DHP Financial post of the week: Credit Cards, do you abuse them or use them wisely?

[imported_Gman]

They say if you can't pay off the balance of your credit cards every month in full then you are in trouble ?

As an ex-creditholic I have learned my lesson. It took me about 2.5 years to pay them all off once I made up my mind enough was enough. I rarely use my cards now and if I have a balance I pay it off in full when I get the bill. What say you ?

-G

[GROOVE VICTIM]

A recovering creditholic myself, I've ripped up 3 Pre-Approved credit cards ranging from a Visa Gold, to a Discovery Platinum within the last 2 months. Since January, I've knocked out $3000 worth of debt that includes 2 credit cards and my car payment. By this time in 2005 I should be clean of all my debt. I now only have one credit card that was supplied by Capital One. This card is actually helping me rebuild my credit as I pay off the balance of a credit card that got out of control. They gave me an offer to payoff one of my credit cards by putting about 75% of my payments towards the debt and the other 25% for me to use. If I continue to make my payments on time and keep a good balance, they increase my limit by $50, but the limit will not exceed 50% of the debt that I'm trying to pay off. Check and Balances in full affect and it's a great discipline for me to use this card.


Peace

[rob gregory]

Peace.

I was forced to deal with my credit when my wife and I decided to buy a house.

Just as a side note, there was a whole bunch of stuff in my credit reports that should not have been there.

Between credit cards and the car note we are about $14,000 in debt. The good things are we stopped using the cards, we pay more than the minimun and we are always on time with our payments.

If all goes well(which I suspect it will) I will be an owner of a brand new home in October. They haven't finished construction on the house yet.

[imported_Gman]

Originally posted by GROOVE VICTIM:
A recovering creditholic myself, I've ripped up 3 Pre-Approved credit cards ranging from a Visa Gold, to a Discovery Platinum within the last 2 months. Since January, I've knocked out $3000 worth of debt that includes 2 credit cards and my car payment. By this time in 2005 I should be clean of all my debt. I now only have one credit card that was supplied by Capital One. This card is actually helping me rebuild my credit as I pay off the balance of a credit card that got out of control. They gave me an offer to payoff one of my credit cards by putting about 75% of my payments towards the debt and the other 25% for me to use. If I continue to make my payments on time and keep a good balance, they increase my limit by $50, but the limit will not exceed 50% of the debt that I'm trying to pay off. Check and Balances in full affect and it's a great discipline for me to use this card.


Peace You paid off two credit cards in full and eliminated your car payment ? Way to go Groove graemlins/OLA.gif

[ July 17, 2003, 02:33 PM: Message edited by: Gman ]

[GROOVE VICTIM]

Originally posted by Gman:
</font><blockquote>quote:</font><hr />Originally posted by GROOVE VICTIM:
A recovering creditholic myself, I've ripped up 3 Pre-Approved credit cards ranging from a Visa Gold, to a Discovery Platinum within the last 2 months. Since January, I've knocked out $3000 worth of debt that includes 2 credit cards and my car payment. By this time in 2005 I should be clean of all my debt. I now only have one credit card that was supplied by Capital One. This card is actually helping me rebuild my credit as I pay off the balance of a credit card that got out of control. They gave me an offer to payoff one of my credit cards by putting about 75% of my payments towards the debt and the other 25% for me to use. If I continue to make my payments on time and keep a good balance, they increase my limit by $50, but the limit will not exceed 50% of the debt that I'm trying to pay off. Check and Balances in full affect and it's a great discipline for me to use this card.


Peace You paid off two credit cards in full and eliminated your car payment ? Way to go Groove graemlins/OLA.gif </font>[/QUOTE]Well I still have a ways to go on one of the credit cards but I will be finished with my car payments by mid September. I've been paying about 70 to 100 bucks extra on the car to cut down on the interest and so I will have a very small balance for my last payment. Can't wait for that sigh of relief to come.

[rob gregory]

Peace.


After I take care of my house business, I've really been considering consolidating my debt. Any thoughts?

[Discogoddess]

Any tips to share with us scrubs who haven't made good decisions re: credit cards?

[GROOVE VICTIM]

This is JMJ's expertise. He along with a few other cats gave some good advise on cars a few months back.

One thing that I decided to do was to change my lifestyle for the better. Dieting, self control when it came to spending, prioritizing, making sure that my needs were dealt with before my wants. It's a rough road but when you look back at the accomplishment of paying off 600 dollars, or 200 dollars within a set time period, it really makes you feel good inside.

For a period of two years I did not recieve not one credit card application, and now I'm getting them. I see this as a positive thing as my debt is getting back under control and the way I approach these applications is by saying to myself, "that's just one extra bill you'll have to pay every month if you apply, why bother?"


Peace

[ July 17, 2003, 02:46 PM: Message edited by: GROOVE VICTIM ]

[imported_Gman]

Originally posted by PhoreAyem:
Peace.

I was forced to deal with my credit when my wife and I decided to buy a house.

Just as a side note, there was a whole bunch of stuff in my credit reports that should not have been there.

Between credit cards and the car note we are about $14,000 in debt. The good things are we stopped using the cards, we pay more than the minimun and we are always on time with our payments.

