@Anonymouswrote:
@Anonymouswrote:As a millenial (1994) I have to say i was raised on old school ideals, if you cant pay it with cash dont buy it at all. I had an aversion to credit cards and never intended to get them. Then when i was 20 i learned just how important credit really is when my truck broke down and couldnt afford to fix it or had the credit to replace it. I have been on a long hard journey ever since then to build my credit to the best possible number i can get so that never happens again. Now that i have learned so much about credit i will never go back, as ultimatley if you play your cards right you can save alot of money.
As far as the people around me, its a mixed bag. one of my coworkers dosent use credit cards at all but uses cash with occasional debit, one uses thier AU card from her parents, and one is a mixed bag of CC and debit.
and as far as millenials threatening the industry, its more of them defaulting on CC debt then not using CCs
Very valid point!! I often hear people say "credit cards are bad", but again, it's how one manages them. At the same time, it is very easy to fall in CC debt if a couple of emergencies come up and don't have the money in the following weeks/months to pay it off. It's a tricky cycle.
Credit cards aren't bad, bad spending habits are what's actually bad.
As to the bold part, I think that can be largely mitigated by having at least one high limit CC with a 0% APR offer on tap.
@Anonymouswrote:Something to keep in mind is that while our generation is very soaked in student debt, we (at least in my public school and college, in CA) were also very heavily educated against credit cards in secondary and post-secondary school. We were told that there would be marketers on your first days at college or when you first got out of HS, and that it was very easy to run up a balance that you would never be able to pay back.
While I appreciate where they're coming from, I feel ultimately this advice does more harm than good. Sure we definitely need to be aware of the many predatory lenders out there, but IMO credit itself isn't the problem, it's people's financial habits and (lack of) financial knowledge. I agree credit cards enable the financially irresponsible to greatly accelerate their demise, but you still can't blame credit cards for that. I think proper education rather than scapegoating credit is the real answer here.
I personally find it absolutely apalling there's no mandatory "basic finance 101" either in HS or college, or even as a component of civics class. Everything I know about finance, I owe it to my parents and the internet. In some ways I'm actually glad I grew up somewhat poor, as it really helped drive home the importance of savings and not living beyond your means. I'm also really thankful my parents kept to the same lifestyle despite their finances being in much better shape during my teenage years. They set a good example for me to follow, and I benefit from it to this day.
Millennials seem to be the focus these days. One thing I have noticed is that often I read one thing about the age group and then a few days later something almost 180 degrees to the opposite pops up? Of late, Millennials are asking the question how do you define our age group as there are Gen Zer's included by age ... great question. In looking back through the generations every bracket has something to focus on. Why only the Millennials? Where did Gen X and Y'ers go (drop off the face of the earth?). Inquiring minds want to know?! 