SAHMs & SAHDs can't get credit cards now?

[Parrothead]

It is different because you have the house.

If your income earning spouse died, you would still have the equity in the house, which the bank can take form you if you should default on your mortgage.

With CC debt, you have no collateral.

No, but if you are smart you have life insurance.

[5KidzRUs]

This information was something drilled into our (ladies my age or slightly older) heads by our mothers because they saw our grandmothers struggle with learning how to write a check and deal with finances. For decades, nay centuries, women were told to leave the finances to the men. Not to worry their pretty little heads. Then the man dies or leaves and they were worse than stuck.

 

In no way do I want to see society go back to that model.

 

What is a stay at home wife - whose dh has everything in his name and who abhors ANY cc's - to do?

Either comply and have no credit or be sneaky and manage to get one or two to build her credit, keeping it secret from her dh?

[5KidzRUs]

Honestly, I wouldn't have married such a guy. But that's another discussion.

 

Some women don't marry 'that guy'. Their dh turns into that guy.

[ezrabean2005]

What is a stay at home wife - whose dh has everything in his name and who abhors ANY cc's - to do?

Either comply and have no credit or be sneaky and manage to get one or two to build her credit, keeping it secret from her dh?

 

You could just apply for a card using your household income.

 

If he was very controlling, you don't even need to keep the card around. Just have the account open. If you ever needed the card, you could call to have one sent.

 

If you need a way to have credit, you could do this. Just be certain what you want it for. If you are going to spend regularly on it, your DH will find out eventually (as he should). If it is something to have "just in case", then you could do it easily.

 

If it were me, I would insist on having more in savings before I would go through the trouble of a hidden credit card.

[Tammyla]

I've kept credit in my own name.

[Tigger]

What is a stay at home wife - whose dh has everything in his name and who abhors ANY cc's - to do?

Either comply and have no credit or be sneaky and manage to get one or two to build her credit, keeping it secret from her dh?

 

You could get a secured card attached to a CD deposit with a credit card company that reports to the credit agencies. Paperless statements.

 

Honestly, I don't think I could be married to someone who would shut me out of finances that strongly. I would hope that such a man would have adequate insurance to take care of his family if anything happened to him since he's setting them up for difficulty.

[Danestress]

and I would be careful if I were you.

 

In most non community property states, a judge most certainly *can* distribute debts as well as assets acquired during the marriage, regardless of whose name those debts (or assets) are in. If I have a credit card in just my name that DH has never signed onto in anyway, he can still be given part of the debt in a divorce, even in states that are not community property states. If I buy a car and put it just in my name, that car is still marital property in most states and would be part of our divisible marital property.

Edited December 13, 2011 by Danestress

[EKS]

We don't use credit cards. At all. I don't see what all the fuss is. Do you really NEED a credit card??

 

I don't know if this is still true, but you used to need a credit card to rent a car.

[Hannah C.]

I don't know if this is still true, but you used to need a credit card to rent a car.

 

I believe that now you can use a debit card - BUT usually with a debit card, the company puts a hold of several hundred dollars on your account. The same thing happens if you use a debit card to pay for a hotel room. If you don't usually have much money in your debit account, this can be a big problem. They do not do that with credit cards, and even if they did, it wouldn't affect you in the same way.

[Tarreymere]

I don't know if this is still true, but you used to need a credit card to rent a car.

 

 

It is true that most car rental agencies do want you to have one but some will take a debit card. I was a travel nurse for some years and did not have a credit card so my company would make sure I was set up with a car rental that would take my debit card or else they would rent the car FOR me. I was lucky enough to have a profession that was (and is) in demand so I could get some special treatment. I would say that if I did have to travel for work and rent cars and I did not work for a company that was willing to accomodate me as well as travel nurse companies often do for travel nurses I probably would have just gotten a credit card to make it easier.

 

Of course, the only time I ever needed to rent a car was while I was working away from home as a travel nurse, so it isn't practical to get a credit card just for that! We have no reason to rent a car at home. Our garage has loaners if you car is going to be in repair for a while and they don't ask for a credit card, and we have a zillion relatives around here to borrow one from or lend to one if needed.

