credit cards?
 

you have one,two,maybe three......

the wife and myself haven't had a card for about 10 years now.

we've managed to buy a house,a couple 'o vehicles,and we have our toys.....so to speak.

what i'm curious about is.......

those of you who managed with or without a credit card.

i realize it is none of my buisness knowing whether you have a card or not.....so if you want to say so...well,go ahead.

and if you don't.....then don't.

maybe even ....(if you have cards).....let us know the advantages...

(if you don't)......same shit.....let us know.



:hmm:

Never had one. I watched both of my parents max the shit out of theirs and almost ruin their credit more than once. It helps me by forcing me to wait for something by saving up for it...if I still want it after I've taken the time to save for it then I wanted it all along and it wasn't just an impulse buy. It can hold you back but then again you don't think of it as fallback when you don't have it. It's deficit financing any way you slice it, and it's really not a good thing in my life.

I had 3 cards... I've since cut them up and begun the long process of paying of a massive amount of debt. :(

I got one a few months ago, and I'm glad I did. I can finally buy stuff online! I also use it to pay things like my cellphone monthly bill and school stuff. I don't always feel comfortable carrying a lot of money in my pockets, so that's another advantage.

Credit is a great thing, if you know how to control yourself..

damn near exactly how we fell on the cards.

when the cash is saved.....and we still want...(whatever)....then we grab it....if we no longer want it (in the time given to save for it).....then we don't buy it.

kinda works out good.

thanks eh....:D

been there and done that.

i hope things work out for you..........it's all a part of figuring life out i guess.

A credit card is something I need for my job, it's not an option to go without.
I'm what the credit card companies call a dead-beat customer. I use their money for up to 30 days and always pay off the amount owing. I haven't paid interest in years. I get points for air travel for my purchases and in two years I have enough for a business class ticket to Europe. As long as you don't spend more than you can afford, you won't have a problem.

Having a $13,000 credit limit is very tempting however.:hmm:

Had a card that was maxed out and the monthly fees took it over the limit each month making it harder and harder to get ahead of it with over limit fees and such being added each month. Cut it up made a deal with the card company and finally got it paid off I went with out one for over 8 years then got one to reserve hotels and emergency travel expenses (I travel a lot for work independent contractor). I learned from the first one how to handle them and pay balance each month. It is nice to know it is there in an emergency and have to really weigh whether it is an emergency or just an inconvenience before I charge.

I have two: one for personal expenses and one my dad pays off for my school stuff. I have never had massive credit card debt because I make sure I don't spend more than I know I can pay off each month. I just find its easier to reconcile my bank statement when I only have one payment a month on it.

I don't have a credit card, but I use a debit card. It relieves the problem of carrying around cash and not being able to purchase online while still limiting you to your available bank funds. It feels like the best of both worlds to me.

I have one and only use it for purchases such as hotels, car rental and big ticket items.. It is paid in full at the end of each month, because I don't buy anything that I don't have the money for in the first place.
PS...my card now added a very minor charge of some sort, about 2 bucks each month, and if they don't remove it from my statement, the card will be cut up and canceled.

exactly what i do... i do have a credit card as part of my bank account... and have never even activated it...

I just have one card. Figure that is all I need. I pay my full balance every month so I don't worry about the finance charge. Mostly I use it for convienence purchases, under $500, so the balance is never very high. Use the banks money for a while, then pay it.

Dont have one, dont want one. I figure sometime later in college I will need one so that I can work on a credit rating to buy a car/house, but even that will have very little placed on it. I hate owing people money at all, and I dont think people should be buying things they cant afford.

I got my first card this summer and love it. Im very careful with it though. I always make more than my required payment. Its great for online purchases and little stuff here and there if I dont quite have it in checking at the time. I can def see how it would be easy to go overboard though.

could not function without one. i travel in my job so i use it sometimes daily. always pay it off each month. earn points, its better than cash

I prefer shopping with a card. It's safe and easy, especially online.
It is a huge problem if you enjoy buying things, though.

I don't have one. I don't like to spend money if I can't pay if off at the end of the month. Although, it has at times been a pain in the ass when I desperately needed something for my car to run properly and had to beg it off of Daddy dearest. I'm looking into getting a Sears card. I've been told for a long time that it may just be the best for an emergency card because Sears is practically everywhere, and they've got everything from automotive to clothing. I like not having an extra bill to pay every month.

I have one and it is maxed out...I am working on bringing it back down. Once i have it down to almost nothing, I will lower the limit and keep it for emergency use...For example, My car breaks down and it costs more than what i have at the time. I just use my credit card.

I think they are good for those kinds of purposes, But they really can be evil if you are not carefull with them.

Have it... hardly ever use it :-)

I have 3 cards. I use depending on need and make sure pay off in full whatever one I use that month. Comes in handy. Within the next month after I pay off one card, I'm going to get rid of it. I don't need that many credit cards. It's all about self control.

i stay as far away from those things as possable

I have two credit cards. They're great for unexpected expenses, and they really helped build my credit since I'm only 21 and have never had any car loans, etc. It was nice to no longer need to put a deposit down just to get electricity and phone service when I moved after getting a card, like I did when I had no credit history.

BTW, my debit card will never authorize when I try to buy plane tickets on Orbitz, so evidently a CC is still necessary for certain kinds of purchases.

