The emergence of "card slaves" is not only due to economic and social causes, but also due to lack of personal financial management capabilities: they excessively overdraw their ability to pay. In fact, the ways for them to become card slaves are not complicated, and can be roughly summarized into three types: "Enjoy life in advance", "Spend tomorrow's money to realize today's dream", under each attractive slogan, take out a loan to buy a car, buy a house, etc. Buying appliances, buying clothes, and overdrafting credit cards are becoming common behaviors in the lives of many young people. A survey on the consumption concepts of young people in China showed that 57% said they were "willing to use tomorrow's money to do things today."
The vanity brought by fashion and the pleasure generated by consumption in advance, Credit cards have become an indispensable "necessity" for fashionable people in various modern metropolises, and even for ordinary working-class people and students. Just like the popular "mobile phones" nowadays, everyone has one or even multiple types of them. Many people have one, two or even more credit cards. The number of "Kamin" is increasing day by day, and the "Kannu" ethnic group is also growing day by day. I always feel happy every time I swipe my card, but I don’t consider that the money I swipe on the day of debit is the money I have already earned. It's the same as before, it's the same swiping card, but the effect after swiping is different. In the past, it was swiped with a debit card, and I spent the money I had earned. It looked like there was less money in the card, but it was different. , I swiped my credit card and spent money in the future. Because I can’t see the real numbers, I don’t feel the heartache. Many people have this feeling that if they have to take out cash from their pockets to buy a dispensable item, they will definitely weigh the pros and cons, or even give up. But if they pay by swiping a card, it will be very refreshing. In their hearts, they don't feel bad about swiping the card, but they will feel a little reluctant to count out the bills one by one. This is human psychology.
Some young, impulsive people who dare to spend money are the most popular customers of banks. They have a certain income, are very strong, want face, like a glamorous life, live a pleasant life, and basically rely on credit cards. Spend money, buy clothes and cosmetics, go out to restaurants and bars, and swipe your card without blinking an eye. However, only when you get the bill do you realize that payday has become debt repayment day, and more than half of the salary you just received has been paid. Gave it to the bank.
In a sense, the emergence and popularity of credit cards have boosted and stimulated consumption and brought about economic development and prosperity. However, for cardholders, their excessive consumption puts huge pressure on their finances, affecting their normal lives. Some people say that the recurring interest on credit cards is actually like a snowball, getting bigger and bigger. Many people agree that using bank cards is a symbol of progress. In addition, banks have launched a campaign of "getting good gifts when applying for a card, and earning points by swiping the card", which has led to more and more fashionable people joining the "card holders" of ranks. As a personal financial business product, credit cards are rapidly gaining popularity among young people. Using credit cards has become a more popular payment method. However, because many people do not understand the principle of "living within their means", some people even regard borrowing debts sequentially as a way to enjoy life in advance. In this way, they apply for credit cards from different banks, and some people apply for more than a dozen in one go, in order to "use the card to support the card." This seemingly fashionable way of managing money has actually fallen into a vicious cycle of recurring interest. Eventually, the amount of debt owed keeps increasing. Excessive use of credit cards can easily lead to a vicious cycle of "paying debt to support debt" and make oneself trapped in the cycle of "card slave" from which one cannot extricate himself. Behind the increasing number of "card slaves", the hidden dangers of credit cards are gradually emerging.
Ms. Jiang, who has only been working for two years, is a die-hard fan of advanced consumption. In her view, swiping credit cards means using other people's money to enrich her life. When she initially overdrawed her first card and was able to repay it immediately, she really enjoyed it faster and more than others. However, as her consciousness of advanced consumption grows and the market temptation becomes more and more intense, simply overdrafting a card is no longer enough to meet her needs. In order to pay off the balance of the first credit card during the interest-free period, she applied for a second credit card from another bank to pay off the overdraft on the first card, and later applied for a third and fourth credit card. Such "cards within cards" form a cyclic overdraft. In the end, due to too much overdraft, she could not pay it off within the interest-free period and had to bear high interest every month. Ms. Jiang also became a standard "card slave." Every time the final date for repayment comes, Ms. Jiang feels "painful" about her previous excessive consumption. In the end, her parents came forward to help her pay off her debt of more than 20,000 yuan to the bank.
For this reason, Ms. Jiang felt very guilty. She said that she had spent nearly 100,000 yuan of her parents' money when she was in college. Now that she is working, not only can she not pay her parents money, but she also has to involve them in helping her pay off her debts. "It's all the credit card that hooked me up!" she complained.
Xiao Fang works in an administrative unit in Beijing. It stands to reason that her salary is both stable and relatively high among her peers. However, she is still a debtor, and Kanu is her most vivid portrayal.
She applied for three credit cards when she first arrived at work. Her original intention was that the credit cards were easy to keep and easy to use. Even if they were lost, there would be no financial loss. However, she did not have so much cash. Advantages. She uses these cards for daily shopping, dining, and even emergency cash withdrawals, and they are very refreshing. However, a year later, her original intention of applying for a credit card was changed by her chicness. Due to excessive overdraft, she had to go to the bank to repay the loan as soon as her salary was paid. Gradually, her salary was not enough to pay, so she came up with no alternative. She could only cash out other cards that had not yet been repaid, and took out cash to pay off the due debt first. However, every time a different credit card repayment deadline came, Recently, she often couldn't sleep at night, worried about losing her credibility and worrying about the rising interest rates. Xiao Fang said: "From the first credit card I got in college to the several credit cards in my wallet, I have almost no cash balance every month. This is because I feel that using credit cards to spend money is not useful for my own money. Sometimes because of advertising The temptation to exchange points for gifts makes blind purchases, and the interest you need to pay for withdrawing cash on your monthly bill is often nearly a hundred yuan. However, precisely because of this habit of crazy credit card swiping, you have always been in debt. Paying back interest slowly puts you in the trap of being a debt slave.
