Paying credit card bill before mortgage

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-18-2000
Paying credit card bill before mortgage
15
Sun, 02-07-2010 - 11:12am

Why would someone pay CC bill before their mortgage?

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/02/05/AR2010020504789.html

My grandmother Big Mama had a key financial rule that I've followed throughout my life.

You can manage without a telephone, she would say. You can take the bus and get by without a car. But you can't live comfortably if you don't have a roof over your head. Big Mama always made sure she paid her mortgage -- and on time.

Thankfully, Big Mama, who raised me, never had to skip payment on another bill to cover her mortgage. If it had come to that, there's no question which bill would have been paid first.

But a new study shows that many people, when faced with a financial crisis, are not putting their mortgages first.

TransUnion, one of the big credit bureaus, recently released a report showing that an increasing number of consumers are choosing to pay their credit card bills before their monthly mortgages.

The percentage of people delinquent on their mortgages but current on credit cards jumped to 6.6 percent in the third quarter of 2009, up from 4.9 percent in the third quarter of 2008.

"I think the biggest message that the data shows is that consumers' priorities have changed," said Sean Reardon, the author of the TransUnion study and a consultant for the credit bureau. "This is really a reflection of the housing bubble bursting and the ripple effect of the recession."

The percentage of consumers current on their credit cards but delinquent on their mortgages first surpassed the percentage of consumers up to date on their mortgages but delinquent on their credit cards in the first quarter of 2008, according to TransUnion.

"The implosion of the mortgage industry over the last 24 months, the resetting of adjustable-rate mortgages and the weak job market have all come together to redefine how consumers are managing their finances and meeting or not meeting their credit obligations," said Ezra Becker, director of consulting and strategy in TransUnion's financial services business unit.

Many people see their credit card as an emergency source of funds. They may not be able to afford a mortgage payment, but they can make a minimum credit card payment. For them, it's not about buying flat-panel televisions or toys for their kids. Instead, they are using credit to buy food or gas or pay for other basic necessities. When faced with a choice at bill-paying time, they are opting to pay their credit card accounts so that reservoir of money doesn't get snatched away.

For the study, TransUnion looked at consumers who had at least one credit card and one mortgage. The company examined 30-day credit card and mortgage delinquency data.

The shifts in payment behavior are even more pronounced in California and Florida, two states that have experienced high foreclosure rates and significant decreases in home prices.

TransUnion found that the percentage of consumers in California who are delinquent on their mortgages but current on their credit cards was 10.2 percent in the third quarter of 2009, up from 3.5 percent in 2007. In Florida, it increased to 12.4 percent from 5.1 percent.

The financial news continues to be troubling, signaling that this trend might not turn around soon. For the week ended Jan. 30, the Labor Department said the number of laid-off workers filing initial claims for unemployment benefits was 480,000, up 8,000 from the previous week. Forecasters expected new claims would drop.

A record 2.8 million U.S. properties received foreclosure notices in 2009, up 21 percent from 2008 and 120 percent from 2007, according to a 2009 year-end report from RealtyTrac, which tracks foreclosure activity throughout the country.

"In the long term, a massive supply of delinquent loans continues to loom over the housing market, and many of those delinquencies will end up in the foreclosure process in 2010 and beyond as lenders gradually work their way through the backlog," said James J. Saccacio, chief executive of RealtyTrac.

Reardon said in an interview that many people are figuring that they may lose their homes, so they reason: Why pump more money into the mortgage? They cling to the notion that the plastic is their savior.

"It used to be people kept cash in the coffee can for an emergency," Reardon said. "But times have changed. People don't have coffee cans. Plastic has become their coffee can."

I hope this trend is only temporary. Relying on your credit card is like having a life jacket with a slow leak. It may keep you afloat for a little while, but the protection is short-term. You'll still sink.

 


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iVillage Member
Registered: 01-22-2010
Mon, 02-08-2010 - 9:19am

<<<"I think the biggest message that the data shows is that consumers' priorities have changed," said Sean Reardon, the author of the TransUnion study and a consultant for the credit bureau. "This is really a reflection of the housing bubble bursting and the ripple effect of the recession."


Many people see their credit card as an emergency source of funds. They may not be able to afford a mortgage payment, but they can make a minimum credit card payment. For them, it's not about buying flat-panel televisions or toys for their kids. Instead, they are using credit to buy food or gas or pay for other basic necessities. When faced with a choice at bill-paying time, they are opting to pay their credit card accounts so that reservoir of money doesn't get snatched away.>>>


First I think far too many people are into mortgages that are beyond their ability to pay. Everyone has wanted the

iVillage Member
Registered: 02-19-2008
Mon, 02-08-2010 - 9:31am
Big Mama was a wise woman.
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-18-2000
Mon, 02-08-2010 - 10:08am

During the

 


Photobucket&nbs

iVillage Member
Registered: 01-22-2010
Mon, 02-08-2010 - 10:17am

I used to think the same thing.

iVillage Member
Registered: 02-20-2007
Mon, 02-08-2010 - 10:36am

<

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-30-2007
Mon, 02-08-2010 - 10:47am
A good friend of mine bought a home about 5 years ago. It's in a very wealthy part of Columbus. Lex Wexner and Eric Clapton live there. My friends house was about $650,000. She is the head Pharmacist for a large insurance group. Her husband sell Real Estate. The homes in that area are just beautiful. There are mansions there. I've been in a couple of the mansions.
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-18-2000
Mon, 02-08-2010 - 10:51am

"Where are all these people working that they are making THAT kind of money?"

I wondered that too or else they'd upgraded & made a bundle on their other property or had wealthy relatives croak.

 


Photobucket&nbs

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-18-2000
Mon, 02-08-2010 - 11:09am
Good for you only having 2 yrs. left on your mortgage. We have longer, 6 yrs.approx., but it'll be paid off long before DH retires. We enjoy going out to dinner, or whatever, without penny pinching. There's only so much living space two adults need.

I wonder too about the utility bills keeping those huge places with high ceilings heated. We have a 3 bedroom raised ranch with 8' ceiling & my last electric bill was over $180. My oil fill-up was well over $500 this lasts about 6 weeks in the Winter months.

 


Photobucket&nbs

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-18-2000
Mon, 02-08-2010 - 11:11am
I'm sure they're savvy enough not to have one of those crazy mortgages.

 


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iVillage Member
Registered: 02-20-2007
Mon, 02-08-2010 - 11:58am

<>


Exactly......I don't feel a bit guilty about going out to eat anytime we feel like it. I never, ever have felt like I had to keep up with the Jones'. I intend to live life with as much gusto as I can. Big mortgage payments are not in my plans. Doing whatever the hell I want is priceless!!

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