Resources & Links
- 11 Things to Know Before Getting Your First Credit CardUnderstanding the basics can save you time, money and aggravation and get you on your way to building good credit.
- Credit Card Facts and Tips: American Bankers AssociationCredit card facts and tips from the American Bankers Association.
- Credit Cards 101Getting the right kind of card for you and using it wisely will help you build credit, save money and enjoy an array of benefits.
- How to Use a Credit Card 101: The Correct Way to Use Credit CardsArticle addresses the power of credit cards, dangers, and how to use a credit card wisely.
Research & Reference
- Credit Cards: Credo ReferenceA Credo Reference landing page on credit cards. This page includes links to reference works, journal articles, and a mind map.
Secret History of the Credit Card
The average American family today carries 10 credit cards. Credit card debt and personal bankruptcies are now at an all time high. With no legal limit on the amount of interest or fees that can be charged, credit cards have become the most profitable sector of the American banking industry: more than $30 billion in profits last year alone. FRONTLINE examines how the credit card industry became so pervasive, so lucrative, and so powerful.
Source: Kanopy
How to Use Credit Optimally
Debt can be intimidating, but when used appropriately, it is a powerful tool. Psychology plays a key role when we take on debt, so it is important to recognize bad habits such as impulsiveness. After getting an overview of credit and credit history, you'll survey the variety of loans available, from credit cards to auto loans to mortgages.
Source: Kanopy
Perspectives
Debt for Sale: A Social History of the Credit Trap
Credit and debt appear to be natural, permanent facets of Americans' lives, but a debt-based economy and debt-financed lifestyles are actually recent inventions. In 1951 Diners Club issued a plastic card that enabled patrons to pay for their meals at select New York City restaurants at the end of each month. Soon other "charge cards" (as they were then known) offered the convenience for travelers throughout the United States to pay for hotels, food, and entertainment on credit. In the 1970s the advent of computers and the deregulation of banking created an explosion in credit card use--and consumer debt. With gigantic national banks and computer systems that allowed variable interest rates, consumer screening, mass mailings, and methods to discipline slow payers with penalties and fees, middle-class Americans experienced a sea change in their lives. Given the enormous profits from issuing credit, banks and chain stores used aggressive marketing to reach Americans experiencing such crises as divorce or unemployment, to help them make ends meet or to persuade them that they could live beyond their means. After banks exhausted the profits from this group of people, they moved into the market for college credit cards and student loans and then into predatory lending (through check-cashing stores and pawnshops) to the poor. In 2003, Americans owed nearly $8 trillion in consumer debt, amounting to 130 percent of their average disposable income. The role of credit and debt in people's lives is one of the most important social and economic issues of our age. Brett Williams provides a sobering and frank investigation of the credit industry and how it came to dominate the lives of most Americans by propelling the social changes that are enacted when an economy is based on debt. Williams argues that credit and debt act to obscure, reproduce, and exacerbate other inequalities. It is in the best interest of the banks, corporations, and their shareholders to keep consumer debt at high levels. By targeting low-income and young people who would not be eligible for credit in other businesses, these companies are able quickly to gain a stranglehold on the finances of millions. Throughout, Williams provides firsthand accounts of how Americans from all socioeconomic levels use credit. These vignettes complement the history and technical issues of the credit industry, including strategies people use to manage debt, how credit functions in their lives, how they understand their own indebtedness, and the sometimes tragic impact of massive debt on people's lives.
Credit Card Nation
Credit Card Nation is part history and part exposé of the damaging social and political consequences of America's increasing reliance on credit cards. Using original research and consumer interviews, Manning analyzes the growth of the credit card industry and its related businesses by looking at the story of its consumers--the people who use credit for convenience and those who rely on it for financial stability.In addition to providing a consumer history of credit card usage, Robert Manning analyzes the larger societal attitudes toward debt. The history of the credit card industry's expansion is one of the creation of a new class of consumers who utilize credit--and its steep interest and penalty rates--for economic survival. Manning discusses the societal toll that the "credit card nation" is placing on the young, the elderly, and all those in search of the "good life" marketed by the credit card and banking industries.
Borrowing to Live
Americans are awash in debt, and the U.S. economy is in trouble. Credit undergirds daily life more than ever -it has become one of the defining aspects of American life, and the ramifications are becoming clearer by the day. The already considerable damage from a depressed housing market has been exacerbated by the subprime lender implosion, sending shock waves through the financial sector, international economies, and government at all levels. Most low- or moderate-income people borrow, but that should not be construed as uniformly poor judgment or lack of disciplines -Americans are not borrowing merely to keep up with the Joneses, but too often simply to stay afloat. In Borrowing to Live, the Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University brings together a group of experts drawn from the best of academia, research, and public services. Together with editors Nicolas Retsinas and Eric Belsky, they dissect the worrisome current state of consumer and mortgage credit in the United States and help point the way out of the current struggles. Contributors: Michael S. Barr, Eric S. Belsky, Raphael W. Bostic, Shawn Cole, Amy Crews Cutts, Kathleen C. Engel, Ren S. Essene, Elaine Kempson, Patricia A. McCoy, William A. Merrill, Sendhil Mullainathan, Anthony Pennington-Cross, Elizabeth Renuart, Eldar Shafir, Edna R. Sawady, Jennifer Tescher, John Thompson, Peter Tufano, Susan M. Wachter
One from Many: VISA and the Rise of the Chaordic Organization
Far more than a riveting inside story of the creation of VISA-now the largest commercial enterprise on earth-One from Many is an absorbing story of personal and institutional transformation. Lyrical, profound, often humorous, it explores the ever-increasing change, complex societal problems, and failing institutions that confront us all. Dee Hock chronicles the emergence of a new form of organization that blends chaos and order, which may be critical to a livable future, and shows how it is emerging in such effective organizations as VISA, the Internet, World Weather Watch, and Alcoholics Anonymous. A beautiful blend of history, biography, and philosophy, One from Many not only challenges the way we think about organizations, management, and our relationship to the natural world, it's a rollicking fine story as well.