Current Events > Lol @ credit cards

(+) Yeah! (+)

they make me lol
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good luck going through life without one tho
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SSJCAT posted...

good luck going through life without one tho

that's what the banks want you to think

SSJCAT posted...

good luck going through life without one tho

It's not particularly difficult.

hey if you can manage without one, thats great. most people cant.
and you want good credit if youre ever gonna finance a house or car
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treewojima posted...

SSJCAT posted...

good luck going through life without one tho

that's what the banks want you to think

Fair enough. Though most people arent independantly wealthy enough to buy a house in cash.

SSJCAT posted...

hey if you can manage without one, thats great. most people cant.
and you want good credit if youre ever gonna finance a house or car

I have $15,000 in credit card debt I haven't paid on in two years.

That means I haven't had or used a credit card in two years. I don't regret it one bit. I budget my money, with a certain allowance for free spending every pay period. I haven't had the need for a credit card this entire time. It is extremely easy to live within your means if you're a single person with no kids, most people just don't want to.
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Not using credit cards is essentially throwing money away.

Dragonblade01 posted...

Not using credit cards is essentially throwing money away.

Not inherently. The good ones typically only are given to people with good credit already. Most of the starter cards are hot garbage.
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pres_madagascar posted...

I have $15,000 in credit card debt I haven't paid on in two years.

You should really fix that
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CableZL posted...

pres_madagascar posted...

I have $15,000 in credit card debt I haven't paid on in two years.

You should really fix that

Working in it. Not super easy. I am paying them off one at a time. I have a year left on my car note, then after that I'll focus on them more. I'm only paying the one I am now because it was about to go into garnishment.
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SSJCAT posted...

good luck going through life without one tho

debit cards exist
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@_BIueMonk
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pres_madagascar posted...

Dragonblade01 posted...

Not using credit cards is essentially throwing money away.

Not inherently. The good ones typically only are given to people with good credit already. Most of the starter cards are hot garbage.

Yeah so you get a secured credit card first and then switch to something with good rewards after 6 months of making payments on that card
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Is this a meme or do you guys literally think credit cards are a scam
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Rika_Furude posted...

SSJCAT posted...

good luck going through life without one tho

debit cards exist

This. People just don't live within their means. I get it for certain people, particularly uni students and parents and stuff, but if you're completely single and full time employed, you can live within your means.

Know how many full price video games I buy a year these days? 3-4, tops. I typically wait until games are $20 or less, and even those I only get 3-4 of a year. So my entire gaming expense for an entire year is $300-$350, and it's a non priority. Hell, my ps4 doesn't even have a functioning disc drive, I have an external hdd i had that I use and just do digital.

So you can still game on a budget, it's not like you have to give up all your fun.
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Crayon_Lover posted...

pres_madagascar posted...

Dragonblade01 posted...

Not using credit cards is essentially throwing money away.

Not inherently. The good ones typically only are given to people with good credit already. Most of the starter cards are hot garbage.

Yeah so you get a secured credit card first and then switch to something with good rewards after 6 months of making payments on that card

Ideally, if I would have done it smartly 12 years ago I'd have just used it for gas and paid it off every month, but I was dumb. I know better now.

Also, stay wayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy the fuck away from capital one at all costs.
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The problem with credit cards is people are extremely poorly educated on them; what they're for, how to use them, how to manage them. So you have one group of people who avoid them altogether and think they're a scam and then another people who use them to live beyond their means because they think it's free money.

There's a third group of people who understand exactly what's within their financial means, how to manage an emergency fund, the difference between "advanced benefit" and "shiny toy I want but can't afford". This group of people are successfully ferreting away their credit score and redeeming points and rewards for good behaviour, paid by all the people who get it wrong.
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I just don't need one. I understand how they work and how they can be beneficial.

This debt racking mentality is what led to the great depression

knutjob posted...

I just don't need one. I understand how they work and how they can be beneficial.

It's tempting to say you should get one but I also think they're a bad idea for some people. Especially if those people can admit that they have poor impulse control.

The mentality on how it should be used is straightforward enough though.

1. Do I really need it? If no, stop here. Don't use credit card. If yes, advance to 2. A new TV is a no. A lawnmower might be a yes.
2. If I really need it, do I need it now, or will buying it now be an actual benefit over buying it later? If yes, advance to 3. An advanced benefit might be the cost of a lawnmower now vs the cost of having to pay a gardener weekly until I can afford it.
3. Can I repay the full amount by the end of the payment period? At the very least, can I repay the statement balance? If yes, advance to 4. If no almost certainly don't advance to 4.
4. If I can't repay the full amount now, will the interest gained over the payment plan be less than getting some kind of loan or payment plan arranged? Remember this only applies to important investmenty things that make you financially better off or quality of life significantly improved, not "shiny TV I can totally afford the repayment plan on".
5. Can I absolutely set a plan in place on getting that amount back to 0 as soon as possible, knowing that there's a slippery slope otherwise?
5. Do I have a solid plan B if all this shit hits the fan and I lose my job or whatever? Emergency fund/savings account for example.
6. Can I keep the utilisation score below around 30% at all times?

Rule of thumb for most things though: if you can't actually afford it in cash you shouldn't be buying it in credit.
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Debit > Credit
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KlRBEH posted...

Debit > Credit

I've had a debit card for like 15 years already.
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KlRBEH posted...