[TravelingChris]

For all the posters, what most of us have in common is homeschooling or at least being very involved with the education of our children or grandchildren. But that is about all we all have in common. Some of us work along with homeschooling, some of us don't. Some of us are living with little income, some of us are living with a high income, and probably most are somewhere in between.

 

Specifically, someone who lives a transient life (military, federal law enforcement, some types of engineers, etc) is different from a person who lives in one place and then add income differences and you get the whole range from you need good credit to who cares about your credit. If I was to go back to work, I need good credit for the type of jobs I am probably most suited for though not if I ended up teaching in college. To live the type of life I am living, credit is important. I can understand it isn't for people who live very different lives from me so why can't they understand that for people like Mrs. Mungo, Chucki and myself good credit is important.

[Tarreymere]

What is a stay at home wife - whose dh has everything in his name and who abhors ANY cc's - to do?

Either comply and have no credit or be sneaky and manage to get one or two to build her credit, keeping it secret from her dh?

 

LOL! I may be a SAHM but my ace up my sleeve is my RN license. I can earn income, even daily pay from some staffing agencies, at the drop of a hat. I don't need credit or credit cards if I have the income, and we do have savings. I've kicked a husband to the curb before and wouldn't hesitate to do it again if necessary.

 

However, in my family there is an old story about my great grandmother who was in your position but had to be quite a bit trickier than me. Her husband gave her a fixed amount of cash from each paycheck to run the household. Apparently this lady saved a bit each week until after a good number of years she had enough to pay cash outright for an apartment building in her neighborhood. Then she collected rent from her tenants for years along with saving part of her household money. Great Grandpa found out one day when one of the tenants was late with the rent and brought it by the back door of the house while Great Grandma was out. Apparently it was quite the shock!

 

If you don't want to take Great Grandma's approach and are concerned about being trapped, I would suggest you get some training in something that is in demand (Certified Nurses Aides are usually in demand in most areas and the training is usually just a few weeks) and work a few hours here and there and stash your cash. If DH won't 'allow' you to work you KNOW you have a problem.....and in that case I would be on the phone to the local women's shelter.

[Tarreymere]

For all the posters, what most of us have in common is homeschooling or at least being very involved with the education of our children or grandchildren. But that is about all we all have in common. Some of us work along with homeschooling, some of us don't. Some of us are living with little income, some of us are living with a high income, and probably most are somewhere in between.

 

Specifically, someone who lives a transient life (military, federal law enforcement, some types of engineers, etc) is different from a person who lives in one place and then add income differences and you get the whole range from you need good credit to who cares about your credit. If I was to go back to work, I need good credit for the type of jobs I am probably most suited for though not if I ended up teaching in college. To live the type of life I am living, credit is important. I can understand it isn't for people who live very different lives from me so why can't they understand that for people like Mrs. Mungo, Chucki and myself good credit is important.

 

 

My own point is that using credit or having a lifestyle that requires a person to use credit is still a choice, not a necessity. I understand that there are pros and cons to credit but I disagree that credit is a 'necessity'. Credit is a choice, as is choosing a lifestyle that requires the use of credit.

[laundrycrisis]

You could just apply for a card using your household income.

 

But now, she can't. At least the way the law is now written, they are not supposed to extend credit based on household income.

Edited December 13, 2011 by laundrycrisis

[laundrycrisis]

As a private business, they can make the rules however they like.

 

This is not a case of a private business making their own decisions. It is a case of the federal government taking that decision-making freedom away.

 

IMO it should be up to the credit issuer whether or not they want to extend credit based on household income.

[Barb_]

My own point is that using credit or having a lifestyle that requires a person to use credit is still a choice, not a necessity. I understand that there are pros and cons to credit but I disagree that credit is a 'necessity'. Credit is a choice, as is choosing a lifestyle that requires the use of credit.

 

Okay, that's just silly. You are judging people whose lifestyle differs with your because the choice to use or avoid credit cards is not the primary reason for their lifestyle decision. We have the lifestyle we do because my husband is good with numbers and computers, not cows or crops or carpentry. He was born in New York City and thought cotton grew on sheep until I told him differently at the age of 28. We would starve in the country.

 

We need urban dwellers, suburban dwellers and rural people in order for our country to run smoothly. We need military people, career people and at home parents. For better or worse, good credit is a necessity for many of us.

