Credit Cards Destruction

Credit cards have become a major debt problem within our economy. So, I ask you, should credit cards be destroyed? With the research that I have found, credit cards were made to build up people's bad credit. It was a way for them to pay the small amounts to help get good credit, so maybe one day, they could buy a house. When people saw that they were able to get a credit card on bad credit, it made them take a different turn on how they approached their spending. They thought to themselves: "Shop til' I drop, its just a credit card." Having this in your mind while you are shopping is not helping your bad credit nor the economy. The real purpose of having a credit card is to help your credit, and to be that emergency fund just in case you don't have any money. If you want to get rid of your credit cards, do the following: cut them up, get a hammer and smash them, or place them in the microwave.

Warren, S. (2006). Why Some People Should Put These Credit Cards in the Microwave. Wall Street Journal , 1-16.
Which?. "Credit Cards Shredded." Photo. 30 March 2011.
http://www.which.co.uk/technology/archive/reviews/shredders/page/features-explained/

The Real Credit Card Usage

Mostly all citizens of America have credit cards, but are they responsible for the economy downfall? According to my research, they are. There are 173 million people that have credit cards, and if you divided that by the number of credit cards, the average owner has 8 different credit cards. Also, the use of credit cards effects one-seventh of the United States economy. Credit cards have been around for over fifty years, and the need for people to have them has sped rapidly over the past twenty five years. The facts show that in 1984, the credit card debt was $87 billion, now in 2009 it has increased to $928 billion. As the credit card debt continues to climb, the rate of approval is declining. There are 84% of college students with one credit card. Their average spending is $2,220 just alone on school supplies. The average for credit card debt now is $900 billion, and the average person is $5,000 in debt with credit cards. The debt of the United States is over $55 trillion and counting. This is a problem and it needs to be stopped.

Newsweek."Credit Card Usage." 28 March 2011
http://www.indexcreditcards.com/finance/creditcardstatistics/2010-report-on-credit-card-usage-facts-statistics.html. 28 March 2011

Visit this website to count the debt of the United States.
http://www.usdebtclock.org/

Real Economy Downfall Facts

People can say a lot of different things about how this economy downfall started, but with the research that has been researched about it, people in the “The Union” have said that it started in 1977. It was a time that Democrat Jimmy Carter allowed poorer people to buy homes, that they couldn’t afforded, hoping that they would pay it back somehow. The in 1995, Democrat Bill Clinton came up with a cheaper way to give loans.

Now, spending has been cut and oil prices have went sky high, so how are people affording it? They are affording it by cuts in the Medicaid Program with a $1 million cut with 4.7 million customers; prisons closing with 200,000 workers, and a $1.5 million in aid to the public schools with 10% of states operating budget. Just in 2010, people have increased spending by 4.1%, and government has CUT spending by 2.4%.  

      AVERSA, JEANNINE . "Economy Downfall." Union Febuary 25, 2011: 1. Print.
"Economy Downfall." Google Images . Web. 21 Mar 2011. .

Links to Information

            This article is about how to curb the craving of a shopping addiction. It says that one out of twelve people have a shopping addiction. People that have this addiction never make the changes to have a great life until it is too late. It is a desire to have “shop til you drop”. This information is helpful because it list questions that can prove to you if you really have a shopping addiction. Having this addiction can lead you away from you dreams and that can cause serious problems.

Wright, Judith. “Curb the Craving”. 25 October 2008 http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/27339442/ns/today-today_fashion_and_beauty/               15 March 2011

"Young, almost broke, and attending college". Picture. Web. 2011. sweetsoleil.tumblr.com 17 March 2011



            This article was about how shopping addictions start that you have in becoming a shop alcoholics. Causes of shopping addictions are mostly low self-esteem and emptiness. People tend to buy things to make themselves feel better, because they are stressed or have a weight on them that they can’t seem to get off. Then once they have that feeling they start to get persuaded by TV, radio, magazines, etc... And they want to buy. They have thought inside their head staying “you want it. So buy it”. Once they spend a big amount of money, they get the bill. Then when the bill comes they can’t pay for it, so they cycle starts all over again. Therefore, they can’t pay the bill, and the next bill, and they in up in a HUGE AMOUNT of debt.

