credit card usage up 7 percent

**227melissa** · 12-01-2011, 08:44 AM

Just heard on the news credit card sales up 7% for black Friday. here we go again buying stupid gifts that we can't afford. How many Tv's, iphones, ipads, etc. can a person have? the general public just doesn't get it.

**Debbie-cat** · 12-01-2011, 08:48 AM

Yeah, I heard that too but at least I am not in that statistic this year. Everything was paid for with cash!

**Greebo** · 12-01-2011, 08:53 AM

I clear example of selling the future to buy the present (and this time, it's a double meaning!)

**savvy_sniper** · 12-01-2011, 09:13 AM

Well it's certainly NOT me or my husband!

**krbshappy71** · 12-01-2011, 09:42 AM

How do we know that everyone isn't putting it on the card then paying it off? From reading on this forum it has appeared to me that a lot of people do that. Use the card for convenience but then pay it each month.

I made purchases on Black Friday and they weren't gifts, it was gas, food, dog food.

**Greebo** · 12-01-2011, 09:48 AM

Originally Posted by krbshappy71

How do we know that everyone isn't putting it on the card then paying it off? From reading on this forum it has appeared to me that a lot of people do that. Use the card for convenience but then pay it each month.

Credit card statistics, industry facts, debt statistics

Approximately 74.9 percent of the U.S. families surveyed in 2004 had credit cards, and 58 percent of those families carried a balance. In 2001, 76.2 percent of families had credit cards, and 55 percent of those families carried a balance. (Source: Federal Reserve Bulletin, February 2006)

Kind of old data but still...

More recent Credit card debt statistics – Compiled by HoffmanBrinker.com

Statistics of a recent Consumer Reports survey:

One-third of Americans do not own a credit card.
54% pay their balance in full each month
33% carry balances up to $10,000 (median balance: $2,254)
13% carry balances over $10,000 (median balance: $17,366)
21% of consumers said they were treated unfairly by card companies and 32% have paid off and closed a card since January 2008. Half of those that canceled did so in direct response to the actions of credit-card issuers, such as cutting limits, hiking rates, or imposing fees.
45% of survey respondents say they are charging less
11% are charging more than they did a year ago(source: Consumer Reports Magazine, November 2009)

**Spirit Deer** · 12-01-2011, 09:59 AM

I guess we're included in that statistic. We buy everything with a credit card and pay it off every month, then enjoy the benefits of the cash back program that card carries. We also shop online where it would be impossible to pay with cash. We didn't buy any stupid gifts, and we certainly didn't buy anything we can't afford.

**Russ** · 12-01-2011, 10:06 AM

Originally Posted by Greebo

[*]54% pay their balance in full each month

**Greebo** · 12-01-2011, 10:15 AM

One-third of Americans do not own a credit card.

**Sophiasmama** · 12-01-2011, 10:23 AM

LOL...you guys are hilarious!!!!

I bought one thing on BF...it cost 24.99 from amazon.

**ShadowMom** · 12-01-2011, 10:27 AM

I guess we're in that statistic, most of the year we do well, but come Christmas time, my DH just has to buy gifts. However, we have a rule that when something is charged, the card is not used again until that charge is paid off, so our balance is usually only a few hundred dollars at a time.

**krbshappy71** · 12-01-2011, 10:48 AM

Statistics of a recent Consumer Reports survey:
One-third of Americans do not own a credit card.
54% pay their balance in full each month
33% carry balances up to $10,000 (median balance: $2,254)
13% carry balances over $10,000 (median balance: $17,366)
21% of consumers said they were treated unfairly by card companies and 32% have paid off and closed a card since January 2008. Half of those that canceled did so in direct response to the actions of credit-card issuers, such as cutting limits, hiking rates, or imposing fees.
45% of survey respondents say they are charging less
11% are charging more than they did a year ago(source: Consumer Reports Magazine, November 2009)

So wouldn't this mean that the general public IS getting wiser? I was responding to the OP as I felt that the statistic was not necessarily people being stupid buying iPads and iPhones. That it might just mean people used their credit card but it doesn't have to be "unwisely."

I dunno just rambling I guess. Then your statistic made me feel like yes, some people do get it, are changing their ways!

Edit, the OP didn't say people were being stupid but that they were buying stupid gifts. "credit card usage up 7 percent
Just heard on the news credit card sales up 7% for black Friday. here we go again buying stupid gifts that we can't afford. How many Tv's, iphones, ipads, etc. can a person have? the general public just doesn't get it." I guess I was hearing selectively. But my point is that it wasn't necessarily a purchase of stupid gifts just because the cards were swiped/typed in/used.

**RaineyDaye** · 12-01-2011, 10:49 AM

Originally Posted by Spirit Deer

I guess we're included in that statistic. We buy everything with a credit card and pay it off every month, then enjoy the benefits of the cash back program that card carries. We also shop online where it would be impossible to pay with cash. We didn't buy any stupid gifts, and we certainly didn't buy anything we can't afford.

I use my credit cards too, and pay them off every month. I think I would spend less if I paid with cold hard cash. It really is more painful to pay with cash, at least for me. But I'm not yet ready or willing to go to cash only, unfortunately.

**Greebo** · 12-01-2011, 10:50 AM

Originally Posted by krbshappy71

So wouldn't this mean that the general public IS getting wiser? I was responding to the OP as I felt that the statistic was not necessarily people being stupid buying iPads and iPhones. That it might just mean people used their credit card but it doesn't have to be "unwisely."

I dunno just rambling I guess. Then your statistic made me feel like yes, some people do get it, are changing their ways!

I wasn't offering an opinion, just the numbers I could find.

**Russ** · 12-01-2011, 10:55 AM

Originally Posted by RaineyDaye

I use my credit cards too, and pay them off every month. I think I would spend less if I paid with cold hard cash. It really is more painful to pay with cash, at least for me. But I'm not yet ready or willing to go to cash only, unfortunately.

Those that pay with cash... do you find this to be true?