Edited December 13, 2011 by Barb F. PA in AZ

[Tarreymere]

All of this may be a moot point anyway if the Federal Reserve doesn't wise up......we may all end up bartering with each other since both cash and credit may become pretty much worthless.

[5KidzRUs]

I am so glad this thread came up. I have spent the last 20+ years homeschooling and being mom that I have lost who I am and have neglected to build credit or a career (for money). I have heard that employers can now look at your credit before hiring.

Earlier this year my dearest friend (HS mom) was just widowed a second time - first dh died over 10 years ago and second dh this year. She is my age, 45.

She is a smart woman, in that she knew the value of credit from the crisis of her first dh's death and had all her credit and house in her name.

I think many sahm's (like me) have slept through our life and have not given thought FICA scores, work and independence.

Edited December 13, 2011 by 5KidzRUs

[Mrs Mungo]

My own point is that using credit or having a lifestyle that requires a person to use credit is still a choice, not a necessity. I understand that there are pros and cons to credit but I disagree that credit is a 'necessity'. Credit is a choice, as is choosing a lifestyle that requires the use of credit.

 

Well, if we all lived in the country, then it wouldn't be the country very long would it? :tongue_smilie:

[Barb_]

I am so glad this thread came up. I have spent the last 20+ years homeschooling and being mom that I have lost who I am and have neglected to build credit or a career (for money). I have heard that employers can now look at your credit before hiring.

 

Yes, they've been doing that in the hospitals my husband works at for the past 15 years. Even doctors with poor credit scores are passed over.

[Barb_]

I am so glad this thread came up. I have spent the last 20+ years homeschooling and being mom that I have lost who I am and have neglected to build credit or a career (for money).

 

Also, since your husband is actively preventing you from using credit or money maybe you out to read this:

 

http://money.usnews.com/money/blogs/my-money/2011/04/26/how-to-stop-domestic-financial-abuse

[Tarreymere]

Okay, that's just silly. You are judging people whose lifestyle differs with your because the choice to use or avoid credit cards is not the primary reason for their lifestyle decision. We have the lifestyle we do because my husband is good with numbers and computers, not cows or crops or carpentry. He was born in New York City and thought cotton grew on sheep until I told him differently at the age of 28. We would starve in the country.

 

I'm not judging, I am just stating a fact. Everyone has choices, and everyone has to live with the results of those choices. And I was born in Wilkes-Barre PA, which is a fairly large city. You can google it. I didn't even know how to boil water when I left home, and I had never even seen a farm animal except on tv. I joined the Army to work in military intelligence and lived that nomadic military lifestyle and made a choice not to use credit then either. Later after I put myself through nursing school in a large city, I made the choice to move to a rural area and learn the skills I have now. I made different choices than you. My husband isn't a carpenter or a farmer, he has a degree in psychology and followed his heart into human services. He was also born in a large city. He chose to move to a more rural area. Now we are where we are because of those choices. It would be easy to argue that one choice is 'better' than another, but there really isn't a better or worse there is only the individual's personal preference.

 

The things that make us all interesting are the choices we have made. No one is forced to live in an urban area or a rural area. While in nursing school in Wilkes-Barre I met a fellow student who came from NYC. A neighbor of hers was killed by random gunfire and that sort of did something to her. She packed a suitcase and gathered up her two year old and bought a bus ticket as far away from NYC as she could go. She ended up broke in downtown Wilkes-Barre and found some help from a local Catholic charity and turned up in my nursing class. I thought she was pretty courageous. Pretty crazy, too, but courageous.

 

If you think you can't change your life then you are limiting yourself. If you value the life you have and credit is a part of that, then accept that. But don't preach that credit is a necessity for everyone because it isn't, and don't complain that you didn't choose to be where you are, because you did either consciously or unconsciously, through action or through inaction. If you are unhappy make a change.

 

I still stand by my statement that credit is a choice and so is choosing a lifestyle that requires credit.

