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That's the goal I'm after - no more credit cards! I have had this stupid credit card forever because they keep raising the rate. I always pay at least double the minimum, but when you get up to 17% or 20% interest you're swimming upstream.
So the goal is to get rid of this debt more quickly and with less interest, and lock away the credit cards (until, of course, they start punishing by charging fees for non-use, etc. or adding yearly fees. Then they get closed).
It is true, then, that those of us who can survive without credit cards will be the only ones in a position to actually get one. It's the same logic that charges people with bad credit higher car loan rates - I suppose the banks get more money up front, just in case there's a default? - but it just makes it harder for people to buy things in the first place, and harder to keep up the payments if the interest is so high.
BTW, I called Discover when they notified me they were raising my rate, and they said I "qualified" to keep my rate as is. I have no idea why they did that. Wells Fargo told me to pound sand.
@haulingthescoreup wrote:
Well, there's a difference between those who carry balances, even if they are paying more than the minimums, and those who PIF monthly. I guess you could define PIF'ers as "those who can survive without credit cards," though. I use them for convenience, for record-keeping, for consumer protections, and for rewards.
But as I lived the first nearly 50 years of my life without using a credit card, I'm not emotionally or financially dependent on them. They're just a tool, and they need to be handled properly like any other tool. (Think "chainsaw." )
I understand completely. I am 62 and frankly to me a Credit Card is just a convenience. I use them instead of cash purely because if I go out wanting to shop and have $500 cash to spend and lose my wallet, the cash is gone. Lose a CC and I am out nothing.
In an average month we spend $2000 plus on our Cards and PIF. No, I do not obsess over getting it paid before they send me a statement. They send me a bill, I pay it and have been doing it that way for the last 30 years and have never had an issue buying anything we wanted.
That is frankly something that distresses me here as I truely think that some do get "emotionally or financially dependant" on them and that is not good. Someone chided me on here once for not being more "congratulatory" when someone gets a CLI. Personally, I'd rather congratulate someone when they pay a bill off, as thats a better financial position.
Obsess?
Not I! I just do it.
@haulingthescoreup wrote:
lol, beating the statement is about the only entertainment I have these days in scoring land.
But DickC, I know what you mean about reading some scary tales here. It's bad enough when someone has whopping CC usage because some financial disaster has torn through their savings, etc. But I genuinely worry about those who seem to compulsively keep applying, even when a moment's thought would indicate that they haven't a chance of getting a decent deal.
Again, credit is a tool. Sure, get the tools you need, and keep them well-maintained, but they're just tools. We can't let them --or credit --dominate our lives..Message Edited by haulingthescoreup on 10-29-2009 08:49 PM
LOL, someday I must get brave and find out my Credit Scores. Then again, I do get enjoyment from hustling a free lunch from my banker on the golf course. I am sure if I asked him for a definitve number he would tell me. Just never really had a need to.
Am looking forward to him getting back as he is at another CC seminar this week. He said they will be learning what steps they have decided will be best for the bank.
Yes, I worry over the stories and having been there/done that I know the feeling. We went CRAZY when first married and got a couple of credit cards. Took us almost 4 years to pay it all back, but luckily that was over 30 years ago so it has no effect now, other then a lesson learned.
@haulingthescoreup wrote:
lol, beating the statement is about the only entertainment I have these days in scoring land.
But DickC, I know what you mean about reading some scary tales here. It's bad enough when someone has whopping CC usage because some financial disaster has torn through their savings, etc. But I genuinely worry about those who seem to compulsively keep applying, even when a moment's thought would indicate that they haven't a chance of getting a decent deal.
Again, credit is a tool. Sure, get the tools you need, and keep them well-maintained, but they're just tools. We can't let them --or credit --dominate our lives..Message Edited by haulingthescoreup on 10-29-2009 08:49 PM
I've thought the same thing but as a relative newcomer here I kept silent. I realize we all have to decide for ourselves how to manage our credit but goodness the impatience of many people. If they would just let the accounts they have age for awhile and do all the right things to maintain good credit and stop applying the better deals would offer themselves.
@marty56 wrote:
+1 Love and good credit card offers soemtimes come when your not looking.
This is why I sit and tend the garden. Dreadfully boring, but at some point in time an irresistible offer will come along and I'll be ready for it!