topic Re: MYFICO members and PIF in Credit Cards

MYFICO members and PIF

Anonymous — Tue, 20 Oct 2015 22:58:34 GMT

I continuously see board contributors write that they pay in full with most if not all CCs each cycle with many saying they follow the 0% utilization across all but one. I realize that you are a savvy, select crowd of consumers but I find it hard to believe that this is characteristic of most American credit card users.. In fact most people I have talked with claim they are drowning in CC debt, some say it is manageable but no one has ever told me that there util was under 4% for all but one. I am not drawing any conclusions. I am just asking for your feedback if you wish to share about what is going on with CC debt across the country.

Re: MYFICO members and PIF

OmarGB9 — Tue, 20 Oct 2015 23:05:02 GMT

MyFICO is by NO means indicative of the typical CC user. Lol. Most people have 1 or 2 credit cards. Maybe 3. Definitely not 20 or 30 or 100. People here are serious about their credit.

Re: MYFICO members and PIF

Anonymous — Tue, 20 Oct 2015 23:30:39 GMT

Omar is right I dont think much of anything that goes on here is representative of the general population. This is a special group.

Although the util obsession is a bit much at times. Just use the cards responsibly folks sheesh!
Guess Ive been over micromanaging scores for quite awhile.

Re: MYFICO members and PIF

kdm31091 — Tue, 20 Oct 2015 23:33:16 GMT

What I find funny is myfico members need to justify saying they ever carry a balance by adding "but I had a 0 percent promo!". Its like they feel theyll be ousted if they admit they paid interest even once!

We are certainly special thats for sure

Re: MYFICO members and PIF

CreditCuriosity — Tue, 20 Oct 2015 23:38:27 GMT

It is looked as a sin to carry a balance here without a 0% apr as you are watering down awards. Carrying a balance gets you looked at strangely here. I think alot of it is alot of the population of this forum has rebuilt or are rebuilding and are ultra sensitive about their credit. This doesn't include everyone, but a great % of this forum.

Re: MYFICO members and PIF

disdreamin — Tue, 20 Oct 2015 23:43:14 GMT

It is very interesting to see how atypical the visitors to this site are. Personally, I've been doing the PIF thing for a lot longer than I've been visiting these forums.

Re: MYFICO members and PIF

Anonymous — Tue, 20 Oct 2015 23:55:39 GMT

I don't always PIF, because I quite honestly, don't got it like that. I use my credit cards when I'm short on $$$ but always always make 3-4x the minimum payment. Who the heck wants to pay interest anyways? I don't mind paying interest as it is money I never had and the bank lent it to me, so that's my repayment for letting me borrow. I just look at it that way...if i racked up $1500 in cc charges and they charge me $10-20, I'll take that any day for the simple fact that 'they came through' when I needed them.

hope that makes sense

Re: MYFICO members and PIF

Anonymous — Tue, 20 Oct 2015 23:58:09 GMT

Ok. But what you have to realize is, for every 100k a person has in available credit, thats 4k that is reporting if their utilization is 4%. It starts to add up the more credit you have.

Many members have diners club or paypal, which is a hidden tradeline. Maybe thats where they are hiding it? Lol jk.

Rewards cards really don't make sense to have if you carry a balance. If, and only if, they have a intro promo, then you could get by carrying one. IMHO most of the better rewards cards don't have an intro APR. EG citi premier/prestige, airline/hotel cobranded cards.... most don't have 0%. Double cash, Amex ED/EDP/BC/BCP do have 0% intros. Also the BOA TR, CR, and BBR do and some others. A select few have 0% but only on BTs

As of November 1st, the only cards I have with 0% APR are Amex ED and Citi DC unless purchased with special financing.

Holidays come...consumers are trained into spending more than what they can afford. Buy now, pay later. They think they're getting a great deal with that new store card offering 20% off, but when they choose not to pay in full, you are hit with 29% APR (staples).

I didn't start or continue my CC journey to have perfect credit. It was an additional way to save a few pennies on top of my couponing.

The Dave Ramsey's will say you won't get rich from credit cards and that they're sadistic. For most people that is the case. Lots of us here are the minority, more savvy type (I am not THAT savvy yet but I aspire to be). Takes a lot of responsibility to handle this kind of buying power.

I dunno, its hard to speculate. I am just ready to get a few small deals on cyber monday/black friday for my family members that need it most.

Re: MYFICO members and PIF

disdreamin — Wed, 21 Oct 2015 00:01:59 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
I don't always PIF, because I quite honestly, don't got it like that. I use my credit cards when I'm short on $$$ but always always make 3-4x the minimum payment. Who the heck wants to pay interest anyways? I don't mind paying interest as it is money I never had and the bank lent it to me, so that's my repayment for letting me borrow. I just look at it that way...if i racked up $1500 in cc charges and they charge me $10-20, I'll take that any day for the simple fact that 'they came through' when I needed them.

hope that makes sense

I'd say that's why the vast majority of us start out using credit the way you described! No shame in using it the way that best fits your life. The whole "cultivating credit scores" thing is relatively recent (or I'm old, probably the latter) - back in the days of dinosaurs, before the internet, no one knew their score except on rare occassions. We still had credit, just not as good an understanding of how it played into how we looked to financial institutions.