I'm exercizing some foresight and reading a few books on aquiring good credit at the moment, I want to have really good credit in case I'm ever in a position where paying with cash isn't an option.

I have several. I do run a balance on a couple of them but only because I feel better about buying certain things over several months rather than laying out the cash in one chunk.

I could buy the things outright but I have a tough time overcoming the thought "that's a lot of money". I determine how many months I will take to pay something off and what that means in interest. I then decide if the use or pleasure that I will get from the item is worth it (in many cases I then decide it's not).

Credit cards are also useful to rent cars, reserve hotels, etc as others have said. One of the biggest advantages is the extra insurance that comes with paying by credit card. If a transaction in which you paid cash goes south your only real recourse is going to be court (unless you can put a hold on the check or something). With a credit card I can dispute the charge. Additionally, when renting a car, buying airline tickets, booking hotels, etc I get automatic insurance in case something happens (accidents, travel cancellations, delays, etc).

Credit cards can be extremely useful but, as others have pointed out, they can get you in a hole that will take a long time to get out of.

accumulated a lot of debt while in college with mine. paying for it now. ugh!

i never understood what the problem with a credit card is

i have one, and i use it a lot
however i know whats "above my league" so i dont purchase it
im just using someone elses money for 30 days then paying it off

its quite handy

I was taught from an early age that a credit card should only be a convienient method of distributing money that you already have. I have never carried a balance. I just switched to the Amazon.com card, which will give me points that I'll actually use, instead of the airline miles that have all of those restrictions on them.

I HAD one that is currently being paid off. They are definently great in pinch situations, like being in the middle of nowhere and having your carbreak down. Other than that they are nogood for people like me...impulseshoppers!

I carry two for convenience. One has allowed me to build almost $2,000 towards a new car for my wife (and it has been paid off every month I have had it). It would be nice if I could always pay cash for everything, but there are times I have to extend (i.e. new air conditioner for the house during the summer).

My mom added me to her Discover card. Now I have a card in my name that has $20 left before it's maxed out. I'm going to guess that it's killing my credit rating, due to the fact that I have nothing on my record other than a cell phone and a couple of denied applications for a Radio Shack card (I worked there) and an AmEx student card.

I wouldn't spend more than I had.

We had 2 cards and when Hubby had his accident and was unable to work we resorted to using them for gas and groceries and some emergency things for the cars. To begin with one was almost gone and the other pretty low. After 6 months we ended up having more debt on them than on our car loan. We've cut them up and are attempting unsuccessfully to pay them off. With other debts and low income it's nigh impossible. I'd never get one again. I HATE Capital One. I have attempted to work with them to try to get some payments to them. They refuse to close the account until it's paid in full (I understand it's a policy but it's not reasonable), refuse work with me about interest and keep hiking till it's up to 29% making it impossible to get out of.

I used to have a wide selection of credit cards, car payments, rent to own shit and I managed to dig a great big ol' hole. I was freakin' miserable.

Now, I have no cards, the vehicle was paid for in cash and if I can't afford it, I don't get it. Remarkably enough, I'm pretty damn happy and it's nice to not have to dodge bill collectors at the door or on the phone.

I have three
1. work
2.medical (still through work)
3.personal (guitars, and cycle parts....I call it the ebay card)

anyway, I buy alot of shit on the internet, plus I travel ALOT....I don't see how anyone could get buy without one. Try and rent a car with cash sometime!

I used to have a credit card with too much credit limit, i couldn't manage it. Now i have a credit limit of 1/3 my monthly income and everything is right now, haven´t pay interests in 3 years and counting, besides i win points for every purchase, right now i´m saving points for a new powertool package :D

I currently use one as I do alot of online ordering - computer parts, books, misc. stuff on ebay, etc.

Not to mention its required to be able to sell items on ebay.

Here's what you do though- When I got mine, I had them set the limit to only $500. That way I can use it for the occasions where its required, however if I happen to max it out, I can pay every bit of it off and not worry about re-occuring fee's.

ps. If your worried / scared of credit cards... do what I do: NEVER let ANY amount of money transfer to the next month - pay every penny each time you get a bill!

I put everything on my CC. I bought a 6" sub at subway today with it. I have 2 one that I use and a spare incase the first one is not accepted. I use my CC cause I don't have to carry cash. Using my CC is free if I pay it off %100 every month so I do. I also get air miles for useing my CC. I don't use my bank card or cash cause every time I have any dealings with the bank I have to pay a service charge. Fuck that.

It's not reasonable to pay back money you owe? Using someone else's money to buy something, promising them you'll pay them back, and not doing so is called fraud and theft.

I understand your situation as I went through a time where I was living on credit too, but I would never even consider just not paying them off, and I certainly wouldn't whine about it being unreasonable that I'm expected to do so.

We have several cards. I wish we'd never have applied for them. I'm horrible with budgeting and we often find ourselves behind the eight ball regarding finances.

More power to you for never using them! :thumbsup: You're fortunate and definitely in the minority.

i have no credit cards and will never get another one. had a discover for a short time. paid it all the time, but then saw that you do indeed spend more with them. i live the Dave Ramsey way....for all that know him usualy know why it works. But ive only got one debt, my student loan, and thats it. dont own a house yet tho. but i will never go in debt for anything but a house. i own both my cars, paid cash for both and will do that again. you can live VERY happily without debt