Maxed Out
From Google Video:
About This Documentary (1hr 27 min): How credit cards impose modern slavery on the people. To give people digits on their bank account and charge interest on something that is not real, backed up by nothing except debt, never had value, does not have value and will never have value.
Are you maxed out?
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DANG girl, I thought you had a clip from the movie, you have the whole movie! Holy moly, I know where to go when I have idle time on my hands.
The movie funny and also sad. Overall, it should make you realized how finance companies are rippin’ people off.
I was trapped into credit card debt when I first started college. I filed bankruptcy in 1998 cause I was beyond help and my fiance had left me high and dried with $21,000 in debt. I did a chapter 7 and paid $500 to be discharged. Right after I did that. I still had some cards (Target, Lane Bryant, and the Avenue)…then I got a Providian card. LOL, I got married and there when cards coming in hand over fist. When my husband was layed off from his job, we did a consolidation of our bills for $300. Well, that was a big mistake…they were never paid so interest had mount on the money that we thought was being paid. We did a CH 13 which is a partial repayment of the debt. Now, I had one card and I pay more than the monthly amount but the interest rate was ridiculous. I was thankful that I got a improve for a WaMu that was way lower, I transfered the balance and paid off what I owe. I denied offers for credit from stores. WHY?? If I knew back then that I could just got by on one credit card I would have. All these specialized cards are the going to be the death of us. They have higher interest on lower amounts. I was stupid and now I am protecting my financial future.
I love your site!!
I’m down to $374 left to pay off my cards. I plan on doing that in the next 2 weeks. AND…..I’m up to $450 towards my emergency fund of $2500. Slow and steady. I’ll watch that video at work tomorrow…it will give me something to do.
Girl you know I watched the WHOLE video.
Wow! I was boohooing at the one part where it shows the folks who committed suicide. I mean wow. And WTF @ the credit card tied to your pension???? Why?
Thank God I am not maxed out. I was never in a position to even consider bankruptcy. Watching this video has given me a whole new and improved outlook on my financial situation. I am so ready to beat these credit card companies and show them that I WILL NOT be caught up in their BS. I refuse to be one of the money makers.
Long time lurker – first time poster. WOW – I can attest to the depression and anxiety that is associated with a lot of debt. And the funny thing is, even though I am thousands of dollars in credit card debt, I’ve always been able to pay my bills (God is GOOD!). I know people FAR worse than I am. The stories here completely broke my heart. This is a small subset of the masses across this country. I’m like Dimples – I was really bawling at the people who saw no way out of their situation. I really should be in the bed, but I couldn’t stop watching. This was very informative – thank you for sharing!
Thank you SingleMa for sharing this video. I think everyone should watch it. It’s a reality check. The stories were so touching and I was got angry- seeing how these big companies and the federal government play with people’s lives. The three people who committed suicide OMG! I wasn’t expecting that – I almost cried – I felt so bad for the parents the 57 yr old woman who was losing her house, the poor black man who could not read but signed document without a proper explanation.. I could go on and on. Someone needs to stop these finance companies – I don’t know how it will be done but it cannot go on like this.
Leave it to you to have the whole film available! I actually saw it in the theaters. My friend fell asleep but I was hooked. I was already on my personal finance kick by then but it made me dislike credit cards even more after viewing. They have their place but if you slip up, they’ll be more than happy to help you dig your financial grave. Hmm, I think I’ll watch it again.
Hi, Being a frequent lurker of your site, I could not help myself but watch the entire movie and posting about my card debt experience as well.
Last year, I was without a job for about 6 months or so, I had a minimum emergency fund and no medical insurance, no fixed place to live and only a small 401K which I knew I could not touch. By the end of this journey, I ended up with almost 4K+ in credit card debt. That is the most credit debt I have gotten myself into since getting a credit card. I only had one.
Since getting a new job, I have started paying it as much as I can and so far I only have 2K+ left to pay. I cannot keep myself from day dreaming & visualizing the day my credit card statement shows $0.
In the mean time, I transferred my remaining credit card debt to another 0% interest card. I ‘disposed’ of my old credit card and only carry one which I use only for emergencies. I also started a serious emergency fund, another for misc, started contributing 20% of my paycheck to my 401K, and finally I started a non-load index mutual fund account.
During the time I was out of work, I read a lot of financial books and started hanging around sites like this one. BTW, thank you for spreading the ‘wealth’ around. By ‘wealth’, I mean all the free, entertaining but also straight forward financial info and tips I have found in your site.
H.
Thanks for posting this video. I’ve been trying to convince members of my family that it’s ok not to have it all or new. But I think they may actually have to fall deep in debt before they see the light… if they do.
I’m burning this to DVD to show the kids tonight. I am thankful that my BK prevented me from getting any credit cards over the past 10 years, I really am. It was tough to sit by and watch our friends spend money they didn’t have hand over fist but, today, I am glad that at least I don’t have credit card debt to worry about. I feel very sad for the people who felt they had no other way out other than to kill themselves. As a PS, today I found out that a 19 year old friend of one of the family has $90,000 in student loan debt for some trade school she ended up dropping out of. That’s NINETY THOUSAND DOLLARS. Horrendous. Her financial future has already been crippled and she hasn’t even started yet. I hope she doesn’t end up as one of those who feel that death is the only escape.
Thanks for posting this, I’ve been meaning to see the movie and now I can. And for the record, I am not maxed out! I’ve been revolving-debt-free for a month now, and I will NOT be going back!
Thank you for sharing this.
Last year at this time, we were 20k in credit card debt, pregnant w/ #2, and looking at educational cost for our #1 babygirl… I had multiple credit cards, all with several thousands of dollars on each, and I was trying desperately to pay off a few at a time. I always made more than the minimum payment, but then, because I had no more money, I’d use the card again, to get through the rest of the month (week, whatever). It’s a never ending spiral downward. Only a miracle has helped us escape this debt (in the form of an intrest-free loan from DH’s employer + a retroactive payraise). I closed 6 or 7 different card and now only carry one for emergencies. It is such easy money though, even today, I almost got a cash advance to pay a debt… (resisted the urge!)
Ok, on the subject of student loans… even at the super low interest rate of 2.5% I am eventually going to pay Sallie Mae something like $20.000 in interest on a $50k debt (I consolidated after grad school.) I know what the numbers look like, and I am just shocked evertime I think of this. Was it worth it to go to grad school? I’m in an arts related field and will never be an investment banker!
After watching this video, I am doubling my efforts to stay in budget and out of debt. Thanks again!
I haven’t watched the video yet. I am and will send it to the hubby.
Been wanting to watch that film for a while. Didn’t have much time now so I saw the first 5 minutes. Wow. I’m so glad I broke my spending pattern. I’m also glad there’s people out there making films like these to spread the word on how we’re becoming slaves and don’t even know it.