Re: MYFICO members and PIF

barthooper — Wed, 21 Oct 2015 01:03:05 GMT

Growing up I was often warned about the dangers of credit cards because my parents had bouts with credit card debt. Living through these experiences contributed in large part to my present money conscious, savings oriented nature. I was taught not to spend money that I don't have and that is why I treat my credit cards as debit cards. Just one late fee or a small amount of time paying interest on a balance can wipe out a good chunk of rewards.

Re: MYFICO members and PIF

Cmikul — Wed, 21 Oct 2015 03:20:40 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
I don't always PIF, because I quite honestly, don't got it like that. I use my credit cards when I'm short on $$$ but always always make 3-4x the minimum payment. Who the heck wants to pay interest anyways? I don't mind paying interest as it is money I never had and the bank lent it to me, so that's my repayment for letting me borrow. I just look at it that way...if i racked up $1500 in cc charges and they charge me $10-20, I'll take that any day for the simple fact that 'they came through' when I needed them.

hope that makes sense

I think of it this way too.....

Until I got on this forum I really didn't worry about the interest amount too much...figured it's just a cost of doing business.

Doing business when I have low or need to limit my cash flow.

After joining this forum I went back and looked at all my accounts and figured out how much interest I had really paid ytd.

in CC's it was $78 .....that's it. and I know my plastic bailed me out many times when I needed it to. I'll take that as a win.

of course my mortgage is a different story....can't wait to get rid of PMI.

I've had some REALLY bad experiences with CC's...horrifying really.

Even then I've always touted that CC's are nothing more than tools. A useful weapon if you understand how it operates and make it operate for YOU.

The Ramsey mentality is one that is of absolutes. Absolutes are for exstremist's. Extremist's are dangerous no matter if their intentions are good or bad.

Typically when someone doesn't understand something they become absolute in their opinion of it. Reads as ignorance.

I'm not saying Ramsey is ignorant.....just that an absolute mindset like that doesn't open itself up to learning.

BTW: one of my family members is a Ramsey certified CPA........and we can't even talk about finance it's like talking to a toy recorder with one message that just repeats.

Re: MYFICO members and PIF

Anonymous — Wed, 21 Oct 2015 07:04:11 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
I don't always PIF, because I quite honestly, don't got it like that. I use my credit cards when I'm short on $$$ but always always make 3-4x the minimum payment. Who the heck wants to pay interest anyways? I don't mind paying interest as it is money I never had and the bank lent it to me, so that's my repayment for letting me borrow. I just look at it that way...if i racked up $1500 in cc charges and they charge me $10-20, I'll take that any day for the simple fact that 'they came through' when I needed them.

hope that makes sense

me too!! I pay in full on most cards. I carry a balance on my pottery barn card because it is truly 0% and I carry a balance on my barclays because I earn bonuses on a quarterly basis from work which I use to pif. Im not obsessed with it because ill get impatient that way but I have defenitely cut down my number of cards this year in an effort to become debt free so I can purchase a house.

Re: MYFICO members and PIF

Anonymous — Wed, 21 Oct 2015 11:25:26 GMT

Prior to finding this place I was 100% PIF, period. Since coming here I learned the lesson of having (1) card to report a small balance. I always adhered to the PIF as to not pay interest and fall in the trap of CC debt.

Re: MYFICO members and PIF

Anonymous — Wed, 21 Oct 2015 13:37:18 GMT

@OmarGB9 wrote:
MyFICO is by NO means indicative of the typical CC user. Lol. Most people have 1 or 2 credit cards. Maybe 3. Definitely not 20 or 30 or 100. People here are serious about their credit.

Not sure I would use "serious". A lot of the behavior seen and supported here (multiple apps, endless CLIs etc) isn't always part of a good/serious credit strategy. "Very interested", "competitive", "obssessed", or, in the worst cases "A little knowledge is a dangerous thing"

Re: MYFICO members and PIF

takeshi74 — Wed, 21 Oct 2015 13:50:53 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
I realize that you are a savvy, select crowd of consumers but I find it hard to believe that this is characteristic of most American credit card users..

No discussion forum is ever an accurate representation of the masses. One always has to be careful using forum posts for analysis as the data is skewed in many ways and that skewing needs to be accounted for.

@Anonymous wrote:
In fact most people I have talked with claim they are drowning in CC debt, some say it is manageable but no one has ever told me that there util was under 4% for all but one. I am not drawing any conclusions. I am just asking for your feedback if you wish to share about what is going on with CC debt across the country.