E. Home Fellowship. “Compulsive Shopping Addiction”. 2001 http://www.way2hope.org/compulsive_shopping_addiction.htm 15 March 2011

In this video, it told about how this girl had a shopping addiction and how she would hide her bags in her car, so her roommates would not see what she had bought. Before she knew it, she had over $10,000 in debt. This is good information because it gives facts that people need to know when they have a shopping addiction. It also lists solutions that people need to stop the addiction.

http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/27339442/ns/today-today_fashion_and_beauty/              

Msnbc.com. “Don’t let shopping obsession get the best of you”. 15 March 2011

http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/27339442/ns/today-today_fashion_and_beauty/  15 March 2011

This video is about, how this women had a family and a loving husband, but had a shopping addiciton. It was a way for her to feel good about herself. Each time she went shopping, she could spend $5,000 in just a matter of a couple hours. It is useful because it explains how this kind of thing happens to ordinary people and can be very serious if they don’t get help.  Having a shopping addiction is something that people have to deal with one day at a time.

http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=2243927n&tag=related;photovideo

CNNnew. “Shopping Addiction”. 06 December 2006

 http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=2243927n&tag=related;photovideo 15 March 2011

Addicted to Shopping?

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Show Me The Facts

     Having a shopping addiction, I know can be serious, but I have still have a lot of questions that aren't answered. How do people get addicted to shopping? I want to know this because, I have a lot of different theories and I don't know which ones are true. I am also curious about, how people with bad credit still get credit cards? I wonder this because the economy is really bad, and people with this problem is making the economy worse, so how are they still getting the applications? Other things that I want to know is, why don't the people with shopping addictions find a way to get help, and sick to it. I want to know this because this is something very serious and they need to find help, or not they could be left with nothing. One last thing that I want to know is, when do people find out that they have this addiction? I wonder this because if there is a way that this is can be prevented, don't you think people need to know that way, and maybe try it before its too late?

What I Know

Having a shopping addiction can really hurt you and the economy. If you have or know someone with a shopping addiction, you need to seek help. I know that having a shopping addiction can ruin your credit and can become dangerous. It can become dangerous because you will do anything to just go shopping or get that pair of shoes that you want. When you have a shopping addiction it can separate you from your family. It can do this because you may ask them for money and when they give it to you, you never repay them.  I know that a shop alcoholic is known as a lair. They can be known as a lair because when someone ask them how much they spent, they won't tell that person the exact price. They will go out of their way to spend as much as they can to get the accessories they need for any outfit, whether they have it already or not. They will also hide receipts and tell someone else to carry in the bag, so no questions will be asked.

Why?

Shopping is something that has always been apart of my life. It is something that everybody knows how to do. They know how to spend and save, whether they are doing it right or not. In a mind of a shopper, ““When I walk through the doors of the mall or a store, my heart beings to pound. I see all these items and my eyes begin to wonder. I think to myself, where do I begin. I begin to walk around, picking up items. Shirts, shorts, pants, anything and everything in my size. I am on my way to the dressing, when I spy this really cute pair of shoes. There is only one pair left. I can feel another person looking at them, too. We race to the pair of shoes, and fight like cats and dogs over them. Ha I am the winner, so I head back to the dressing room. I see what look the best and head to the check out. My goal of the shopping trip was minimum of $50; I leave with five times that amount spent. When I leave the store, I feel so upset. My cell phone bill is due...””

This kind of story mostly always ends with kind of ending.  People have this theory when they go shopping, that they are only going to spend this amount of money when they go, but end up spending all of it. I can understand if it happens once in a while, maybe they had some good sales. But when it happens over and over, you may have a problem. This would be called shopping addiction. Shopping addiction is Oniomania, or compulsive shopping. (Elizabeth Hartney)

Hartney, Elizabeth. “Shopping Addiction”. 11 January 2011

07 March 2011 http://addictions.about.com/od/lesserknownaddictions/a/shoppingadd.htm