Credit Card Blues

by Kiffe Coco. in ,

Yes, we all have issues with the plastic devil known as the credit card. Whether you went on shopping sprees (guilty) or helped paid for school/books, you are probably still receiving friendly (or not so friendly if you are missing payment) monthly reminders for payment. Let me first start off saying when I entered college I was CLUELESS about credit cards. My parents would warn me to use my card only for emergencies. But back then, buying that dress for a party that weekend was an emergency. I would say, "Hey, all I have to pay is the minimum payment at a really low interest rate. No problem!" So I continued to shop plus pay for my books, which racked up to over $500. Now, if I read the fine print in my credit card I would have seen that once I reached over $500, my interest rate would skyrocket to 21%. Basically the higher the interest rate, the more money they are taking from your monthly payment and the less is going towards your actual debt. An exaggerated example would be, if you have a debt of $7,000 at a minimum payment of $230 let's say, over 100 dollars is taken from your payment for interest, and the rest left over is paid towards your debt. I had taken a class on credit cards my senior year and by that time I had already racked up over $10,000 worth of debt. The minimum payment I was paying towards my debt was basically paying the credit card company to keep me in debt.

Credit card companies target and scam college kids by luring them in with low interests rate (for the first $500, then after your interest rates skyrocket). If you are putting books alone on your card, that will probably cost you $500 right there. Anyway, I have learned that one way to help yourself beat the credit card companies is to pay more than the minimum payment, if you financially can. This way, more money will be going towards your actual debt. It will quicken the pace of lowering your debt. There are also other options that are out there that can help lower your debt as well, but BEWARE. There are scams in there as well. What kind of world would this be if there were no scams for us people. You can choose to do debt-consolidation, where you take out a loan to pay your debs. And, in turn you pay the loan at a much lower interest rate. Also, you can try doing a balance transfer on a credit card that has a lower interest rate. I would recommend this is you have debt under $3,000 because that is usually the limit they give you. Furthermore, make sure you go with a government-based credit union (which are usually free of charge) to avoid getting swindled. If you live in NYC check out this site for government-based financial empowerment offices: http://www.nyc.gov/html/ofe/html/home/home.shtml. It will be a beginning start to your debt management.

-Sophia

Black in India

by Kiffe Coco. in ,

My friend Keyonashares her journey as a young Black woman living in India. Her story inspires and intrigues, as she deals with issues of racism, identity, hair and skin color in a very different landscape. Here is an excerpt from her essay:

A developing country like India may be a beautiful rose with many thorns. Yet once you learn how to find your way around them, the beauty is beyond words. Coming to India, I was worried about how I would be perceived as a Black woman from the United States. It took a while to explain to my home stay family that I am black and not “wheatish”. Once my home stay mother understood, she said “oh, you are Negro, but you are not so black.” One day I told her I wanted to go to South India and she said “they are a little bit blackie, like you.” Although these statements are politically incorrect and racist, I remembered that she is an older woman who has never been outside India. She does not mean to hurt me, but she has no context in which to understand my history and my identity. On the flipside, she often says “I don’t know why you straighten your hair, African hair is beautiful, and I like it”. Locally, I have not experienced racism when shopping or hailing a rickshaw. Some people think that I am African, West Indian or South Indian, but American is rarely their first guest. Here American usually means white foreigners. Most of the racist remarks have come from my study abroad program. I should have guessed when the manual said that “Dreadlocks will not be allowed” in bold caps. Obviously they were not expecting me to attend. During orientation, they told us that we would be targeted by people immediately because we were White. Annoyed and hurt, I had to remind them that I was not. During one class session, my academic director with the help of a book made the comparison between a poor village in India and the African American community.He concluded that this particular poor village in India had a better quality of life than the entire African American community. All I could do was protest and cry afterwards. He then told me “Don’t take it so personally”. Even my classmates are deconstructing my identity to make themselves comfortable. A friend told me that “for all intense and purposes you are white here.” My classmates are, like some of the population equating being American with being white. Three days ago, a female classmate turns to and says “I love being white here. You get everything you want, and people will do everything for you.” Out of everything this statement blew me away. It’s as if she expected me to nod and say “me too, I enjoy being white.” Did we not just finish studying British colonialism in India? How could that even come out of her mouth? I’ve never had the privilege that she speaks of, and at that moment I wanted to scream. In three months I have only seen one black person in Delhi, and we became friends instantly. But back in Rajasthan, the only black face for miles is mine. There is no one to commiserate with. After explaining this to my Academic coordinator, she somewhat brushes it off and tells me to give my self a pat on the back for getting thus far in the program. In coping, I think of it as a test. Maybe now, I will realize my capabilities and get in touch with who I am, spiritually. In a country where fair is always beautiful, and bleaching crèmes are promoted, it is up to me to hold fast to my culture and ethnicity, while also participating in another. I hope that you will all study abroad; the benefits definitely outweigh the challenges.

Today's Thought: Man Enlists in Army for Health Insurance!

by Kiffe Coco. in ,


I just read this unbelievable story of a man who has enlisted in the army to provide health coverage to his wife who is suffering from ovarian cancer. Public option, please! We desperately need it. We are in dire straights as a nation when we cannot provide basic needs to the average citizen. There are many of us who are working jobs that we do not like, in order to (one) provide decent coverage to ourselves and our families. There are many of us who are forced into situations where we are exploiting ourselves mentally and physically to provide a basic need. Health care and education are basic needs that should be funded by the government. There should not be a health care system which exploits the sick. What kind of a country are we when we cannot provide for our sick? When we put a price to education? This extreme form of capitalism that we are living and breathing is killing us (literally) and creating a nation where there is only the very rich and the very poor. I don't mind paying high taxes if, in turn, I am receiving the security that I am entitled to. It is unfathomable to me that we remain silent, while continuing to exploit ourselves for health care. I hope Obama will stick behind the public option. Sweden is looking really good to me right now...

-Sophia