[Mommy22alyns]

I've heard of it and it honestly doesn't bother me. I'm a SAHM, so I have no source of income. How could I possibly be expected to pay back a debt? So why should credit be extended to me? :confused:

[Tarreymere]

Well, if we all lived in the country, then it wouldn't be the country very long would it? :tongue_smilie:

 

No one said you had to make the same choices I have, so why do so many of you seem so invested in forcing me to agree that credit is a 'necessity'? It isn't. It is a choice. It may be secondary to a completely different choice you made, but it is still a choice.

 

I must have missed the new Federal law requiring all citizens to apply for credit cards and maintain a credit rating. :rolleyes:

 

Oh, and I am a veteran, was on active duty six years and married for a good part of that to a fellow service member. I didn't have a credit card in the Army either, mostly because it never occured to me to apply for one, I guess. :patriot:

 

Geez, why are all you credit supporters so defensive? Why can't you just let us credit avoiders live in peace, rural or otherwise?

[Parrothead]

What is a stay at home wife - whose dh has everything in his name and who abhors ANY cc's - to do?

Either comply and have no credit or be sneaky and manage to get one or two to build her credit, keeping it secret from her dh?

Honestly, I'd get one card regardless. He doesn't have to like it, but he won't be the one stuck if something horrible happens.

 

If nothing else it would be time for a discussion and some change made.

[Parrothead]

But now, she can't. At least the way the law is now written, they are not supposed to extend credit based on household income.

Well, supposedly, now she can't. I've gotten all my current cards since this regulation went into effect.

[Parrothead]

I've heard of it and it honestly doesn't bother me. I'm a SAHM, so I have no source of income. How could I possibly be expected to pay back a debt? So why should credit be extended to me? :confused:

You need to read posts 10- to have your questions answered.

[Parrothead]

No one said you had to make the same choices I have, so why do so many of you seem so invested in forcing me to agree that credit is a 'necessity'? It isn't. It is a choice. It may be secondary to a completely different choice you made, but it is still a choice.

 

I must have missed the new Federal law requiring all citizens to apply for credit cards and maintain a credit rating. :rolleyes:

 

Oh, and I am a veteran, was on active duty six years and married for a good part of that to a fellow service member. I didn't have a credit card in the Army either, mostly because it never occured to me to apply for one, I guess. :patriot:

 

Geez, why are all you credit supporters so defensive? Why can't you just let us credit avoiders live in peace, rural or otherwise?

And here I was thinking the credit avoiders were the one's being defensive. :D

 

It all depends on one's POV.

[Mrs Mungo]

Geez, why are all you credit supporters so defensive? Why can't you just let us credit avoiders live in peace, rural or otherwise?

 

Nobody said you had to get credit. We have only discussed reasons that it is a good idea for lots of people. You are the one insisting nobody needs it. :confused:

[5KidzRUs]

Well, supposedly, now she can't. I've gotten all my current cards since this regulation went into effect.

 

Did you get them because of the regulation going into effect or was that just a coincidence?

[Parrothead]

Did you get them because of the regulation going into effect or was that just a coincidence?

I got them because of the regulation going into effect. I knew what it would mean to be a SAH without credit of my own. Our Reg posted about the regulation back at the end of October. I shot straight to Amazon and got the Amazon Visa card that day. Over the last two months I've gotten two other cards with just household income.

 

I charged them all up, paid them off then charged up to 20% utilization and am on hold. Depending on who you talk to, good utilization is between 10 and 30%. I took a middle of the road stance. My FAKO (through USAA credit monitoring I'm not paying FICO $40 per month for the real thing) scores have gone up between 50-100 points since doing this.

 

I'm also battling the CRAs and a collection agency along with the original creditor for a medical debt. Once that gets fixed I expect another jump in my FICO. The only thing then that will be holding me back is the lack of my name on a mortgage.

 

If one is going to utilize credit it is a good idea to utilize it well and make it work for one. It certainly is not something to be afraid of.

[5KidzRUs]

I got them because of the regulation going into effect. I knew what it would mean to be a SAH without credit of my own. Our Reg posted about the regulation back at the end of October. I shot straight to Amazon and got the Amazon Visa card that day. Over the last two months I've gotten two other cards with just household income.

 

I charged them all up, paid them off then charged up to 20% utilization and am on hold. Depending on who you talk to, good utilization is between 10 and 30%. I took a middle of the road stance. My FAKO (through USAA credit monitoring I'm not paying FICO $40 per month for the real thing) scores have gone up between 50-100 points since doing this.