It is natural to pay back debts, even if it is money from the bank, but you must understand that "debts to support debts" can only be sustained. "Using cards to support cards" and "debts to support debts" will ultimately require full repayment with your own cash. There have been examples abroad of cardholders going bankrupt after maxing out multiple credit cards. . However, China does not have laws related to personal bankruptcy. Once a credit card is maxed out and even the minimum repayment amount cannot be paid, it means the bankruptcy of personal credit. Banks will regard such situations as malicious overdrafts and treat relevant The bank will put the person on a blacklist, restrict the person from applying for a mortgage loan, or reduce the maximum loan period. The bank will also pursue legal means to recover the amount owed.
Excessive credit card overdrafts will increase the number of procedures. The financial costs of cardholders such as fees and interest payments will also form bad consumption habits, which will put their own finances into trouble. Young people who have just become financially independent must first develop good financial management habits and live a financially controlled life. life. Specifically, increase income, control expenses, pay attention to investment and insurance, and be careful about debt. Don't use credit cards until you have no credit, which will eventually lead to you becoming a slave to the card. >
It should be clear that the basic function of a credit card is for consumption. It is an auxiliary payment and settlement tool. You must not use the credit limit that belongs to the debt category as income. It is usually encouraged to use credit cards for consumption, but it is not encouraged. Using a credit card to withdraw cash is much more expensive than using a credit card to pay for overdrafts, because there is no interest-free period. In a vicious cycle, if you are in a cycle of consumption, repayment, and interest payments, the pleasure of temporary consumption will be diluted by the subsequent repayment bills, and even anxiety will affect your health in the hands of some card issuers. It has almost become a free product, tempting customers all the time. A bank card expert analyzed that with the emergence of a large number of "card slaves", banks have an unshirkable responsibility to issue credit cards without any threshold. , some banks advertise "As long as you can breathe, you can apply for a card"; some banks take advantage of cardholders who are already in debt distress to induce them to use their cards to support their cards and debts to support their debts; most banks also lower the price of general credit cards and cash cards. The minimum repayment ratio payable is only 2% to 5% of the monthly repayment, which means that with a minimum monthly payment of 200 yuan, an overdraft of 10,000 yuan can be achieved, allowing cardholders to relax their psychological vigilance and obtain Spending that is not within their affordability. The result of such a large number of card issuances at a low threshold has resulted in a sharp increase in "card slaves" in a short period of time.
As of 2009, there were 51 card-issuing financial institutions in Taiwan.
Although there are few "card slaves" like those in Taiwan in mainland China, borrowing for consumption has become fashionable. Many people regard advanced consumption as fashionable and take pride in updating their concepts, so that they have become new "negative men". This is an indisputable fact. It is not uncommon for people to borrow heavily beyond their ability to repay, only to be overwhelmed by the high debt.
In order to expand the scope of card issuance, banks use various means and channels to promote credit cards. Credit cards have become more and more popular in China, like mobile phones and computers. This is a trend and a trend. The procedure for applying for a credit card is surprisingly simple. Customers only need to provide a copy of their ID card, and the quantity is variable. Judging from the development trend of the domestic bank card industry, the development of credit cards is about to enter a stage of explosive growth. However, many consumers are attracted by the additional conditions for credit card processing. Under the huge temptation of "consume first and repay later", a large number of consumers have fallen into the trap.
In large and medium-sized cities such as Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou, credit card agency outlets can be found everywhere. The method is as simple as an ID card and filling out a few forms. In some electrical appliance malls in Beijing, I noticed that bank staff set up booths at the entrance of the mall to handle "credit cards" on their behalf.
In the subway station in the center of Shanghai, several banks still occupy their own territory, and sales staff are working hard to promote credit cards every day. This "free lunch" often attracts the attention of many people.
Shanghai’s universities have always been a battleground for bank credit card centers. The battle for card issuance continues, and several universities have erected their own billboards or banners. They constantly promote the "benefits" that applying for and using credit cards can bring to cardholders, and use a variety of incentives to attract applications and use. However, they rarely mention the problems that need to be paid attention to when using cards, let alone touch on them. The dangers of overspending with a card. Although the bank fulfills its obligation to "inform" cardholders of the credit card usage instructions through the application agreement, those obscure words and convoluted instructions are difficult for ordinary applicants to understand, not to mention that most bank employees are not familiar with them. I also have a limited understanding of credit cards and instructions for using them.
In order to expand the issuance area, it is necessary to lower the threshold for card application. Not only do banks adopt a vague attitude when issuing cards, they also give many preferential terms on the terms of use of credit cards. This causes cardholders to relax their psychological vigilance and make expenditures that are not in line with their affordability. In fact, low entry barriers will inevitably lower service standards.