It's everywhere. It seems like every store has their own credit card, and I can't tell you how often salespeople offer me finance on my purchases. It's a big source of income for stores that compete on volume, not margin, and sales staff get commission. Its not only heavily pushed, but also totally normalized, and fits into the "why shouldn't I have something I want" materialistic culture here, which I think also thinks contributes to obesity and massive cars.
Debt statistics are crazy. The average US household is $16,748 in credit card debt and pays a total of $1,292 in credit card interest per year.
Ref: NerdWallet: American Household Credit Card Debt Study
This is also pushed by other financial institutions. If you want a mortgage in some places like Texas, you need to show three mature (older than 5 years) loans or credit cards. If you paid off your car loan, it no longer counts. It is likely that I will get an unnecessary car loan at some point for credit score purposes only.
Debt statistics are crazy. The average US household is $16,748 in credit card debt and pays a total of $1,292 in credit card interest per year.
Ref: NerdWallet: American Household Credit Card Debt Study
This is also pushed by other financial institutions. If you want a mortgage in some places like Texas, you need to show three mature (older than 5 years) loans or credit cards. If you paid off your car loan, it no longer counts. It is likely that I will get an unnecessary car loan at some point for credit score purposes only.
RSS Feed