 

I'm also battling the CRAs and a collection agency along with the original creditor for a medical debt. Once that gets fixed I expect another jump in my FICO. The only thing then that will be holding me back is the lack of my name on a mortgage.

 

If one is going to utilize credit it is a good idea to utilize it well and make it work for one. It certainly is not something to be afraid of.

 

Thank you for the thoughtful reply. I did not know USAA had FAKO monitoring.

You mentioned mortgage - my friend (the widow I wrote about in my previous post) told me she made sure her name was on the deed otherwise (in her state) she would have had to pay (inheritance, I think) tax. her name was not on the mortgage and she did have issues but just dealt with them online after that.

Do you think having your name on the deed affects your credit? Or it has to be on the mortgage like you mentioned?

[5kidsforME]

If I could only get AMEX to give me a card.... :D

 

(grumble, grumble, grumble, d@m $79.00 hospital screw up.... gotta go fire off another letter... grumble, grumble...)

 

Ha! There's hope! I just dealt with a screw up in my billing for my early U?S. I got charged $900 for them to tell me that yup, you are 5 weeks along. (This was back in Oct.) apparently they screwed up the code. So the Supervisor in the billing office figured it out and took the overcharge off. Than while I was on the phone with her, she said, well for some reason there is another charge from awhile ago, $25, I'm just going to take that off too, I have no idea what it is.

 

I was like, :001_huh:, THANK YOU!! I have NEVER had any medical institution do that for me!! Made my day. :D

[5kidsforME]

Exactly. I don't see why one cannot sue. People sue for far pettier things.

 

Right, I agree, but I think you may start out suing for a salary and end up with child support and alimony. :D

[5kidsforME]

What is a stay at home wife - whose dh has everything in his name and who abhors ANY cc's - to do?

Either comply and have no credit or be sneaky and manage to get one or two to build her credit, keeping it secret from her dh?

 

I would say, getting a cc would be the least of your problems then.

[5kidsforME]

. To live the type of life I am living, credit is important. I can understand it isn't for people who live very different lives from me so why can't they understand that for people like Mrs. Mungo, Chucki and myself good credit is important.

 

 

I actually disagree with this. I think good cedit is important for everyone, no matter your occupation or your spouses occupation. We do not have good credit. We are working on it. DH and I both feel it reflects poorly on our character. Not because we have bad credit for a "good" reason (medical expenses etc) but because we have bad credit for all the wrong reasons. We turned our finances around 4 plus years ago, but are still dealing with the fallout of bad debt and poor choices. Someday we will get there and have good credit again.

 

I do understand what you are saying though. It seems to me that you (military, law enforcement families etc) probably looked at your long term and what ifs much quicker and were disciplined. You realized the importance much quicker than some of us.

 

SOoo, Chucki!!! I owe you an apology. :001_smile:

[TravelingChris]

To 5kidsRUS= The only spouses I ever met who had husbands be so secretive with money found out the hard way what it means. One of them was my good friend who lived near me 13 years ago and was a homeschooling mom married to a military man. That her husband was military and they were married for a long enough time was the only way she survived the divorce financially and it was with a huge drop of income. It turned out that her husband was planning to divorce her and was hiding assets. Later on, he quit working at a regular employment place because then his wages could be garnered for child support. He either didn't work or work off the books so she wouldn't get child support.

[momsquared]

I am so glad this thread came up. I have spent the last 20+ years homeschooling and being mom that I have lost who I am and have neglected to build credit or a career (for money). I have heard that employers can now look at your credit before hiring.

Earlier this year my dearest friend (HS mom) was just widowed a second time - first dh died over 10 years ago and second dh this year. She is my age, 45.

She is a smart woman, in that she knew the value of credit from the crisis of her first dh's death and had all her credit and house in her name.

I think many sahm's (like me) have slept through our life and have not given thought FICA scores, work and independence.

 

 

I think it is interesting this is your position. As a working woman I sometimes question a woman's independence if she does not have employment or the ability to easily get employed.

 

For what it's worth, CC should be for people with jobs that bring an income.

