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Online installment loans have taken the subprime market by storm

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Re: Online installment loans have taken the subprime market by storm

#91

Post by [deleted] »

philipov wrote: post #66
blhack wrote: post #59

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I’m sorry but this is a ridiculous, unactionable answer that is functionally equivalent to “well we should make things better”. Yes of course we should, HOW? We need more innovative solutions to these problems. I like seeing electric bicycle shares, I like seeing community-based, high density housing with shared kitchens and bathrooms, I like predictive diagnostics and telemedicine (although the FDA is fighting it).

How about paying people more? That's pretty actionable. Jeff Bezos doesn't need 100 billion dollars. "Just get rid of unexpected expenses" is the one that sounds ridiculous to me.

[deleted]

Re: Online installment loans have taken the subprime market by storm

#92

Post by fzeroracer »

geggam wrote: post #9
notus wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If filing for bankruptcy had no negative consequences I would agree, but that isn't the case. I agree that we shouldn't be bailing out banks, but we should have a safety net to bail out individuals. People go broke for various reasons, but the hallmark of an accomplished society is being able to ensure a decent quality of life for most people. Telling people to accept personal responsibility for everything that happe…

Disagree, You make the choices for life. Accept personal responsibility.

Why does this seem to only apply to the poor and not the rich and wealthy? When a company takes illegal action to pollute streams and gets a slap on the wrist, or investor kickbacks result in worse and worse wildfires in California, where's the personal responsibility?

When it comes to loans and bankruptcy we're expecting people to suck it up and live under the thumb of debt for the rest of their lives for the fall of needing money to pay rent, go to college or deal with medical bills.

I've been through enough shit myself that I have plenty of empathy for people with no choice. Calling them 'quitters' (in reference to your other comment') is absolute nonsense and simply a way of rationalizing FGYM.

Re: Online installment loans have taken the subprime market by storm

#93

Post by streblo »

Litmus2336 wrote: post #60
streblo wrote: post #51

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why can't the government just regulate the parameters of lending? Isn't that sufficient? Why does the government have to actually get into the business to help solve the problem?

Because, theoretically, these companies would not be profitable if their interest rates were regulated, and therefore nobody would offer loans. But I don't have statistics on default rate or anything of that sort.

These companies wouldn't be profitable, but other companies that are founded post-regulation could be. Companies have a remarkable ability to mold their business models around regulation.

Re: Online installment loans have taken the subprime market by storm

#94

Post by [deleted] »

bryanlarsen wrote: post #71
mumblemumble wrote: post #56

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't want to tut-tut the poor, but I do want to tut-tut consumer culture in general. There are a whole lot of people who _should_ be able to afford an unexpected car repair bill, and could quite easily do so, if they weren't spending $100 a month on cable TV, $800 every other year on a high-end smartphone, $500/month on owning an SUV when a $200/mo economy car would serve just fine, etc., and put the money into a…

> $100 a month on cable TV given that the average American spends 4 hours/day watching TV[1], that's well under $1 per hour of entertainment. There aren't a lot of hobbies or entertainment media that are cheaper. 1: https://www.statista.com/statistics/186833/average-televisio...

[deleted]

Re: Online installment loans have taken the subprime market by storm

#95

Post by nopriorarrests »

blhack wrote: post #59
philipov wrote: post #47

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Instead we should be looking at ways to make it so that giant unpredicted expenses don’t happen at all. Or maybe fix it from the other end: reduce inequality so fewer people are living paycheck to paycheck and can actually build savings to use for unpredicted expenses.

I’m sorry but this is a ridiculous, unactionable answer that is functionally equivalent to “well we should make things better”. Yes of course we should, HOW? We need more innovative solutions to these problems. I like seeing electric bicycle shares, I like seeing community-based, high density housing with shared kitchens and bathrooms, I like predictive diagnostics and telemedicine (although the FDA is fighting it).

