“There’s this wild disconnect between what people are experiencing and what economists are experiencing,” says Nikki Cimino, a recruiter in Denver.

  • Null User Object
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    8 months ago

    Holy crap! She was “saving up” to buy a condo instead of using that money to pay off the credit cards? That’s absolutely insane. I really feel like society would benefit immensely if there were mandatory financial literacy courses every 4 years, or at least before any major purchases (house, car, etc).

      • doingthestuff@lemmy.world
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        8 months ago

        I’m all for interest caps but if the highest they could charge was say 9% they’d just deny credit to tons of people, not give them lower interest debt. I’m okay with that though.

      • Cryophilia@lemmy.world
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        8 months ago

        Pretty sure every cc has the minimum payment higher than the interest. If you just stop buying shit you’ll pay it off eventually, even if you can only afford the minimum payment. The balance can’t grow unless you’re still buying shit.

        • Patches@sh.itjust.works
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          8 months ago

          They codified that so yes you will pay it off eventually. It will no longer continue to grow forever. However it will take an excessively long amount of time. Like taking a 30-year mortgage to buy a bag of fuckin McDonalds.

          For example the couple above, 62 and 65, will almost assuredly be dead by the time they pay it off at minimum payment.

    • FaceDeer@fedia.io
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      8 months ago

      Also she was apparently planning on low interest rates, but when the rates went up she shrugged and didn’t adjust her plans. It’s kind of hard feeling sympathy for her. If she’d been hit with an unexpected but unavoidable expense that would be a different matter.