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So...

My friend wants laser eye surgery.

So she finds it for $2600 on Groupon, checks out the place it looks legit and buys it on her credit card. Which she can't immediately pay back.

Am I behind the times or is this a whole new level of foolish?

Credit card debt for something you don't need is bad enough but risking your eyes on a groupon...

Optometrists and opticians do that all the time. Not necessarily through groupon, but its pretty common to find advertisements for discount glasses if you go to Optometrist X, or discount diagnostic testing if you receive a referral from a certain outlet.

If nothing else, malpractice law would still apply, so its unlikely they are all that bad.

So she finds it for $2600 on Groupon, checks out the place it looks legit and buys it on her credit card. Which she can't immediately pay back.

Am I behind the times or is this a whole new level of foolish?

Well, yes it is foolish if she is going to have trouble paying it back.

Laser-eye surgery places are still a business and need to attract customers, so while it may be noticeably unusual to find one advertising in Groupon I would not consider it shady. It is a legitimate way to advertise and get customers. I'd find it more questionable if I found the coupon on a piece of paper stuck under my windshield wiper.

I think she should stick with glasses, they're cuter, anyways.

How could you not trust this man?

The real question for me is, do you trust the place offering it? If so, why would you knowingly allow the price of a product or service to impact your perception of it's quality, and why does the idea of not letting it seem foolish?

It is very foolish if she wasn't really considering lasik and just saw a sale she couldn't pass up.

But, if she had been seriously considering lasik, and did a bit of research about the place before making her decision, there's nothing wrong with that. And, credit card debt isn't the end of the world. We're only talking about $2600, and as long as her interest rates aren't too insane, she should pay that back well before it would get to the point where she'd be paying the non-groupon price.

remilia_scarlet wrote:I think she should stick with glasses, they're cuter, anyways.

Anyone else think this ironic given Remilia's sig?

But have to agree

eye surgery may well be worth it.

Debt usually isnt.
Credit card debt doubly so.

Why pay twice later when you can pay once later? The former means getting what you want now, the latter option means a short wait while you raise the funds.

Sure you get the benefits now, but let us assume that a credit card debt will be about double the initial loan, its not a bad ball park figure, and often is worse. When it comes to paying for that you will have $2000+ of other stuff you will have to miss out on, all because you wanted it now, now, now. Of course people who cant wait then use credit for the next 'vital' purchase. My motto is, go short a little now, build up for what you want then buy it, saving and buying as you go. If its not a house it shouldn't be bought on credit. In the long run you get more, and in some ways faster too because you make your pay cheque go that much further than the buy who is paying off loans.

I trust my local credit agent like I trust my local crack dealer, the only difference is that I can more easily find a credit agent, they have high street offices.

Orlanth wrote:
Why pay twice later when you can pay once later? The former means getting what you want now, the latter option means a short wait while you raise the funds.

Ever tried to take out a mortgage, or any significant loan, without a credit history?

dogma wrote:

Orlanth wrote:
Why pay twice later when you can pay once later? The former means getting what you want now, the latter option means a short wait while you raise the funds.

Ever tried to take out a mortgage, or any significant loan, without a credit history?

You do not need to have a credit card to develop a good credit history.

Hordini wrote:

dogma wrote:

Orlanth wrote:
Why pay twice later when you can pay once later? The former means getting what you want now, the latter option means a short wait while you raise the funds.

Ever tried to take out a mortgage, or any significant loan, without a credit history?

You do not need to have a credit card to develop a good credit history.

This is true I was suprised to be told I have a Class A credit history. Far in excess of what is normal for my income bracket, this is entirely because I have in the banks eyes a history of being careful with money.

There are two ways to get a good credit history, paying pack correctly, or never needing to borrow. Getting a bank account that fluctuates close to £0 but never dips below shows restraint in the banks eyes.

Now this doesn't mean I could get a big loan, my low income threshold is the main deciding factor, but my multiplier based on what income I have is higher because my spending habits are favourable.

Hordini wrote:
You do not need to have a credit card to develop a good credit history.

No, but in the US you do need to go into debt, at least in a technical sense, and credit cards are an easy way to do that (really the only way if you're young and don't qualify for an auto loan, or didn't go to college). All the various credit bureaus in North America use some variation on the FICO system, which doesn't have anything to do with hard assets.

dogma wrote:

Hordini wrote:
You do not need to have a credit card to develop a good credit history.

No, but in the US you do need to go into debt, at least in a technical sense, and credit cards are an easy way to do that (really the only way if you're young and don't qualify for an auto loan, or didn't go to college). All the various credit bureaus in North America use some variation on the FICO system, which doesn't have anything to do with hard assets.

Credit scores are based on the assessing organisations opinion on your reliability, you are correct in that they do not account for income per se. Income because a second seperate factor when it comes to your loan threshold. Relibility (credit score) x income = loan threshold (which is a factor of a cash sum not a cash sum itself).

You are entirely correct that one of the 'best' ways to get a good credit history is to get a loan and pay it off. This is better on in that it is faster. Get a loan pay ir, get another pay that too get a third and pay that off on schedule and you will get a very good credit reference as quickly as it takes to cycle the loans. That is however expensive as you still neeed to account for the interest. Being seen to be careful with your money takes longer but is free.
it all comes down to this: how quickly do you need to build up a credit history? Do you need it by 25 or by 35. How many people are needing mortgages at 25? Some do, but most wait until a little later in life, at least where property values are high.

Orlanth wrote:
Credit scores are based on the assessing organisations opinion on your reliability, you are correct in that they do not account for income per se. Income because a second seperate factor when it comes to your loan threshold. Relibility (credit score) x income = loan threshold (which is a factor of a cash sum not a cash sum itself).

You are entirely correct that one of the 'best' ways to get a good credit history is to get a loan and pay it off. This is better on in that it is faster. Get a loan pay ir, get another pay that too get a third and pay that off on schedule and you will get a very good credit reference as quickly as it takes to cycle the loans. That is however expensive as you still neeed to account for the interest. Being seen to be careful with your money takes longer but is free.
it all comes down to this: how quickly do you need to build up a credit history? Do you need it by 25 or by 35. How many people are needing mortgages at 25? Some do, but most wait until a little later in life, at least where property values are high.

I don't know anything about European credit agencies, but I know that in the US merely being careful with your money isn't relevant, or is at least less important than having actually used credit in the past. For example, I have a friend who has never used official credit (he has borrowed money from friends/family, but that's it), and has never over drafted, but still has a credit score below 350 according to all 3 major reporters.

By contrast, I have taken out several loans (of the student kind), and have two credit cards that were maxed out during college (they're since been paid down). I don't pay for anything, unless I have to, without using credit cards. I also take out loans that I don't need, for example I took out an auto loan when I bought my car a week ago despite having the cash to pay out of pocket. I do this because I know I have the money to cover everything at the time I receive the bill, and the minor incurred cost is worth the 800ish credit score I have. A score which will only get better over time, as time in a given score range serves to boost your rating.

Now, I have no intention of actually leveraging that score anytime soon, but its a nice thing to have in my back pocket if I ever find myself needing it.

But again, this is only relevant to the US (an maybe Canada) I know Europe does things differently.

For those of us not in the USA, what is Groupon and what is the stigma?

AvatarForm wrote:For those of us not in the USA, what is Groupon and what is the stigma?

A coupon, pay less moneys.