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About 40 out of 22,000 have answered so far. You should repost as don't be ashamed to admit you're like most people. Then you may get a more accurate cross section.
I agree, I did carry a balance on my card for several years. It doesn't mean you aren't smart. There have been times when a credit card is all that stood between me and getting my power shut off...
ETA: Chirpy, I know you don't mean it this way, but that post sounds a little condescending to those that are carrying a balance. Sometimes it's not a choice.
Thank you for this post, KS. I would say that there are those carrying debt and not posting because they feel that they will be judged.
So, here is our story:
We owe student loans, which I have not one iota of regret about considering what my DH salary would have been without it. We had a child while in college, but were unwilling to quit. That limited the hours we were able to work, though we still did. Student loans filled a gap, and we did incur some credit card debt then as well. These weren't used for anything other than basic living expenses, but there wasn't enough money to pay it off every month. We had no parental support whatsoever, either before, during or after college. So, when something broke that we had to have working there was not really anywhere to turn. After graduation my DH was offered a job in San Francisco with what at the time seemed like a good salary (and it was for a starting salary), however the cost of living was so high there that we were barely making ends meet. Though we weren't incurring debt, there was no way to make more than minimum payments. Did we know that it's a bad idea to carry balances? Of course we did, we aren't slow or dumb. But, if there is no money, there's just no money. Period. You can't get blood from a stone. We knew that in DH's line of work we really had to be in the Bay Area to establish his career, and so felt it was the best long term decision to live there.
We currently have no credit card debt, and our one vehicle has been paid off for years. We began paying them off in earnest as soon as we had the available extra funds to make that happen, it took years to get to that point. I hated carrying balances, and felt stupid for doing so, but there was really nothing to be done about it until his salary reached a point when we could manage it. Now we are sitting pretty and can easily handle our student loans (well worth getting the degree), and when we buy a house later this year we can handle that mortgage as well. But, it's not been so long ago that we were in debt and I try not to become self-righteous and judge those in rougher circumstances. There are times when people are backed into a corner and have no other viable choice.
About 40 out of 22,000 have answered so far. You should repost as don't be ashamed to admit you're like most people. Then you may get a more accurate cross section.
I agree, I did carry a balance on my card for several years. It doesn't mean you aren't smart. There have been times when a credit card is all that stood between me and getting my power shut off...
ETA: Chirpy, I know you don't mean it this way, but that post sounds a little condescending to those that are carrying a balance. Sometimes it's not a choice.
Thank you for this post, KS. I would say that there are those carrying debt and not posting because they feel that they will be judged.
So, here is our story:
We owe student loans, which I have not one iota of regret about considering what my DH salary would have been without it. We had a child while in college, but were unwilling to quit. That limited the hours we were able to work, though we still did. Student loans filled a gap, and we did incur some credit card debt then as well. These weren't used for anything other than basic living expenses, but there wasn't enough money to pay it off every month. We had no parental support whatsoever, either before, during or after college. So, when something broke that we had to have working there was not really anywhere to turn. After graduation my DH was offered a job in San Francisco with what at the time seemed like a good salary (and it was for a starting salary), however the cost of living was so high there that we were barely making ends meet. Though we weren't incurring debt, there was no way to make more than minimum payments. Did we know that it's a bad idea to carry balances? Of course we did, we aren't slow or dumb. But, if there is no money, there's just no money. Period. You can't get blood from a stone. We knew that in DH's line of work we really had to be in the Bay Area to establish his career, and so felt it was the best long term decision to live there.
We currently have no credit card debt, and our one vehicle has been paid off for years. We began paying them off in earnest as soon as we had the available extra funds to make that happen, it took years to get to that point. I hated carrying balances, and felt stupid for doing so, but there was really nothing to be done about it until his salary reached a point when we could manage it. Now we are sitting pretty and can easily handle our student loans (well worth getting the degree), and when we buy a house later this year we can handle that mortgage as well. But, it's not been so long ago that we were in debt and I try not to become self-righteous and judge those in rougher circumstances. There are times when people are backed into a corner and have no other viable choice.
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