Credit Cards

RJBender said:
I use credit cards to make major purchases but I pay off the balance every month. I've been doing this for over 20 years. I checked my FICO score 3 years ago and it was 816. My mortgage is a 15 year, 5.5% fixed rate with no points.

R.J.
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Methinks credit givers like guys like you (and me) -- responsible credit users -- even though they might be able to make more money in the long run off a less responsible credit user. Methinks the responsible credit givers would rather assured return on investment with minimal hassle and only the blood-sucking credit givers have maximum gain with maximum effort as a goal. But I'm not much of a credit user (heck, I even self-finance my own car purchases) and not a credit giver at all (except for being generous with pats on the back).
 
I have no credit cards (because I rarely used it when I had it and got tired of being charged each year for something I didn't use, and the credit company kept raising my credit limit without me asking them to in an effort to get me to use it), I just have one debit card. I don't believe in personal debt so if I want something I save and pay on the nose. I did the same with my house, I have no mortgage or rent to pay. Life is so much less stressful this way.
 
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I haven't used CC's for about 5 years. PAying off debt. But Im going back to help pay for my wedding this summer.Hoping to break even! ug...
 
I think Suze Ormon (sp?) spells it out pretty well, essentially the same thing Bill and others have said. I've read her "Young, Fabulous, and Broke" book and in there she also talks about the benefits of credit cards to small business start ups. I'm a senior editor at an ad agency serving the direct mail credit card divisions of several major banks (including the "what's in your wallet" bank, and the "make it happen" bank...everything you get from those dudes has come across my desk) so I try to stay positive about this stuff to get through my work day. I focus on that "small business" benefit aspect, to the degree that I myself even consider making major purchases (like, maybe an R-D1) in the context of a "start up" expense. Then I realize, of course, that I SUCK and wouldn't be "starting up" anything...I just want that COOL FREAKING CAMERA. I will never be a Wes Anderson (who says he owes much of his career to credit cards..."Bottle Rocket" could not have been made without maxing out several). While the work I do, the double talk I construct, keeps my spending habits somewhat in check, I'm scared to use a credit card for anything. I don't think I could stop myself once I get started...very weak. So I ask myself carefully, is there really anything I could go into debt for that has a decent potential to make my life better. The answer is "no" for me at this point, but that answer could be very different for many of y'all. BTW...I've got SERIOUS mortgage envy for many of you guys!
 
langdon auger said:
I think Suze Ormon (sp?) spells it out pretty well, essentially the same thing Bill and others have said. I've read her "Young, Fabulous, and Broke" book and in there she also talks about the benefits of credit cards to small business start ups. I'm a senior editor at an ad agency serving the direct mail credit card divisions of several major banks (including the "what's in your wallet" bank, and the "make it happen" bank...everything you get from those dudes has come across my desk) so I try to stay positive about this stuff to get through my work day. I focus on that "small business" benefit aspect, to the degree that I myself even consider making major purchases (like, maybe an R-D1) in the context of a "start up" expense. Then I realize, of course, that I SUCK and wouldn't be "starting up" anything...I just want that COOL FREAKING CAMERA. I will never be a Wes Anderson (who says he owes much of his career to credit cards..."Bottle Rocket" could not have been made without maxing out several). While the work I do, the double talk I construct, keeps my spending habits somewhat in check, I'm scared to use a credit card for anything. I don't think I could stop myself once I get started...very weak. So I ask myself carefully, is there really anything I could go into debt for that has a decent potential to make my life better. The answer is "no" for me at this point, but that answer could be very different for many of y'all. BTW...I've got SERIOUS mortgage envy for many of you guys!
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YOU are responsible for those BARBARIANS? :p

R.J.
 
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well, I just got another card. I've got three, now. One is soon to be put to death.

It itches sometimes. I haven't any interest to pay on my cards till next April and May, so it is hard to talk myself out of buying things. That's why I'm selling my Multi Pro scanner - then I CAN buy things more legitimately. Sort of. Still have payments to make on that RF645.

I'm a bad boy. I know it. But i have some nice pics to show for it.
 
I have hed a credit card for about a decade, but use it mostly for online purchases. I know it's a 'credit' card (overhere we usually call them by their brandname: visacard, mastercard,...), but I would not consider spending money I don't have in my bank account.
If you don't pay back your credit in Belgium, you risk being blacklisted. That way it would be very hard to get any kind of loan from the major banks. As long as you're not blacklisted, the way you use your credit card doesn't influence your chances on getting a loan for a house. Your income does and the value of the property does. I don't know about other types of credit (for cars or other consumer goods).

Wim
 
Well, I didn't mean to say that one can't get the money back from a lost debit card, but it's a lot harder.

Maybe we're not talking about the same thing. I can have a true debit card, which we usually call an ATM card, which requires a code all the time. However, if the card has the Visa or Mastercard logo on it, we can also use it as a credit card, no code required. Sometimes we can choose whether to use it one way or the other.

However, unlike a true credit card where there is a "float" between the charging of the card and the payment from the bank, when a debit card is used as a credit card (no pin required), the money is in fact deducted instantly from one's bank account.

You can get the money back, but it is a LOT harder because the bank has already paid it out.

allan
 
Well, after that talk I went to, I'm thinking this debit/check card thing isn't as cool as it seemed.

I am considering applying for a credit card from my bank, then switching to just a straight ATM card.

allan
 
Ha, that's funny... in an interesting sort of way. I've never seen this breakdown of credit scores by percentage of the population. When I last got a home loan, the load guy said I had a 780... and that must be because I have a couple of "late pays". Maybe I do, but I don't recall any. So how high do these FICO scores go?
 
You can manage your credit the way a friend of mine did. Every time the card balance due reached $300, she froze it into a block of ice until she paid it off. . .
 
Michiel said:
You are right, there seem to be two different cards we are talking about.

The European do have the possibility to use the creditcard system their bank has an agreement with to take out money at an ATM, but you have to use your secret code here as well. But that is all, the card is not a creditcard. It cannot be used for creditcard payments, nor online purchases (there is no expiry date).
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I think it all depends on card type and not directly dependant on credit plan associated to your card or not. I have Visa Classic, no credit plan, and can use it for both on-line (like ATM or POS) and offline (slip check, mail order, internet) transactions.
 
I use a VISA, and a couple of debit cards, and a premium (installment on 10 months), these work like magic, also because we are never late on monthly payments, because the bank automatically withdraw the amount required from a saving account...

i can't imagine my life without these cards, although in egypt this culture has only spread recently, still 80% have no idea about credit cards, mostly people use debit cards to withdraw their salary or profits from their investments in the bank.

You have to have cash in your pocket, but not that much, most stores, restaurants and shops have a visa machine.
 
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