Paying off $3000 in credit card debt makes man a hero in news?

[brandon]

Check it, in 2 weeks I will get my tax return and pay off $4,000 in debt. Maybe yahoo will put me on the front page!

lol. I'll probably owe about a grand, which I'll pay from my savings. Maybe I can get an article about how I cleared up a $1,000 tax bill in one day.

 

[MRoCkEd]

Not sure how this is news... lol... But good for him.

 

[Byrgen]

At top of article:
"*Note: This was written by a Yahoo! contributor. Do you have a personal finance story that you'd like to share? Sign up with the Yahoo! Contributor Network to start publishing your own finance articles."

Try thinking before you post.

 

[Zippyjuan]

I have a question for those of you saying it was good of him to pay down his debt? Why do you say this if we all know all too well all the debt is about the get wiped through inflation?

Personally I think he just wasted that money.

That will only hold true if the interest rate you are paying is lower than the rate of price inflation- which is very rarely the case. Otherwise you are losing more future purchasing power due to the interest than due to price changes. Say you are paying ten percent on the debt and the expected rate of inflation is five percent. If you pay $100 on the loan today, you lose $5 in the future becasue prices went up by that five percent but you avoided what would have been $10 in interest. If you buy today, you save $5 in future price increases but end up paying $10 in interest. In which situation are you better off?

 

[amonasro]

lol. I'll probably owe about a grand, which I'll pay from my savings. Maybe I can get an article about how I cleared up a $1,000 tax bill in one day.

Yeah don't remind me. Deductions from my wife's job are set up so we don't get much (if any) refund, and I'm a independent contractor. That means I get to add up a mountain of 1099s in April and hope that deductions like travel, food, and my other expenses come close to cushioning the blow. They usually don't.

 

[Zippyjuan]

Some people like a tax refund- they use it as kind of a forced saving plan and treat themselves with something using that money- but a refund is basically an interest free loan to the government. If you want a bigger refund you can always have your withholding increased. A smaller refund means that you got to keep more of your money when you earned it.

 

[onlyrp]

lol. I'll probably owe about a grand, which I'll pay from my savings. Maybe I can get an article about how I cleared up a $1,000 tax bill in one day.

10k would be a bigger news, after all, you gotta beat this guy's 3k.

 

[onlyrp]

Yeah don't remind me. Deductions from my wife's job are set up so we don't get much (if any) refund, and I'm a independent contractor. That means I get to add up a mountain of 1099s in April and hope that deductions like travel, food, and my other expenses come close to cushioning the blow. They usually don't.

Oh dear, pity me for my lack of discipline, I wish i had my taxes taken away from me upfront, because I can't save!
Maybe you should ask revolution9, danke , deborah K for tax advice, they seem to know all the tricks about legally keeping what you earned.

 

[heavenlyboy34]

I think it is great! Everyone should be paying off their credit card debt and then cut up those credit cards!!! Use those worthless FRN's to get out from under a mountain of debt. Learn how to barter, buy local and stay out of debt!!

Meh, credit cards are safer than cash. It's pretty much the least evil form of credit. The problem is when the big banks are given privileges to extend a ridiculous amount of credit to high risk borrowers. Even with sound money, credit will still exist in some form. I don't see how an economy can grow without natural credit expansion.

 

[heavenlyboy34]

Some people like a tax refund- they use it as kind of a forced saving plan and treat themselves with something using that money- but a refund is basically an interest free loan to the government. If you want a bigger refund you can always have your withholding increased. A smaller refund means that you got to keep more of your money when you earned it.

qft.

 

[Zippyjuan]

I use a credit card - just one- and make sure to pay it off every month.

 

[onlyrp]

Meh, credit cards are safer than cash.

wtf?

 

[specsaregood]

I think it is great! Everyone should be paying off their credit card debt and then cut up those credit cards!!! Use those worthless FRN's to get out from under a mountain of debt. Learn how to barter, buy local and stay out of debt!!

Having uncutup credit cards doesnt require going into debt.

 

[Seraphim]

This is what I do...I've got a dividend paying card so I use it as cash on almost every purchase, but it gets payed off in full every paycheck.

Banks charge me to use their debt cards, Visa pays me to use their card. It's a no brainer.

I use a credit card - just one- and make sure to pay it off every month.

 

[jclay2]

This truly is sad that a story as insignificant as this is on the homepage of yahoo. Yes, paying off debt is awesome and I recomend everyone do it and start saving. However, If the sheep think this is some feet worthy of recognition, the economic situation in our country really is as bad as we think it is.

 

[Domalais]

wtf?

As a buyer, chargebacks give you a lot of power over sellers. Cash has no such protection.

 

[PaulConventionWV]

I have a question for those of you saying it was good of him to pay down his debt? Why do you say this if we all know all too well all the debt is about the get wiped through inflation?

Personally I think he just wasted that money.

I don't understand. How is it bad to not have a leash around your neck as the money becomes worthless?

 

[Danke]

I don't understand. How is it bad to not have a leash around your neck as the money becomes worthless?

Well, it all depends. If we have high inflation, some debt is better to postpone repayment. An example would be if you use that same money to buy PMs, etc. instead of paying off the debt. But as it has been mentioned, CC rarely falls into the type of debt you should gamble long term with, unless you just plan on defaulting on it, as it is unsecured (typically).

 

[onlyrp]

As a buyer, chargebacks give you a lot of power over sellers. Cash has no such protection.

how far you can abuse the chargeback system before it hurts your credit?

 

[Zippyjuan]

One major component of your credit rating is percent of your available credit you are using. The lower the utilization percent, the higher your credit rating. If you are racking up your debt (even if paying it off every month) to try to collect these chargebacks, that will give you a lower rating.