>I like seeing community-based, high density housing with shared kitchens and bathrooms

In soviet russia, kommunalki host you (https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Communal_apartment)

Re: Online installment loans have taken the subprime market by storm

#96

Post by Djvacto »

geggam wrote: post #85
chooseaname wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Disagree, You make the choices for life. Accept personal responsibility. Most people do accept responsibility. This is the problem: >In the decade through 2018, average household incomes for those with a high school diploma have risen about 15%, to roughly $46,000, according to the latest U.S. Census Bureau data available. >Not only is that less than the 20% increase registered on a broad basket of goods over the s…

> but the economy is taking advantage of them. Interested in hearing how you explain this. I dont disagree with you but I would like to know what you see as the root cause.

I'm pretty sure it's explained by the description of "Company gets money through directing employee labor, but an uneven portion of it is given back to shareholders instead of employees".

aka being employed is a worse deal than being an investor, disproportionately.

Re: Online installment loans have taken the subprime market by storm

#97

Post by MuffinFlavored »

wefarrell wrote: post #65
MuffinFlavored wrote: post #12

What's HN's opinion on 0% balance transfers? Yes, there's usually a 3% fee but... I've been able to borrow about $5k-$12k for a one time 3% fee over 18 months multiple times in a row now. I make sure to always pay the balance back before it is due. Why don't more people who need a cash infusion do this?

I try to keep myself in as much 0% APR debt as possible, almost at 100K. It’s all on business cards that don’t report to credit bureaus so it doesn’t impact my credit utilization. Instead of balance transfers (which have a 3% fee and a low limit) I put my quarterly taxes on my CC, which you can pay for 1.8%.

Could you elaborate on this? If I started a business (LLC), I could open an AmEx card card under the business and have access to a 0% line of credit? That doesn't sound quite right. I'm surely missing something.

Re: Online installment loans have taken the subprime market by storm

#98

Post by reilly3000 »

bryanlarsen wrote: post #71
mumblemumble wrote: post #56

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't want to tut-tut the poor, but I do want to tut-tut consumer culture in general. There are a whole lot of people who _should_ be able to afford an unexpected car repair bill, and could quite easily do so, if they weren't spending $100 a month on cable TV, $800 every other year on a high-end smartphone, $500/month on owning an SUV when a $200/mo economy car would serve just fine, etc., and put the money into a…

> $100 a month on cable TV given that the average American spends 4 hours/day watching TV[1], that's well under $1 per hour of entertainment. There aren't a lot of hobbies or entertainment media that are cheaper. 1: https://www.statista.com/statistics/186833/average-televisio...

I think the point was more that entertainment isn't really a necessity at all, even if its a 'good value'. If entertainment is in fact a necessity, most public libraries offer an immense amount of choices of physical and digital media available for free.

Re: Online installment loans have taken the subprime market by storm

#99

Post by streblo »

notus wrote: post #2

I feel like the government should be offering some type of non predatory debt relief comparable to this. This service is only a detriment to the borrower due to the crazy high interest rates, but I think the government could break even with much more reasonable interest rates, consumers would be better off financially, and the predatory industries would disappear since they can't compete.

> I feel like the government should be offering some type of non predatory debt relief comparable to this.

Just want to point out the fact that US government-backed student loans are non-dischargeable through bankruptcy. You will have that albatross around your neck until you pay it off or die. This is the ultimate predatory loan and it's provided by the government.

Re: Online installment loans have taken the subprime market by storm

#100

Post by reverend_gonzo »

bryanlarsen wrote: post #71
mumblemumble wrote: post #56

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't want to tut-tut the poor, but I do want to tut-tut consumer culture in general. There are a whole lot of people who _should_ be able to afford an unexpected car repair bill, and could quite easily do so, if they weren't spending $100 a month on cable TV, $800 every other year on a high-end smartphone, $500/month on owning an SUV when a $200/mo economy car would serve just fine, etc., and put the money into a…

> $100 a month on cable TV given that the average American spends 4 hours/day watching TV[1], that's well under $1 per hour of entertainment. There aren't a lot of hobbies or entertainment media that are cheaper. 1: https://www.statista.com/statistics/186833/average-televisio...

Huh?

Books, sports, art, music, are all way cheaper forms of entertaining oneself.

Most hobbies or entertainment don't have a charge per hour.

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