.

[Tonik]

35 minutes ago, redbarron77 said:

Let's not forget about some folks who, through circumstances out of their control, have to deal with taking care of family members' welfare...

 

No doubt, and I never rip on people that are doing the best they can with the cards they were dealt. And I don't mind paying welfare or unemployment or health insurance for them.  But they are the minority.

The dumbasses are in the majority.

Edited May 2, 2016 by Tonik

[Bad324]

right now I consider my financial situation pretty shitty however I'm sure there are lots of people that would love to be in my position. I personally think we have too much debt however it really only comes from 2 places: Mortgage and wife's student loans. I never carried a credit card balance until 2014 and at it's worst was $1000 for a month or two.

[Tpoppa]

I haven't owned a credit card in 15 years.  Doubt I'll ever have another one.

I think a good target is to keep 6-12 months of total living expenses in liquid cash.   

[Bad324]

4 minutes ago, Tpoppa said:

I haven't owned a credit card in 15 years.  Doubt I'll ever have another one.   

I have a firm rule that we only have 1. I put anything I can on it to rack up the points because 99% of the time I am paying it off in full. Had the same card for about 10 years now and with all the points I've racked up I've probably gotten at least $5,000 in gift cards and cash back

[Tonik]

Just now, Bad324 said:

I put anything I can on it to rack up the points because 99% of the time I am paying it off in full. Had the same card for about 10 years now and with all the points I've racked up I've probably gotten at least $5,000 in gift cards and cash back

This is the correct way to stick it to the man.

[snot]

I haven't had a c.c. since 1995. 

 

I only buy what I can pay for in less than a year with the exception of our home and my car.

[Tpoppa]

52 minutes ago, Bad324 said:

I have a firm rule that we only have 1. I put anything I can on it to rack up the points because 99% of the time I am paying it off in full. Had the same card for about 10 years now and with all the points I've racked up I've probably gotten at least $5,000 in gift cards and cash back

If cc companies were losing money on certain customers they would either change their policy or eventually drop you.

[Habi]

7 minutes ago, Tpoppa said:

If cc companies were losing money on certain customers they would either change their policy or eventually drop you.

They make money on every transaction whether it's you or the business.

[Tpoppa]

1 hour ago, Habi said:

They make money on every transaction whether it's you or the business.

That's my point.  They get about 2.7% in transaction fees or something in that ballpark.  To get $5k in rewards you're probably processing at least a couple hundred thousand in transactions, probably more.

[Helmutt]

No cc's since early 2000s.  When I was younger, with very little bills to worry about, there were guitar equipment purchases of retarded proportions ( +$20k over a few years time ).  I just couldn't be trusted during that time.  I'd cut them up after I ran them to their limits, pay them off, then get new cards, rinse and repeat.

Haven't had one since.  Wife and I obviously financed our home and vehicles, but for all else I go with the old addage that if we dont have the money, we cant buy it.

[Bad324]

2 minutes ago, Tpoppa said:

That's my point.  They get about 2.7% in transaction fees or something in that ballpark.  To get $5k in rewards you're probably processing at least a couple hundred thousand in transactions, probably more.

That's pretty intriguing. I wonder just how many transactions my card has seen

[Tonik]

Just now, Bad324 said:

That's pretty intriguing. I wonder just how many transactions my card has seen

To get 5K in rebates assuming 1% cash back you would have to charge 500,000.

But your point is still valid.  If you go to IP and spend a grand and pay cash you spent a grand.  If I go there and hit it with a 1% card I spent 990 bucks. The only way cash is a better deal is if there is a cash discount available or I don't pay my grand off at the end of the month.

Hell, I paid for 3K of my wifes car with a credit card, that was the max the dealer would allow. 30 bucks is a tank of gas for her car. Free. If we had just paid cash for the whole car we would not have gotten that.

It isn't about how much the credit card company makes, it is about how much you pay, net after cash back.

[Tpoppa]

I don't know if they all do it, but I've seen reward programs that charge some kind of redemption processing fee that reduces the net reward.  

Long story short, I don't believe in CCs.  1% isn't enough to sway me.

[dustinsn3485]

Pretty much following the trend. Only debt is the note on the house.

I solidly believe in credit cards. I'll take an interest free 30 day loan anytime. It's not my money either, if my card is compromised I report my fraudulent charge and go on with life.

I get anywhere from 1-5% cash back depending where I spend and no penalties when I redeem my rewards.

We have three credit cards, one each and a shared. Usually end up with 500-800 a year cash back from rewards.

[ScubaCinci]

I put everything on my cc and pay it off every month. My wife does the same and since she runs A LOT of purchases through her cc for her business she rakes in the points. We've taken vacations on points redemption alone.

i wasn't always so good though. In my younger days I carried a lot of balances and almost dug myself a big hole. Anyone who says you should carry some balances to help your credit score is wrong. I have no cc balances, just mortgages (we own a few properties) and car leases. When I just leased my new car my credit score came back at 857.