Family Management

1. What information in the documentary most surprised you? The thing that most surprised me was the amount of credit cards that a household. I am currently stressed out by having one credit card, I could not even imagine multiplying that stress by 8. I understand that adults with families need credit cards to help buy necessities for their families, but I think that if you are going to take on the responsibilities of owning a credit card, you should make sure you are able to pay more then just the minimum amount. That is another thing that surprised me, the fact that 35 million people only pay the minimum amount due is really shocking because people should be well aware by now how much money they are actually loosing by doing that. 2. Do you think the government should have a role in regulating both who can get credit cards and what interest and fees consumers should pay? If so, who should be the regulators? Who would benefit from such regulation? Who would lose? Explain. I don’t think the government should have a role in regulating who can get a credit card or the interest rate or fees. When people sign up for a credit card, they are well aware of the responsibility that they are taking on. Everyone knows their limit and how much interest they are charged, so if you cant afford to pay something off on time you should not buy it. I don’t think people should blame the banks if they are being charged interest on their purchases; it is their responsibility to be able to keep track of their income and their spending. Even though the bank is making money off of people who do not pay their bills on time, they are the ones lending money to people and they need to make some profit to, like every other business out there.

3. How, according to the four “normal consumers” in the documentary, does owning a credit card or credit cards affect purchasing decisions? Owning a credit card or multiple credit cards give the