[speaker002:] well how many credit cards do you have
[speaker001:] um I've only I've got about four maybe I try to limit them because I well one I don't use them uh too much and I use my Visa just for about for about everything and I pay it all off so I try not to I just use it for free money for thirty days basically
[speaker002:] sounds like we have no conflict we had for a while I was carrying one card and my wife was carrying a different one and since the slips all look alike uh you commingle them and then you get the statement and you try to sort them out and it and it uh it it causes more confusion about it I finally said gee this is kind of a waste of time and then when AT&T came along and offered a free one uh I accepted that and we've been using that one uh the interesting thing is is that uh the amount of money you can can run up on them I don't know do you know any people that run up big big bills
[speaker001:] I'm I'm you know I'm in the age group you get out of college and I think a lot of these people have them maxed out
[speaker002:] well did um were you able to get one while you're in college
[speaker001:] um I don't think I ever tried
[speaker002:] just curious because I have a son that's a senior this year and he's heading off with any kind of luck but there has been I've had a couple of ads for a for for to provide a card for a college student uh what do you think about the idea of providing one for somebody like that
[speaker001:] um well  yeah I I you know it's you know feasible I mean I know a lot of college kids who have them you know who had them but just depends
[speaker002:] well that that that I guess from the from the card issuer uh that since since it's it's in monitor the parent gets it for them that really the parent becomes the one that's responsible but it's
[speaker001:] yeah so basically if you want to take the risk
[speaker002:] yes it's whether the parent wants to take the risk
[speaker001:] it's your risk do you trust your your son
[speaker002:] yeah to to go run up a big bill and the thing is there some there some advantages if he got off some place and stranded I I'm I'm leaning towards doing it for for convenience
[speaker001:] uh-huh uh-huh I'd say do you know have one with you know at least a thousand dollar credit limit or something
[speaker002:] a convenience yeah and the idea that you know if he got in trouble there's some some ways of getting out and that he doesn't have to carry cash the uh I I like the idea of credit cards that uh I don't I don't I don't carry cash around and and uh I don't even carry checks around I let my wife take the checkbook and she writes the checks and I record them so it's uh it's uh it's but it's interesting that uh the people that can that can uh the amounts of money you can run up with
[speaker001:] yeah
[speaker002:] on on credit cards and uh I I had recently had some dealings with a fellow that they had run up he was making oh considered a modest salary for an engineer and he had run up uh more than a years salary in in various debts to and he wound up declaring bankruptcy but there it it's hard to believe that you'd run up twenty thirty thousand dollars of uh well it was a combination of things he had uh there were
[speaker001:] uh-huh
[speaker002:] there were several credit cards and then there were several other businesses but uh I I guess what's interesting have you seen the uh the the the the ads where they're offering to extend payments on uh things like uh like the credit union's offering
[speaker001:] the the extended loan payment for your car
[speaker002:] yes yeah
[speaker001:] yeah I saw that
[speaker002:] the interesting thing about that is is that uh that that they're encouraging you to incur more incur more debt and
[speaker001:] well it's it's it's business and they're making money off that
[speaker002:] and they make more money if you extend your loan
[speaker001:] yeah and and it's so it's business so and you notice that they're they're only going to do it to like cars that are one or two years old
[speaker002:] yes
[speaker001:] and so they've already shifted the risk if they assume that car then they just have to sell it themselves and they'll recover the loan
[speaker002:] and they know that people own a car that new unless absolutely dire circumstances or anything they're not going to keep on if the car were older
[speaker001:] uh-huh
[speaker002:] the interesting thing about it is is that from a uh uh an economy standpoint or in economics I I thinks it's I think it's poor poor uh economics to to carry all that consumer debt at least from a tax standpoint so
[speaker001:] yeah
[speaker002:] it's interesting that that the American public is encouraged to incur all that debt and then next year none of it will be deductible and this year it's ten percent or so
[speaker001:] yeah uh
[speaker002:] it's uh it's interesting that that uh they encourage us to do things
[speaker001:] what now what's ten percent we can deduct
