<p>As I said before, read up on Kondreytieff cycles. You might also add secular bear markets to your reading lists.</p>
<p>One of the factors that is considered when determining your credit score is the length of time you have had certain accounts, so in that sense it might benefit you to keep paying a student loan if it is one of your only installment credit accounts, or if it is your oldest one. I don’t believe it would “hurt” you, or lower your credit score at all by paying it off.</p>
<p>Where are credit cards have 18-30% interest rates? As far as I can tell, 13.9% is the standard interest rate for credit cards.</p>
<p>Right now I’m a little under $500 in debt. Had to use a credit card to pay the bills as I wasn’t able to get a job for awhile when in college. It’s not that bad though. I’m just going slowly chip away at it, about $50 a month and get rid of it over the course of a little under a year.</p>
<p>“Where are credit cards have 18-30% interest rates?”</p>
<p>[Why</a> banks are boosting credit card interest rates and fees - USATODAY.com](<a href=“http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/banking/2008-11-09-bank-credit-card-interest-rates_N.htm]Why”>http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/banking/2008-11-09-bank-credit-card-interest-rates_N.htm)</p>
<p>The way to wealth is to create streams of income that take very little effort to maintain. You then create streams of income from the previous streams. Credit card debt is the antithesis of wealth creation.</p>
<p>When I was in college, you had to be 21 to sign a contract and have it hold. Otherwise your parent had to co-sign. All of that changed with the War (Vietman) – kids complaining old enough to go to was yayada. I think that a mistake. When I went to college (Ivy) the kids from really rich, not upper middle class, families spent like they were rich – no cars, no going out to eat, etc.</p>
<p>well, this makes me feel a little better about my own debt. My credit card limit is only $750 and I’ve only got about $600 on it right now (I just graduated last week). I’ve also got 1 student loan for $5500 (for study abroad last summer, I had scholarships and grants for everything else). So I think I’m doing pretty well, considering. I pay more than minimum on my card each month, but I don’t have enough to pay it in full right now. </p>
<p>I’m going to be abroad on a fellowship all summer, but hopefully when I get back in August, I can get a job and pay off my credit card within a couple months (I’ll be living at home with my mom, so no rent to pay).</p>
<p>Me with a credit card in NYC…ya I’m more than a little worried.</p>
<p>No credit card debt for me, but I owe over $30,000 in private loans :(</p>
<p>And my credit score is wrecked from not paying a hospital bill from my sophomore year. The bills kept getting sent to my home address and my parents ignored them. I just now put down the first $50 on it.</p>