Debit > Credit

Factually incorrect
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PokemonExpert44 posted...

they make me lol

Best way to go on vacation. Put ya hotel, rental car, plane tickets on credit card. Have all the money for I in savings and when all the charges clear pay it off.
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pinky0926 posted...

KlRBEH posted...

Debit > Credit

Factually incorrect

I always run my debit card as credit when getting big purchases. Everyone should.
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Been using credit cards for over 14 years now. Never once have I not paid off the entire balance for the month.

Also got free flights to Europe this summer for me and my wife. Couldn't have done that without a credit card.
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EndOfDiscOne posted...

Been using credit cards for over 14 years now. Never once have I not paid off the entire balance for the month.

Same, except its been like ~10 or 11 years for me
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pres_madagascar posted...

pinky0926 posted...

KlRBEH posted...

Debit > Credit

Factually incorrect

I always run my debit card as credit when getting big purchases. Everyone should.

It doesn't really make a substantive difference if you run it as debit or credit. The only real difference there is that it takes a couple days for the charge to come out of your account.
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Rika_Furude posted...

SSJCAT posted...

good luck going through life without one tho

debit cards exist

Hard to buy a house or get a loan without credit. Some apartments won't rent to someone without a credit card. You can't go to hotels without a credit card.

That said, my current card has made me about $500 over the last 2 years without any fees. I just it as a 'debit' card and pay it off before the interest payments. Its a cash back card, so thats how I made money on it.
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I can take a $2082 trip with my current daily use card.
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MaverickXeo posted...

Rika_Furude posted...

SSJCAT posted...

good luck going through life without one tho

debit cards exist

Hard to buy a house or get a loan without credit. Some apartments won't rent to someone without a credit card. You can't go to hotels without a credit card.

That said, my current card has made me about $500 over the last 2 years without any fees. I just it as a 'debit' card and pay it off before the interest payments. Its a cash back card, so thats how I made money on it.

Thus is nonsense. I've rented more than 10 apartments in my life and stayed at probably close to 100 hotels. I've never had a credit card and never been asked for one.

It's literally free money as long as you don't miss any payments and pay your balance in full every month.

Literally free money. I make roughly $22/mo in points without even remotely changing my spending habits. PLUS I got a $250 bonus for spending like ~$500 within the first three months

Basically made $500 in a year for nothing.
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If you're not a moron that uses credit cards as magic money machines, they're great. Treat a credit card like you treat cash, you never spend more than you actually have and always pay it off every month. Bam, you have fantastic credit built up for when you want a car loan or a mortgage, you actually get money back if you have a points back card so it actually saves you a bit a month, and in the event of a card getting stolen or your someone putting fraudulent charges online on your card, you contest that from the point of not actually having lost any money versus if the same thing happened to a debit card you'd be contesting trying to get your money back.
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MaverickXeo posted...

Rika_Furude posted...

SSJCAT posted...

good luck going through life without one tho

debit cards exist

Hard to buy a house or get a loan without credit. Some apartments won't rent to someone without a credit card. You can't go to hotels without a credit card.

That said, my current card has made me about $500 over the last 2 years without any fees. I just it as a 'debit' card and pay it off before the interest payments. Its a cash back card, so thats how I made money on it.

You can pay for the hotel online generally. And if not, no way is some hotel receptionist going to take your card, see its a debit card and not a credit card and say "sir we dont want your money, please leave".
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pinky0926 posted...

Is this a meme or do you guys literally think credit cards are a scam

Most posters here who think they are a scam are probably 15 years old and have a poor understanding of how credit cards work.
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If you are ignorant it makes sense that credit cards are a scam.
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Rika_Furude posted...

MaverickXeo posted...

Rika_Furude posted...

SSJCAT posted...

good luck going through life without one tho

debit cards exist

Hard to buy a house or get a loan without credit. Some apartments won't rent to someone without a credit card. You can't go to hotels without a credit card.

That said, my current card has made me about $500 over the last 2 years without any fees. I just it as a 'debit' card and pay it off before the interest payments. Its a cash back card, so thats how I made money on it.

You can pay for the hotel online generally. And if not, no way is some hotel receptionist going to take your card, see its a debit card and not a credit card and say "sir we dont want your money, please leave".

Sometimes they put a hold on your account $200-300 dollars more than whatever the cost actually is. I rather put it on a credit card which puts a hold but it doesnt touch my actual money.
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imagine being so poor you fear credit cards because somebody told you that their "bad"
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My credit card is free money. I pay it off every month and keep the cash rewards. The actual interest the credit card company is receiving from me is pennies.
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Yeah

Charge cards are way cooler
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MacDaMurderer posted...

Rika_Furude posted...

MaverickXeo posted...

Rika_Furude posted...

SSJCAT posted...

good luck going through life without one tho

debit cards exist

Hard to buy a house or get a loan without credit. Some apartments won't rent to someone without a credit card. You can't go to hotels without a credit card.

That said, my current card has made me about $500 over the last 2 years without any fees. I just it as a 'debit' card and pay it off before the interest payments. Its a cash back card, so thats how I made money on it.

You can pay for the hotel online generally. And if not, no way is some hotel receptionist going to take your card, see its a debit card and not a credit card and say "sir we dont want your money, please leave".

Sometimes they put a hold on your account $200-300 dollars more than whatever the cost actually is. I rather put it on a credit card which puts a hold but it doesnt touch my actual money.

Thats a good point i suppose, but it doesnt bother me since im not going on holiday and bringing my savings down to less than $200
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