Chris and his finances: An in-depth review of his debt

[MysticMisty]

Heeeeyyyy... I used to work in collections for one of his closed accounts, and with the timeline you laid out, I might've spoken with him or Barb over the phone... and now I'm somewhat terrified.

Well Barb 'n Bob did have to find out about the card(s) Chris The Trolls racked debt on in Chris' name when Bob put Chris on an allowance.

 

[normankrasner]

He's exaclty like those children who maxed out their parents' credit cards playing that game "Tap Fish" I think it was called. Except that the children can be forgiven for their ignorance, while Chris is just a fucking idiot who should never have been allowed to handle money.

did MHS offer any personal finance classes?

 

[CatParty]

did MHS offer any personal finance classes?

it was just a public high school

 

[Kosher Dill]

What kind of bank would be stupid enough to give credit cards to autistic manchildren, especially ones that can be debted?

Is it really stupid though? He apparently manages to pay the minimum every month, at an interest rate of about 30%. Every 3 years, the bank makes all its money back over again. Even if Chris declared bankruptcy tomorrow, the banks have made many red cents on him because he refuses to save his tugboat.

 

[normankrasner]

Assuming his cards have average interest rates (15.6% at the time of writing) and he doesn't put another dime into his credit, paying the minimum of $220 will get him out of the $7300 will take about 3 years and 8 months (44 months) If Chris's credit score is shit the interest rate could be in the 20s.
Chris can not have his disability checked involuntarily garnished to pay for this debt (or so http://www.disabilitysecrets.com/page1-18.html claims) and nobody will assume this debt when he passes on. He's basically free to spend how he wants.

Who or What is in Borb's wills?

In fact, most department/big box stores in the US make profit primarily off of proprietary credit card interest, not by selling merchandise.


Chris is the preferred credit holder in the US, because he doesn't manage his spending. That's why our country is in such shitty shape.


It's not so much a question of creditors coming after him as it is of him maxing out cards, and running out of opportunities for new cards. His ability to spend at all will get more and more constrained.

How does any credit card issuer make more off Chris if he basically doesn't have to pay them since they can't garnish the tugboat?

 

[deeman]

Who or What is in Borb's wills?

"Eat your food, son!"

 

[normankrasner]

There is no assumption here. He has been making the payments on time. It's probably the only reason he can keep getting credit. However, the more credit cards he gets, the higher the debt will grow. Eventually his tugboat won't be able to keep up with even the minimum payments, and it will all come crashing down.

Will the bill collectors keep showing up to the burned remains of 14BLC?

 

[CWCissey]

How does any credit card issuer make more off Chris if he basically doesn't have to pay them since they can't garnish the tugboat?

INTEREST NIGGA!

Chris pays back the minimum every month so he can continue spending.

 

[Le Bateleur]

How does any credit card issuer make more off Chris if he basically doesn't have to pay them since they can't garnish the tugboat?

They basically gamble on it not coming down to that.

 

[normankrasner]

The thing is, once he becomes unable to pay, he will still have his tugboat, but his credit will be completely destroyed.
No credit = no new credit cards.
No new credit cards = no more free money for spending on stupid things.
No more money for stupid things = Stress.

In other words, he won't be able to spend more than his tugboat in a month ever again. It's gonna be real tough to buy all them games with only 800 a month, and still be able to eat and live under a roof.

Aren't Chris and Barn eligible for Medicaid/Medicare and EBT? Wouldn't do them any good since McDs can't accept EBT

 

[Trickie]

Geez. It's really depressing when you're in worse financial shape than someone like Chris... I only just started working on getting my credit back on track this past year.

 

[Le Bateleur]

Aren't Chris and Barn eligible for Medicaid/Medicare and EBT? Wouldn't do them any good since McDs can't accept EBT

Isn't there an EBT black market?

All this discussion of how the is untouchable reminded me of something from the distant shores of childhood.

The tugboat, for its size, is the most powerful craft afloat...

 

[normankrasner]

It's a good thing he doesn't have federal student loans in his name. Those are one of the few things that DO make the take on water if you don't pay.

How much did he/Borb pay for those 5 years at PVCC? Did Borb not apply any federal student loans to discourage Chris from going into more debt going to a 4 year college knowing he's unemployable/lazy/no work ethic?

 

[CatParty]

How much did he/Borb pay for those 5 years at PVCC?

too much

 

[BillRiley]

Marvin says he'll spend a grand in a single trip, so yeah. The Toys R Us card was probably spent in a single trip that got him 5 - 10 Lego sets that he'll be paying off for the rest of his life.

It looks to me like Chris is trying to re-live that Sonic Watch 'n Win Sweepstakes thing through maxing out credit cards. I suppose it's as compulsive for him as entering contests.

 

[normankrasner]

it was just a public high school

in Missouri, a personal finance class is a graduation requirement, must not have been in VA as of 2000

 

[CatParty]

in Missouri, a personal finance class is a graduation requirement, must not have been in VA as of 2000

and there is your answer

 

[Seahorses]

How much did he/Borb pay for those 5 years at PVCC? Did Borb not apply any federal student loans to discourage Chris from going into more debt going to a 4 year college knowing he's unemployable/lazy/no work ethic?

1 day was too much.

 

[DEAGLE 4 LYFE]

For a single 30-something with low living expenses, 7k in debt should be manageable. This is Christia Westonchandler, though, so it's never gonna be paid off.

 

[Bridechu]

For a single 30-something with low living expenses, 7k in debt should be manageable. This is Christia Westonchandler, though, so it's never gonna be paid off.

Seriously, Chris could do that two or three months just without buying any new video games or Legos. Most people would do that no problem (especially if they had a fucking backlog of games they'd never played), but it might as well be impossible for Chris.