Get rid of your credit cards NOW!

[Noclone]

Being in debt is being owned...

http://voices.yahoo.com/the-credit-card-debt-free-8170901.html?cat=3

 

[smartguy911]

A friend of mine went from nothing to a millionaire by using credit cards. He has unlimited credit now. I guess it just depends on the person.

 

[Noclone]

That's one thing, but his story is probably 1 in a million. Those other 999,999 people are sunk. They wanted to be millionaires based on borrowed money as well. Ask them how it's working out for them.

 

[dmo069]

Being in debt is one thing. Having credit cards is another. I have about a dozen credit cards with about $200,000 in available credit. I use my credit cards on a regular basis and pay them off completely every month. That is how you use credit cards. If you are foolish enough to carry a balance @ 21% interest, that is your own fault.

 

[jbauer]

I would also add you'd be foolish to have a debit card attached to your checking. Nigerian steals debit card numbers, drains bank accout, you can't pay mortgage till its all resolved. Nigerian steals CC#, you tell Visa to relax while you get it taken care of.

I worked at a bank when debit cards were becoming the norm. I woudl rather not have a bank account then have one attached to it.

 

[klamath]

Being in debt is one thing. Having credit cards is another. I have about a dozen credit cards with about $200,000 in available credit. I use my credit cards on a regular basis and pay them off completely every month. That is how you use credit cards. If you are foolish enough to carry a balance @ 21% interest, that is your own fault.

This. Credit card companies pay me to use their cards. Buy everything on points paying credit cards, pay it off every month. Points pay for Xmas every year for me.

 

[Original_Intent]

Being in debt is one thing. Having credit cards is another. I have about a dozen credit cards with about $200,000 in available credit. I use my credit cards on a regular basis and pay them off completely every month. That is how you use credit cards. If you are foolish enough to carry a balance @ 21% interest, that is your own fault.

That's me - never carry a balance, no annual fee, and cash back or some other reward program. Never put anything on the card you don;t already have the money to pay for, and NEVER spend the money on anything other than paying the CC. This means having an emergency fund, and an emergency emergency fund.

 

[DEGuy]

In an economic environment where credit is artificially cheap because the Federal Reserve is printing money, there are lots of investment opportunities to leverage that cheap credit. I've done it before on credit cards, and ended up richer because of it. It's not for everyone, but that's no reason to go extreme in the other direction.

I routinely tell friends and family to lock in a low mortgage rate if they can now because who knows when the Fed will stop trying to inflate that bubble....

 

[dmo069]

This. Credit card companies pay me to use their cards. Buy everything on points paying credit cards, pay it off every month. Points pay for Xmas every year for me.

Almost the same here. I spent around $1000 on gifts last year. Points paid for about 1/2 of it.

 

[TCE]

I pay nothing to use my credit card, no annual fee, and I got several percent back on purchases, and I pay it off in full every month and never leave a balance. It is all about knowing how much one is able to pay at the end of the month, as most others have stated.

 

[heavenlyboy34]

Being in debt is one thing. Having credit cards is another. I have about a dozen credit cards with about $200,000 in available credit. I use my credit cards on a regular basis and pay them off completely every month. That is how you use credit cards. If you are foolish enough to carry a balance @ 21% interest, that is your own fault.

This^^ I only have 1 card though, and never carry a balance. I don't see any problem with responsible use of credit. Cut up Uncle Sam's credit card!

 

[slacker921]

I use cash whenever possible.. if you pay a local merchant with a credit card then they lose about 3% of the sale to the credit card fees. You're feeding the bankers by using a credit card.

When I make a large purchase or something where I want the "consumer protection" offered by a credit card then I use it and pay it off before the end of the month. I also get points and redeem them asap.

 

[Bodhi]

I don't have any credit cards but I don't see anything wrong with them if used responsibly. Especially the cash back cards, if you never carry a balance over, they make a lot of sense.

 

[Liberty74]

I have known hundreds of people with credit cards and only 2 of them pay off their balance each month. The others get sucked into the idea of free money and rack up debt that becomes a huge burden, hence the millions that file for bankruptcy every year. The whole idea of earning points is a scam as well. A friend of mine and I went shopping over the weekend. She was excited to use her GAP card because she gets points. It sounds like fun (free stuff) but I know that this person is $18,000 in total credit card debt. I honestly don't think the points earned will be the winner between the interest paid over the year on that total debt.

Listen to Dave Ramsey for several months to learn financial advice. He's on the radio or you can podcast him via iTunes. I am not against the use of credit cards per say like Dave, but 99% of the people just don't use them correctly. I have been there myself. I am on my way to paying mine off and will be using CASH.

 

[undergroundrr]

Alright, a lot of people going "Hey, that's your problem." But I'm one of those who lived slightly beyond my means early in life. Once I got behind, it's been g**d*mn hard to catch up. 45 years old now and I've worked the same job with a good salary for almost 20 years, but don't feel like any progress is made on debt no matter how tight we keep our spending. Life seems utterly frozen in place. Can't afford anything for the kids, including dental work and doctor visits. No health insurance and screwed to bankruptcy if anything serious happens.

Obviously there's a difference between having credit cards and being in debt. As virtuous as my parents were, I wasn't taught one thing about how money works until it was too late. I would never ask for government help out of the mess. But I totally understand the dynamic of those who desperately want a deus ex machina to somehow give them slack.

And I blame the Fed for facilitating banks to offer all the easy consumer credit that's now choking American families. I was a sucker for falling for it, but there it is.

 

[klamath]

Going into debt is selling your tomorrows. How many of your tomorrows are willing to sell for a bubble today?

 

[LibForestPaul]

I do not know all about these points scam. My CC sends me a check at the end of the year for $200-$300, every year, for the last several years. I like it, works for me.

 

[Zippyjuan]

As several mention, the key is not to use them to buy what you cannot otherwise afford and pay them off when the bill come. Do not pay interest and do not pay any annual fees. Used in this manner they can be helpful.

 

[Arklatex]

Supporting the credit card companies is supporting our enemy!

I may off my balance at the end of every month also hehehe

But I always leave my tips in cash

 

[heavenlyboy34]

Going into debt is selling your tomorrows. How many of your tomorrows are willing to sell for a bubble today?

Sometimes. Other times going into debt can allow you to acquire means to pay back the debt and create an income (like buying means of production). However, now that paypal has created devices that allow vendors to accept paypal (essentially the same as a check-only instantaneous) It's possible that there could be a major shift away from credit in the future. Businesses will probably always use credit to some extent or another, though.

ETA: the fact that most people don't learn to manage cash flow and money in schools doesn't help things. I learned quite late-near the end of my college years in small business class-about cash flow. Learned about credit in the school of hard knocks-but have had enough common sense to never carry a balance. (and I've only had 1 cc in my life-issued by my credit union)