[speaker002:] I think ten percent yes of your of your consumer credit
[speaker001:] I didn't know that
[speaker002:] oh if you had a thousand dollars that means there's another hundred dollar deduction I've given you
[speaker001:] I didn't think you could anything on a loan or
[speaker002:] yeah it's on uh yeah
[speaker001:] I mean a mortgage I know you can
[speaker002:] yeah on the uh there's there's there's a place for consumer debt and then you take ten percent of it on the
[speaker001:] oh I've never itemized yet
[speaker002:] oh okay
[speaker001:] so maybe that's
[speaker002:] it's on it's on schedule um
[speaker001:] schedule a or
[speaker002:] schedule a under uh well it's the same place it's the same place you put uh interest but but see that's what that's what makes Texas squirrelly laws that uh you can't you can't take out a a second mortgage uh like some states where you can take out the mortgage and declare that and so uh it's fully deductible the laws are a little squirrelly but it basically comes down to it's not in your best interest to borrow money from a tax standpoint
[speaker001:] yeah
[speaker002:] but uh anyway
[speaker001:] yeah I try I I really do I just try to stay out of debt and I and I use my Visa for for as much as I can and I pay it all off and
[speaker002:] sounds like you're you're very responsible very financially responsible it's uh
[speaker001:] uh-huh
[speaker002:] that's uh there're a lot of people who really run my boss drives quite a ways to work and he's got just enormous debts and he's uh but I mean what do you say it's like shucks boss I'm sure sorry you've got all that debt well he's had had two kids in college and and this kind of thing and that
[speaker001:] uh-huh
[speaker002:] I think that the whole credit card issue I think they certainly encourage people to run up the debts and but I agree with you I don't I try to limit my debts well I did buy a new house last summer that
[speaker001:] yeah yeah and I took a five year note out on my car when I right when I got out of college and uh I'll never do that again I still got a couple of years on it to go and I'm
[speaker002:] it's it's remarkable how many people as soon as they get out of college buy a new car and that uh apparently that's been going on for a really long time I didn't do it I I bought a second hand car when I was the middle of my senior year
[speaker001:] uh-huh well you you think you're starting out well until you start paying all those bills uh apartment rent and
[speaker002:] yep miscellaneous things like food and and other things these habits you get into eating and and uh it's it's it's amazing how it what you learn
[speaker001:] yeah well yeah and and yeah so
[speaker002:] well anything else good to say about credit cards
[speaker001:] um yeah they're they're convenient you know that's that's a
[speaker002:] I might just
[speaker001:] probably one big thing about them and uh
[speaker002:] you don't have to carry the cash and and uh and it's it's it's certainly accepted more places than the places you know it's hard to cash a check if you're out of state and
[speaker001:] uh-huh yeah well I was used to using my credit card like at Skaggs Alpha Beta in Dallas and stuff and now I'm out here in Phoenix
[speaker002:] yeah
[speaker001:] uh
[speaker002:] they don't allow they don't do that
[speaker001:] they they none of these grocery stores take any credit cards so now I have to carry cash when I go to the grocery store which is new to me you know I got to have sixty bucks on me or something
[speaker002:] yeah huh
[speaker001:] so uh
[speaker002:] carry all that cash with you
[speaker001:] that was interesting cause I always you know you didn't have to worry about carrying that much unless I knew I
[speaker002:] well you know they they they've started towards a little bit of the debit card have you seen the debit cards where they actually debit your account when you
[speaker001:] yeah I've heard about them
[speaker002:] yeah and I think that's where
[speaker001:] that's mostly locally the banks will line up with uh
[speaker002:] yeah I've seen a couple although the so many of the grocery stores don't do that because of the the time frame which they get paid in general that uh they I've seen checks deposited the very next day I mean cleared my account the next day my wife will write a check for groceries and you know almost well I guess it's the day after uh technically it's two days but they they they took that check and scurried it to the bank and the bank scurried it back to my account and you thought there'd be just a little bit of float but apparently that's why the uh the uh the uh grocery stores are reluctant to do that because their volume that is quite high and they have uh the profitability of the cash flow is a big issue for them so
[speaker001:] yeah
[speaker002:] anyway well it's good talking to you
[speaker001:] all righty
[speaker002:] maybe we'll get across we'll cross paths again good night
[speaker001:] all righty take it easy