Q Talk

[Auntie CC]

To the young folks out there. If you carry a monthly balance on your charge cards every month YOU CAN'T AFFORD WHAT YOU ARE BUYING! If you calculate what you accually paid for the items you charge after interest I think you'd be sickened. Live within your means and you will always have a sound financial future. BIG DIFFERENCE FOR THE THINGS YOU WANT AND THE THINGS YOU NEED. 

[AuntG]

Very good advice @Auntie CC . Of course, sometimes we see things with 20/20 hindsight. When I was in my thirties, and making home improvements, I'd use my charge card for materials and give myself 12 months to pay it off. Always paid everything on time, but I paid plenty of interest.

[deeva]

@AuntG 

This advice applies to all ages. I have relatives in their fifties and sixties who still haven't learned this lesson. 

[Suzeecat]

@Auntie CC, Amen, sister!!!

[elated]

I don't understand why you didn't contact the credit card company immediately about your job loss. I think they would have worked with you. You could have made payment arrangements much better than a settlement. It would have hurt your fico score but you still could have saved yourself from having closed your account forever. 

Also, you eventually got another job and sold your home. You could have paid off your debt and been in good standing.  This would have been a better avenue for your credit going forward.

[debfau]

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@Critter Friend wrote:

Due to being laid off I missed a few payments on my Qcard. They offered me a settlement to clear and close the account and I accepted it. I paid the amount and the account was closed. Now I have received a letter that my account with QVC is closed and I am not able to purchase anything regardless the method of payment. Not fussing, this is their rule. Just wanted to pass along info incase someone else was thinking about doing the same thing.

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Make sure you hold onto all of your paperwork showing you have settled this debt - I had a credit card several years ago that I worked out payment plan then closed the account, 2 years later some debt agency sent me a letter claiming they were trying to collect, but was able to fax them over my paper work showing it was all paid off (shows how long ago this was by faxing).

[Anonymous032819]

Look, the o/p made what she felt at the time, was the best decision for her.

Let's not beat her over the the head with "You should have done this", or "Why didn't you do that?" .

What's done is done.

I know people love to brag about how they can pay off all of their credit cards every month.

It makes them feel superior to those who can't, like they are better than them.

I refuse to believe that everyone who takes a vacation, and charges the airplane tickets, the hotel room (only fancy places will do. No Motel 6, thank you very much), plus food, plus all the other expenses that go along with being on vacation) off in full in one month.

I call bull on that. 

You mean to tell me that after charging thousands of dollars to a card that it was all  paid off in one month?

Yeah, right!

Same for car repairs, which can also cost hundreds, if not thousands of dollars.

100% paid off in a single month?

Sure, right.

I'm not buying that load of karp.

Fact is, there is no shame in carrying a balance.

That's just reality for many, and they are doing the best that they can, but Life can throw you a curve ball at any moment, and the FACT is, not everybody had tens of thousands dollars set aside in savings. If everybody did, then there would be no poor, or people living from paycheck to paycheck.

The smug, arrogant, superior attitudes that people have around here when it comes to money is just absolutely disgusting.

Have some compassion for those who are less fortunate.

Not everybody "lives beyond their means" .

A HELL of a lot of people are doing the best that they can just to keep a roof over their heads. They aren't living extravagantly, buying porterhouse steaks, drinking Crystal Champagne, and buying a new car every year.

In case one hasn't noticed, the price of everything has gone up, but wages aren't keeping up.

And no, people are not getting rich by sitting at home collecting unemployment, so don't even go there with that lie.

So, if people have to carry a balance on their credit cards every month, that's their choice. I'm sure that if they could pay it off in full, they would.

So people need to quit with the superior, holier-than-thou, smug, arrogant attitudes when it comes to money, and putting others down who are not as "smart" as them.

And if someone doesn't like what I said, tough!

I stand by what I said.

[KCDiva]

The best thing I ever did was pay off QVC and not charge anymore. If I need something I pay for it or I don't buy it. They don't sell necessities. If you have to pay for something rather than charge it it puts it in perspective. I rarely buy anything anymore although my needs have changed since I retired. 

[NYCLatinaMe]

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@Meowingkitty wrote:

And any amount that was forgiven you will have to pay taxes on next year. If your bill was $5000 and you settled for $1000 you will owe taxes on $4000.

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@Meowingkitty whether @Critter Friend owes taxes or not on any debt forgiveness depends on what her other income was and other information that you probably don't have.  No need to scare people.

@Critter Friend if you are still interested in purchasing from QVC, if you are now employed and have other credit, you can consider requesting they allow you to open a new account.  It would be silly of qvc to cut off your business for a one time loss of employment.  I don't think other retailers do that...

[NYCLatinaMe]

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@Lipstickdiva wrote:

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@Suzeecat wrote:

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@Meowingkitty wrote:

And any amount that was forgiven you will have to pay taxes on next year. If your bill was $5000 and you settled for $1000 you will owe taxes on $4000.

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Ouch!  Nothing like kicking someone when they're down . . .

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A lot of people don't do this unless they receive a 1099-C from the company forgiving the debt.  Some don't know they have to claim it as income and some don't because they figure the IRS will never know if a 1099-C isn't issued.  

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Or they may not owe any taxes.  I am sure we don't have enough information to render this kind of judgment.