"Most people I have talked to" isn't a sufficient sample either but there are studies that have been done with properly samples that you can refer to. I'm not sure why you think myFICO and the general consumer populace should reflect each other. You need to always consider your sources. myFICO users are here because they are actively interested in the shape of their credit. Some are just starting out. Some are rebuilding. Some have already completed the majority of their rebuilding. However, they all have an active interest whereas the masses are generally not putting the same effort and thought into their credit.

I can't speak to broader trends. All I can do is make the same comment that most people I know seem to know little about credit but, again, that's still subject to insufficent sample data.

@CreditCuriousity wrote:
It is looked as a sin to carry a balance here without a 0% apr as you are watering down awards.

It's not a sin -- it just doesn't make financial sense to worry over X% rewards when Y% interest is siginificantly greater.

@Anonymous wrote:
I don't always PIF, because I quite honestly, don't got it like that. I use my credit cards when I'm short on $$$ but always always make 3-4x the minimum payment.

Just be aware that credit is not a replacement for a liquid reserve. I know that's easier said than done but if you're regularly exceeding your budget then you may want to look at why and what you can do about it.

@Cmikul wrote:
The Ramsey mentality is one that is of absolutes. Absolutes are for exstremist's. Extremist's are dangerous no matter if their intentions are good or bad.

That's a very absolute statement.

If Ramsey's approach works for someone then more power to that person. Each has to find what works best for the individual.

Re: MYFICO members and PIF

OmarGB9 — Wed, 21 Oct 2015 13:43:06 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
@OmarGB9 wrote:
MyFICO is by NO means indicative of the typical CC user. Lol. Most people have 1 or 2 credit cards. Maybe 3. Definitely not 20 or 30 or 100. People here are serious about their credit.
Not sure I would use "serious". A lot of the behavior seen and supported here (multiple apps, endless CLIs etc) isn't always part of a good/serious credit strategy. "Very interested", "competitive", "obssessed", or, in the worst cases "A little knowledge is a dangerous thing"

That's what I meant by serious. Lol. Just tried to word it a different way so as not offend anyone.

Re: MYFICO members and PIF

lhcole77 — Wed, 21 Oct 2015 14:25:41 GMT

@kdm31091 wrote:
What I find funny is myfico members need to justify saying they ever carry a balance by adding "but I had a 0 percent promo!". Its like they feel theyll be ousted if they admit they paid interest even once!

We are certainly special thats for sure

I would argue that some members do this because other members so vehemently express their disdain if balances are being carried.

For me, carrying balances comes down to what's most economical for cash flow/what gives me most bang for my buck.

Re: MYFICO members and PIF

icyhot — Wed, 21 Oct 2015 14:40:39 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
I don't always PIF, because I quite honestly, don't got it like that. I use my credit cards when I'm short on $$$ but always always make 3-4x the minimum payment. Who the heck wants to pay interest anyways? I don't mind paying interest as it is money I never had and the bank lent it to me, so that's my repayment for letting me borrow. I just look at it that way...if i racked up $1500 in cc charges and they charge me $10-20, I'll take that any day for the simple fact that 'they came through' when I needed them.

hope that makes sense

This. I PIF as much as a I can on my cards that charge interest, but I had an emergency come up so I have to carry a balance. It will be paid in about 2 months. I agree that paying interest is necessary when you're short on cash. I just try not to make it a habit and ket that be the norm with my CC usage.

Re: MYFICO members and PIF

Open123 — Wed, 21 Oct 2015 15:06:01 GMT

@lhcole77 wrote:
For me, carrying balances comes down to what's most economical for cash flow/what gives me most bang for my buck.

Right, if it makes "sense" to carry a balance, then that's what one should do. Of course, depending on the time frame involved, a person should seek out 0% promos or low APR cards to do so. There's often a "life" reason to carry a balance, even if there isn't a financial one.

For instance, if I run into a financial crisis (cash flow or downturn, doesn't matter), should I carry a balance to feed my family, or PIF and live on Spam? Or, if the price of, say, 8% interest is worth it for me to have something now, rather than later, then it makes perfect sense.

In my view, there are certain abolustes and universal truths. Amongst them would be to *NEVER* take seriously anything Suze Orman, Dave Ramsey, or Dr. Phil has to say, ever.

Re: MYFICO members and PIF

disdreamin — Wed, 21 Oct 2015 15:38:47 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
Prior to finding this place I was 100% PIF, period. Since coming here I learned the lesson of having (1) card to report a small balance. I always adhered to the PIF as to not pay interest and fall in the trap of CC debt.

Just wanted to mention that you don't need to accrue interest charges to have a balance reporting.

I PIF, but allow balances to report (sometimes just on one card, sometimes on more than one...depends on what else is going on in life!). PIF just means you pay the full balance from the previous billing period by the due date. To PIF and report a zero balance means you need to pay everything from the last billing period PLUS anything from the current billing period that has posted prior to the closing date or the date the statement is generated on.

Sometimes I inadvertently report a balance just because something posts between when I zero the account and when the statement is generated. It does mess with my scores a bit, but since I'm not applying for anything, I've stopped worrying about it.