Bank and credit cards are a scam now-a-days
The fact is times where easier decades ago, despite all this new high tech stuff to make things work better and faster the downfalls has surpassed them to far to keep things at least balanced. The main reason is our financial system and the bank influence on society. My generation was raised to use credit everyday and that having credit is a social status. We where taught that owning a house is a major achievement and that car payments are normal. But before my time around the 60’s and 70’s people where not caught up in these banking strong-arms nearly as bad and where much happier for it. It was o.k. to buy a junky car and it was o.k. to wear older clothes. And using credit was never smart unless you where really desperate. But thanks to good marketing playing on our desperation to be better then that next person, we all will sell our soul for a nicer car or fancy clothes and bling. But the fact is all this fancy stuff is just bait for the banking industries puppet show.
Why is it such a scam why not just use credit and live better?
Look at it this way; for every dollar in principle paid back to credit card companies they average over $2 in interest. That means the average person is paying back $2 for every $1 they borrow. You are on average paying double for every dollar you put on credit even if you think you will pay it off.
Not to mention most credit card companies make most of their money on late and overage fees.
So in total, credit card companies are making over $4 for every $1 they lend on average. That means the average American is paying for times over what a product is when they buy it and some cases are paying much much more. I just got a new free bank account three months ago and I have paid well over $100 in overage fees because I mixed up my saving and personal account when making payments. Stupid yes, but the reality is they are betting you do this and the reality is most people will make these mistakes. banks use to be o.k. if you go a little over especially if it’s a mistake. The banks now would never have such personal service and the reality is that it doesn’t effect them if you go over a little they are punishing you for breaking the rules not to help subsidize their needs for accounts that go over.
Also keep in mind the credit reporting companies. Even if reported by error the credit reporting companies will not remove most things off because simply they are ran by the banks, every business needs credit to compete now-a-days because another company will use credit and so on and so on. The banks know they will make more money if people have a threat to desperately keep their credit good.
The solution is simple only use your debit or bank card. Throw out the credit card and stop worrying about building your credit up. You do not need it and you definably do need the wealthy lifestyle that causes more stress and self centered egotism.
The dream of buying a house is gone, your much better off renting and your even more better off if you can live in a APT community. That will help stop urban sprawl and it’s a ton better for the environment, traffic, and lowering your stress.
But can you break the allure of fake wealth?
Interesting enough, poor people have less stress and are in better relationships, sex, and best of all they can focus on their family and relationships rather then their bills and career they have worked so hard for just to pay off their credit debt.
My son and I both have accounts with BankofAm (myself for over 18 years). Recently he has been selling stuff on Ebay and has a Paypal account. We found it necessary to do a refund to a buyer. Paypal messed up and took the whole amount out of his student checking account instead of splitting the amount with his balance in his Paypal and his checking as we had assummed they would do.
As soon as we realized what happened, I transfered the amount of insuffiency to his account which was immediately -both transactions after 2:00 p.m. on the same day. This put him back in the green. We spoke to paypal to no avail, and then called BankofAm.
The woman I spoke to told me directly as it was a student account and it was his first overdraft they would reverse the fee. My son checked the next day and says they had reversed the fee (I believe him).
Five days later we checked his account again and to our surpise the fee had miraculously shown up again along with another one for a transaction of 2.00 made after the fee had been reversed for which he had enough to cover before the fee miraculously reappeared, and another one for THIER NEW POLICY OF EXTENDED OVER DRAFT (ACCURED SUPPOSEDLY EVERY 4 DAYS). I was livid, called and spoke to them again. As it technically was a mistake by Paypal (and ultimately ourselves), I would have deposited the first fee to cover the overdraft and wrote it off as a lesson learned since I readily had it, but I was told personally that they would reverse it.
By lying straight to my face, they were able to go after my son, a full time kid in highschool, for over 105.00 in over draft charges. The original overage was a 16.00 dollar descrepency that was paid in less than a few hours. This amounts to an insane intrest fee. You are better off going to a Cash for pay check place at 300%.
I called again, explained the situtation, and was told that these were LIGITAMATE BANK CHARGES. I told him it was highway robbery and of a kid no less. The guy in the end actually laughed at me at one point on the phone. I was so angry I hung up on him. I was afraid of what I might say.
This new policy will really really kill people as most people are not yet aware of it and many are paid biweekly/twice monthly (policy conveiently charges EXTENDED over draft charge every 3-4 days). So ultimately you can accure over 4 different overdraft fees for 1 transaction before you can pay it. This could add up to 1000.00 for some poor sap when they do their shaddy moving of transactions, and yes they are well known for this deceptive and dirty practice, and have moved transactions, deleted and readded to maximize their overdraft fees on my account before as well as my sons as above. Now they outright lie to my face, and cheat a kid. My account is sitting with a 0 balance and this week we are both moving to another bank – preferrably a credit union. I cannot believe they get away with this stuff. What the hell is our Government doing here. I would love to be able to do buisness without a credit card and/or the Banks, but the banks/big buisness/credit card compaines have made that near impossible without major inconvience to pay your simple bills without a banks backing/credit/debit card. Under the mattress sounds better and better.