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@los_west wrote:
What got me into my credit mess was credit cards. I find it very ironic now that I am rebuilding my credit, I need CC and increased limits to increase my score.
I am going to lock away my cards just so I dont get tempted and fall back into my old problems!
Might I ask what specifically got you into trouble w/ credit?
Higher limits do not equal higher scores...
I to was in the same boat. Now I have a different attitude about CC's in general. I leave a $200-$300 balance on my $10k NFCU siggy and payoff whatever I put on it every pay period.
It's all about the balance of good/evil.
@los_west wrote:
In my 20s, I treated my credit cards like a bottomless pot of money. I maxed them out, made minimum payments, and when the economy tanked, I couldn't keep up with payments. I was addicted to buying things, regardless of whether I could afford it....as long as I had enough credit on my card, I bought it. It was such a slippery slope!
The good thing is that you recognized it, and made steps to fix it! CC, from what I've read, work best when you can get rewards and other similar things when buying the things you were going to buy anyway. So, what I try to do (fwiw) is put all recurring and food and what not, and then make payments throughout the month to cover the charges. And I get rewards for doing that! It's tough, but we're all here to help! That's why I joined this forum
@flyingace wrote:
@los_west wrote:
In my 20s, I treated my credit cards like a bottomless pot of money. I maxed them out, made minimum payments, and when the economy tanked, I couldn't keep up with payments. I was addicted to buying things, regardless of whether I could afford it....as long as I had enough credit on my card, I bought it. It was such a slippery slope!The good thing is that you recognized it, and made steps to fix it! CC, from what I've read, work best when you can get rewards and other similar things when buying the things you were going to buy anyway. So, what I try to do (fwiw) is put all recurring and food and what not, and then make payments throughout the month to cover the charges. And I get rewards for doing that! It's tough, but we're all here to help! That's why I joined this forum
Actually, if you have concerns, it's probably better to have a non-rewards card. Research shows (and this is why they are offered!) rewards cards increase spending ("I'm getting money back so it's cheaper, so it doesn't really count/I'll buy two/I just need those extra 3K miles so ....."). Of course, no rewards means no rewards, so not attractive to many, but they have slight financial advantages over using just cash: better record keeping, a float of 20 days or more, and of course easier to use for big ticket items or car rental etc.
@nicholasyud wrote:
Join this forum more often then u wouldn't even know what """ interest charge "" means.............
I'm struggling to know what that means too .
But yes, conventional wisdom on this forum is PIF, PIF, PIF (pay in full). No interest, no cry.
To the OP: I think if you understand the problem it's easier to maintain. I think it would be wise to try to build habits using credit cards responsibly rather than locking them away. I consider it likely that cash / checks are going to continue to decline in usage, and while I suspect they'll never fully go away, we're all going to have to get used to using little bits of plastic or their substitute when it comes to transactions. If you start trying to handle it now, I think you'll be in a better position later when if it becomes more or less forced upon us.
Also in addition to the irony of having to get credit, you also need to use it too .