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In socialist Europe, banks own YOU! :-). But seriously, the banks screw with their customers so much over here that this is just another bump on the road. To m

In socialist Europe, banks own YOU! :-). But seriously, the banks screw with their customers so much over here that this is just another bump on the road. To me, "proud to only accept Visa" sounds like "F@#k you MasterCard and your users, too"...

andrewfelix 14y ago
>In socialist Europe, banks own YOU! Americans have a lot more personal debt than Europeans. 'In Free Market America, banks own YOU!' would be more appropriate.
- ktizo 14y ago
  Here's some nice charts on this theme. http://rwer.wordpress.com/2012/01/01/debt-britannia-with-16-graphs/ http://rwer.wordpress.com/2012/01/01/debt-britannia-with-16-... You aren't doing as badly as you think. [edit] I assumed you were based in america, but apparently you are in sydney, sorry for confusion and random assumptioness. However, this means that according to the first chart on the page I linked, you guys are doing worse than the americans on household debt. Not that I can point fingers from the uk, cos we are either screwed or up to something fiendishly smart. But if it is the latter, I have no idea what it is.
  - einhverfr 14y ago
    Reading that my first thought was "Wow, British banks are screwed." It would be interesting to see how that compares to Greece, Spain, Italy, and other more troubled EU countries. The EU situation suddenly seems a lot scarier to me financially. I should add that Steve Keen's writings on debt are absolutely must-reads for anyone interested in macroeconomic outlooks especially because he discards Neoclassical models in favor of debt-based models.
    - ktizo 14y ago
      I've been following Real-World Economics Review - http://rwer.wordpress.com/ http://rwer.wordpress.com/ - since they were the movement for a Post-Autistic Economics - http://www.paecon.net/PAEmovementindex1.htm http://www.paecon.net/PAEmovementindex1.htm - Steve Keen seems to crop up there quite a bit.
      - einhverfr 14y ago
        Looks like a great couple of sites. Bookmarked. Two of my favorite quotes by Keen from his presentations are: "The one thing Neoclassical economists don't understand is Neoclassical economics." And "The Marxist economists hate me even more than the Neoclassicals, which is quite an achievement."
        ktizo 14y ago
        You'd probably appreciate "Life Among The Econ" by Axel Leijonhufvud - http://economistsview.typepad.com/economistsview/2007/05/axel_leijonhufv.html http://economistsview.typepad.com/economistsview/2007/05/axe...
- bdunbar 14y ago
  'In Free Market America, banks own YOU!' would be more appropriate. But wrong. Or at least 'they own the unwary and dumb'. I bank with a credit union, got rid of my credit cards in favor of debit, and working real hard to pay down my debt. Already I've bought two vehicles for cash. Now, granted, they were not _great_ vehicles, but they run and they're paid for. Looking forward to paying _cash_ for a really _nice_ (but used) car in a decade.
  - FreakLegion 14y ago
    Why get rid of your credit cards? As long as you pay the balances in full every month, a modest selection of credit cards can easily lower your expenses by 3%, if not more. You can also accumulate a fair bit of free spending by trading out old cards for new ones with signing bonuses. Think of it like a free, untaxed $3-4,000 bump in salary.
    - lsc 14y ago
      untaxed? really? I thought you were supposed to report and pay taxes on all income.
      - roel_v 14y ago
        Discounts are not income.
        lsc 14y ago
        hm. Interesting argument against the 'cash back' cards. The context I've heard of people getting in trouble with this is when they used the card for business purchases and then used the discounts for personal purchases.
    - bdunbar 14y ago
      Why get rid of your credit cards? As long as you pay the balances in full every month, a modest selection of credit cards can easily lower your expenses by 3%, if not more. Why did I? Because it was too easy to use credit, not pay the balance in full. The debt built up. Things got out of hand. And because I really did not like dealing with the credit card folk, even when I was in their good graces. Too much complexity.

andrewfelix 14y ago

>In socialist Europe, banks own YOU! Americans have a lot more personal debt than Europeans. 'In Free Market America, banks own YOU!' would be more appropriate.

ktizo 14y ago
Here's some nice charts on this theme. http://rwer.wordpress.com/2012/01/01/debt-britannia-with-16-graphs/ http://rwer.wordpress.com/2012/01/01/debt-britannia-with-16-... You aren't doing as badly as you think. [edit] I assumed you were based in america, but apparently you are in sydney, sorry for confusion and random assumptioness. However, this means that according to the first chart on the page I linked, you guys are doing worse than the americans on household debt. Not that I can point fingers from the uk, cos we are either screwed or up to something fiendishly smart. But if it is the latter, I have no idea what it is.
- einhverfr 14y ago
  Reading that my first thought was "Wow, British banks are screwed." It would be interesting to see how that compares to Greece, Spain, Italy, and other more troubled EU countries. The EU situation suddenly seems a lot scarier to me financially. I should add that Steve Keen's writings on debt are absolutely must-reads for anyone interested in macroeconomic outlooks especially because he discards Neoclassical models in favor of debt-based models.
  - ktizo 14y ago
    I've been following Real-World Economics Review - http://rwer.wordpress.com/ http://rwer.wordpress.com/ - since they were the movement for a Post-Autistic Economics - http://www.paecon.net/PAEmovementindex1.htm http://www.paecon.net/PAEmovementindex1.htm - Steve Keen seems to crop up there quite a bit.
    - einhverfr 14y ago
      Looks like a great couple of sites. Bookmarked. Two of my favorite quotes by Keen from his presentations are: "The one thing Neoclassical economists don't understand is Neoclassical economics." And "The Marxist economists hate me even more than the Neoclassicals, which is quite an achievement."
      - ktizo 14y ago
        You'd probably appreciate "Life Among The Econ" by Axel Leijonhufvud - http://economistsview.typepad.com/economistsview/2007/05/axel_leijonhufv.html http://economistsview.typepad.com/economistsview/2007/05/axe...
bdunbar 14y ago
'In Free Market America, banks own YOU!' would be more appropriate. But wrong. Or at least 'they own the unwary and dumb'. I bank with a credit union, got rid of my credit cards in favor of debit, and working real hard to pay down my debt. Already I've bought two vehicles for cash. Now, granted, they were not _great_ vehicles, but they run and they're paid for. Looking forward to paying _cash_ for a really _nice_ (but used) car in a decade.
- FreakLegion 14y ago
  Why get rid of your credit cards? As long as you pay the balances in full every month, a modest selection of credit cards can easily lower your expenses by 3%, if not more. You can also accumulate a fair bit of free spending by trading out old cards for new ones with signing bonuses. Think of it like a free, untaxed $3-4,000 bump in salary.
  - lsc 14y ago
    untaxed? really? I thought you were supposed to report and pay taxes on all income.
    - roel_v 14y ago
      Discounts are not income.
      - lsc 14y ago
        hm. Interesting argument against the 'cash back' cards. The context I've heard of people getting in trouble with this is when they used the card for business purchases and then used the discounts for personal purchases.
  - bdunbar 14y ago
    Why get rid of your credit cards? As long as you pay the balances in full every month, a modest selection of credit cards can easily lower your expenses by 3%, if not more. Why did I? Because it was too easy to use credit, not pay the balance in full. The debt built up. Things got out of hand. And because I really did not like dealing with the credit card folk, even when I was in their good graces. Too much complexity.