@Jlu wrote:
My golden rule is don't charge anything you couldn't otherwise buy with cash unless it is an asset (home, car, equities etc). This rule plays back in my head each time I swipe my card. However if you are taking out a cash advance it is due to the fact that you don't have any (cash) thus it is in and of itself a violation of my rule.
+1 to this. In an ideal world of fully-informed borrowers, this thread would never exist.
Cash advances are the devil incarnate. Simply do NOT do it. Treat every card as if your cash advance limit is $0.
No, make that $-20, because believe me, any time you pull a cash advance they are going to find a way to make 20 bucks or more off of you.
Cash advances are essentially the way otherwise prime lenders get to dabble their toe in the usurious payday-loan industry pool. No thank you.
When I was unemployed, I found myself at a point where I was strapped for cash. I had the option of doing a credit card cash advance. Instead, I found odd jobs on the Gigs section of Craigslist and scrounged up cash mopping floors, repairing fences, and organizing closets. That was definitely the better choice.
Starting: EQ 622 (myFICO 7/7/12), EX 696 (TU FAKO 8/14/12), TU 621 (CK TransRisk 7/24/12), Total CL $1k on 2 TLs
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