[TranquilMind]

I actually disagree with this. I think good cedit is important for everyone, no matter your occupation or your spouses occupation. We do not have good credit. We are working on it. DH and I both feel it reflects poorly on our character. Not because we have bad credit for a "good" reason (medical expenses etc) but because we have bad credit for all the wrong reasons. We turned our finances around 4 plus years ago, but are still dealing with the fallout of bad debt and poor choices. Someday we will get there and have good credit again.

 

I do understand what you are saying though. It seems to me that you (military, law enforcement families etc) probably looked at your long term and what ifs much quicker and were disciplined. You realized the importance much quicker than some of us.

 

SOoo, Chucki!!! I owe you an apology. :001_smile:

Good credit is exceedingly important. If your credit is bad, you are more likely to not be hired for a job. They check that now. You will pay higher rates on many, many things, like cell phones, insurance, rent, and mortgage (because your interest rate will be higher).

 

So even if you don't want debt, you DO want good credit.

 

I disagree with the last poster that said that credit cards are only for the employed. I have been employed, and was employed when I got my single card back in the 70's. I still have the same card. That longevity, which is longer than my husband's good credit, because I am older, has helped us on everything. I have a 4% interest rate (if I ever do carry a balance) which I was able to finagle from the Head of Chase Bank because of this longevity. I asked if they ever had 40 year customers. Nope. No fees either, by the way. I haven't been employed by someone else since I had the kids but I handle all the money and make most of the larger spending decisions. My husband will weigh in if I ask, but he's just too busy.

 

I sure wouldn't want to have to go to him to have a credit card available. That would be kind of awkward in an emergency.

Edited December 14, 2011 by TranquilMind

[Parrothead]

I actually disagree with this. I think good cedit is important for everyone, no matter your occupation or your spouses occupation. We do not have good credit. We are working on it. DH and I both feel it reflects poorly on our character. Not because we have bad credit for a "good" reason (medical expenses etc) but because we have bad credit for all the wrong reasons. We turned our finances around 4 plus years ago, but are still dealing with the fallout of bad debt and poor choices. Someday we will get there and have good credit again.

 

I do understand what you are saying though. It seems to me that you (military, law enforcement families etc) probably looked at your long term and what ifs much quicker and were disciplined. You realized the importance much quicker than some of us.

 

SOoo, Chucki!!! I owe you an apology. :001_smile:

Hey, no apology necessary. It is all good. :grouphug:

[Parrothead]

.

 

I sure wouldn't want to have to go to him to have a credit card available. That would be kind of awkward in an emergency.

Like when the fridge goes out the second day of dh's 2-week business trip.

 

I can just imagine the call to the boss that a dh would have to make. "Sir, I have to come home and loose this account because I'm the only adult in the family with credit."

 

Betcha it would not be long before someone was in the unemployment line trying to get up the money to pay that credit card.

[nd293]

Personally I think it makes sense - how can you give credit to someone with no income? It's a sensible business decision on the part of the bank. We then make a sensible business decision within our home - he earns money doing something he enjoys, I manage kids, home and finances. The credit card is in his name (on statements etc) but I have a secondary card in my name (no legal responsibility for the bill).

 

This, mind you, is the situation in Australia, I'm not sure if "not giving credit cards to SAHMs & SAHDs" looks the same in the US. I'm not sure if they would have given me one here - we never tried. I did try to get phones set up when we first got here, and was refused, as I couldn't give income details in my name - dh had to personally phone and do it.

 

The house is in joint names, as is the cheque account.

Edited December 14, 2011 by nd293

[Meriwether]

I have been a SAHM since my daughter was born. Our first home had a higher interest rate because we had 0% down. My salary went to paying off the house. That money has been our down payment on subsequent homes. I have relocated several times (and will again) for Dh's job. The only reason I am not working now is that I bore and am raising his children. I am very happy that he gets up and goes to work and gets a paycheck. But you know what? When Dh and I started dating, he had a 1.something GPA. I studied with him and proofread his papers. By the time he graduated 18 months later his GPA was high enough to get him hired. The work I do for our family contributes to our financial well-being. Being a SAHM while my husband earns income is fundamentally different than living on my own with no income. I have access to money. I am not a parasite on my husband. We are a team. His income is our income. Credit should be extended on household income.

