pleasestopasking

Honestly the US credit system is one big scam

I feel like part of falling for this is being in a job where you don't question management doing stupid shit that shouldn't be your job. I works hope that $5000 would ping your bullshit meter, but I could easily see falling for a more believable story. Maybe not at a fast food place but like, a big office or some place where there are bullshit parties. Especially with a spoofed email or text rather than a voice call. "It's [some fake appreciation day] and I need to bring in cake/gifts, I don't have the business card on me, buy this $200 gift card and give me the info."

If you're stressed and have a shitty boss with no boundaries, I could see it working.

One I fell for: last minute, I needed to take a cat on a flight. I was googling what I needed to do for the airline and ended up with a scam number. The issue was I didn't even have to click through to the site, I'd like to think I'd have caught on. But the number was bolded in the suggested results without having to click through toanywhere. I was in a panic getting ready for the flight, so I wasn't on my game.

Immediately after I gave the person my credit card info over the phone, like literally the minute I hung up, I realized that it was so obviously a scam. Called my credit card company and had them block the charge and change the card number. Definitely not the pain in the ass I needed right before a trip, but it made me more cautious for the future and luckily I didn't lose any money.

My sister fell for one I couldn't believe. A kid was washing windows on the side of the road, she said she didn't have any cash and he said, "That's okay I have cash app, I'll type in my name." She handed her phone over and he cash apped himself $2000. No recourse since cash app isn't a real bank transfer. Expensive lesson to learn.

Wow, what an absolute scumbag.

...is a pig butchering scam something that didn't involve actual pig butchering? Or....

At this point, pretty much anything purchased on Amazon. Nowadays even stuff that looks like it's from a legit seller can end up being a knockoff from a scam seller because of their warehouse storage logistics. Or they sell a high quality item long enough to get good reviews on the listing, then switch it out with some cheap piece of shit to take in the dough until the rating is tanked, lather rinse repeat. It's just becoming more and more like Wish/Temu where the listings are straight up lies and they just rely on people not wanting to do through the trouble of a return.

Please tell me you stopped ordering from Wish. This is literally the business model, hoping that people won't try to initiate a return.

So protests need to find some other goal and some other message.

Let's-a go!

See, I'm going to sound like an old man yelling at a cloud but I feel like having a phone to make school more tolerable isn't the answer. If a kid is having social problems, letting them escape via their phone isn't going to help develop those or avoid bullying. Letting that be the escape is a copout for adults who need to raise and teach the kids how to human.

If they do have friends and social skills, lunch, long lines, etc. are good times to practice just being present with the people around them, or quietly in their own head. The constant drip line of available distractions is changing our brains, and I don't think it's for the better.

Honestly, even if they're not leaving permanently, who knows how much longer the Smithsonian will last if things keep going the way they are.

Debt utilization is a big part of a credit score. And just getting that down having multiple high limit cards is a strategy.

I have a really good credit utilization rate, in part because of this. I don't spend money I don't have, because I make enough money to cover my needs, set aside savings for emergencies, and treat myself sometimes. And I'm privileged to have people in my life who educated me about credit, what it actually means, and how it works.

Because of these privileges, using credit cards has saved me money by earning rewards and not paying interest. But many Americans don't have these privileges, which is why I think it's downright irresponsible and predatory that my combined credit limit is higher than my annual salary. Not home or car loans or whatever, just regular credit cards for regular consumer purchases. That's a life-ruining amount of credit to have available if you haven't been taught how to game the system.

Yeah, I don't necessarily agree with the game, but since we're in it, I play it. All of my purchases go on credit cards. But I never spend money I don't have, and I pay the statement balance in full every month so I'm never charged interest. The only time I don't pay the full statement balance is when I buy a new phone since I have the store card with 0% financing. But anything else, never ever ever carry a balance.

It sucks because it's basically a benefit for people who have good executive functioning and financial literacy, paid for by those who don't. It's a benefit I only get because big banks prey on poor people.