[In2why]

How much marriage is a financial partnership depends on state laws and the way you legally set up financial arrangements (which may be limited by state laws).

 

In Texas, for example, it is almost impossible to have any "separate property." For a SAHM this is often a good situation, but not always. All income and property is 100% owned and controlled by the husband and the wife. Thus if a SAHM's parents give her a monetary gift, her husband can spend 100% of it.

 

As far as the law, there is no statement that a SAHM cannot get a credit card. The law simply states that ability to pay must be considered based upon what the individual can legally control to repay the debt. You can have zero income and the bank can still determine that you are likely to be able to repay the debt if you hold sufficient assets.

 

 

This is how I look at it as well. I am not sure why you should be able to use your husbands income to obtain a credit card without his signature, if it is his income you are using to pay it. I know I would be pretty intense if someone obligated me to pay for something without my knowledge or permission. And I hate the word permission being used between a husband and a wife, hate it, but the company giving the credit has to protect themselves as well.

[In2why]

The felt a need because people have been screaming "Why did the government let banks lend money to people who couldn't pay it back?" This has been repeatedly said about mortgages and credit cards during the recent financial crisis.

 

 

Exactly! We have seen what no regulations can do, they won't regulate themselves apparently.

[Tarreymere]

Like when the fridge goes out the second day of dh's 2-week business trip.

 

I can just imagine the call to the boss that a dh would have to make. "Sir, I have to come home and loose this account because I'm the only adult in the family with credit."

 

Betcha it would not be long before someone was in the unemployment line trying to get up the money to pay that credit card.

 

Well, unless one happened to plan ahead for emergencies and had actual cash on hand.......but that seems to be rather unpopular on this board.

[Tarreymere]

And here I was thinking the credit avoiders were the one's being defensive. :D

 

It all depends on one's POV.

 

I'm only defensive with all of you well-intentioned folks insisting I need one. I can't really understand why, even after reading all of the arguements. I am where I am because this is where I determined I want to be, and having a credit card is not part of that. No big deal, really, but so many of you keep insisting a credit card is so crucial when demonstrably for some of us it is not? Don't want one, don't need one, don't care if you have one or not, just don't try to sell me on how necessary they are because I don't just don't need one and I'm quite sure I am not the only person in North America who chooses to avoid the whole credit card thing. Life really is possible without one, honest!

[5kidsforME]

I'm only defensive with all of you well-intentioned folks insisting I need one. I can't really understand why, even after reading all of the arguements. I am where I am because this is where I determined I want to be, and having a credit card is not part of that. No big deal, really, but so many of you keep insisting a credit card is so crucial when demonstrably for some of us it is not? Don't want one, don't need one, don't care if you have one or not, just don't try to sell me on how necessary they are because I don't just don't need one and I'm quite sure I am not the only person in North America who chooses to avoid the whole credit card thing. Life really is possible without one, honest!

 

 

You are not alone. We do not have any either. We have never had a problem because of it.

[Tarreymere]

Nobody said you had to get credit. We have only discussed reasons that it is a good idea for lots of people. You are the one insisting nobody needs it. :confused:

 

If you re-read my posts, I never said 'no one needs it', I've just said over and over again that it is a choice and not a 'necessity'. If you make choices that put you in a position where you feel that kind of thing is helpful that is certainly your decision. I just don't agree that a credit card is 'necessary' for everyone and that is possible to live quite agreeably without one. I'll even go out on a limb and say I don't think it is even a very good idea for a lot of people.

[Sandra in FL]

Can't believe this new law and thread. So, I worked for 12 years, paid the down payment on our house (30%), paid off dh's student loans, gave up my high paying job to have kids, invest our money, take care of all our finances and I can't get a credit card without his signature. Unbelievable!

 

I happen to love the convenience/safety of credit cards. We gets lots of rewards and carry no balance. This is a step backward - might as well take away my ability to open a ROTH IRA too - isn't that in the same spirit of I'm not earning so I shouldn't have a cc/retirement fund? After all, my ROTH IRA is based on dh's earned income - not our investment income.

Edited December 14, 2011 by Sandra in FL