If all goes well(which I suspect it will) I will be an owner of a brand new home in October. They haven't finished construction on the house yet. Yeah Linda and I got our act together because we wanted to buy a house at some point as well. We purchased our house one year after cleaning up our credit. There was a fair amount of inaccurate entries on our credit reports as well. People really need to get a copy of their credit reports and look them over very carefully. Good luck to you on your home !

[MC]

I had 3 different cards while in college Visa, MC, and Discover. I wasn't mature enough to maintain or manage them needless to say I maxed them all out. I hate to say this, but my parents paid them all out for me (5,000+). I was young and dumb. Ever since then I've hated credit cards, now I either pay cash or debit. I will never own another credit card nor will I advise anyone else do so.

[ July 17, 2003, 02:49 PM: Message edited by: Michael J. Carmona ]

[imported_Gman]

Originally posted by Michael J. Carmona:
I had 3 different cards while in college Visa, MC, and Discover. I was mature enough to maintain or manage them needless to say I maxed them all out. I hate to say this, but my parents paid them all out for me (5,000+). I wasn't young and dumb. Ever since then I've hated credit cards, now I either pay cash or debit. I will never own another credit card nor will I advise anyone else do so. Can you rent a car with a debit card ?

[MC]

Originally posted by Gman:
]Can you rent a car with a debit card ? I doubt it, but I can't stand a credit card. I refuse.

[ July 17, 2003, 02:52 PM: Message edited by: Michael J. Carmona ]

[imported_Gman]

Originally posted by GROOVE VICTIM:
This is JMJ's expertise. He along with a few other cats gave some good advise on cars a few months back.

One thing that I decided to do was to change my lifestyle for the better. Dieting, self control when it came to spending, prioritizing, making sure that my needs were dealt with before my wants. It's a rough road but when you look back at the accomplishment of paying off 600 dollars, or 200 dollars within a set time period, it really makes you feel good inside.

For a period of two years I did not recieve not one credit card application, and now I'm getting them. I see this as a positive thing as my debt is getting back under control and the way I approach these applications is by saying to myself, "that's just one extra bill you'll have to pay every month if you apply, why bother?"


Peace Groove you are trying to leave the debt matrix. As you get closer and closer to being debt free they will try to pull you back in. By the way to you know what your FICO score is ? This is a number that the credit bureaus come up with to score your credit worthiness ?


FICO Scores are calculated from a lot of different credit data in your credit report. This data can be grouped into five categories as outlined below. The percentages in the chart reflect how important each of the categories is in determining your score.

http://www.myfico.com/Images/breakdown.gif

These percentages are based on the importance of the five categories for the general population. For particular groups - for example, people who have not been using credit long - the importance of these categories may be somewhat different.

Payment History
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Account payment information on specific types of accounts (credit cards, retail accounts, installment loans, finance company accounts, mortgage, etc.)
Presence of adverse public records (bankruptcy, judgements, suits, liens, wage attachments, etc.), collection items, and/or delinquency (past due items)
Severity of delinquency (how long past due)
Amount past due on delinquent accounts or collection items
Time since (recency of) past due items (delinquency), adverse public records (if any), or collection items (if any)
Number of past due items on file
Number of accounts paid as agreed
Amounts Owed
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Amount owing on accounts
Amount owing on specific types of accounts
Lack of a specific type of balance, in some cases
Number of accounts with balances
Proportion of credit lines used (proportion of balances to total credit limits on certain types of revolving accounts)
Proportion of installment loan amounts still owing (proportion of balance to original loan amount on certain types of installment loans)
Length of Credit History
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Time since accounts opened
Time since accounts opened, by specific type of account
Time since account activity
New Credit
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Number of recently opened accounts, and proportion of accounts that are recently opened, by type of account
Number of recent credit inquiries
Time since recent account opening(s), by type of account
Time since credit inquiry(s)
Re-establishment of positive credit history following past payment problems
Types of Credit Used
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Number of (presence, prevalence, and recent information on) various types of accounts (credit cards, retail accounts, installment loans, mortgage, consumer finance accounts, etc.)
Please note that:

A score takes into consideration all these categories of information, not just one or two.
No one piece of information or factor alone will determine your score.
The importance of any factor depends on the overall information in your credit report.
For some people, a given factor may be more important than for someone else with a different credit history. In addition, as the information in your credit report changes, so does the importance of any factor in determining your score. Thus, it's impossible to say exactly how important any single factor is in determining your score - even the levels of importance shown here are for the general population, and will be different for different credit profiles. What's important is the mix of information, which varies from person to person, and for any one person over time.
Your FICO score only looks at information in your credit report.
However, lenders look at many things when making a credit decision including your income, how long you have worked at your present job and the kind of credit you are requesting.
Your score considers both positive and negative information in your credit report.
Late payments will lower your score, but establishing or re-establishing a good track record of making payments on time will raise your score.

http://www.myfico.com/Images/chart.gif

Great site to go to is www.myfico.com (http://www.myfico.com) for understanding all about your fico score.

-G

[JMJ]

Originally posted by Gman:
</font><blockquote>quote:</font><hr />Originally posted by Michael J. Carmona:
I had 3 different cards while in college Visa, MC, and Discover. I was mature enough to maintain or manage them needless to say I maxed them all out. I hate to say this, but my parents paid them all out for me (5,000+). I wasn't young and dumb. Ever since then I've hated credit cards, now I either pay cash or debit. I will never own another credit card nor will I advise anyone else do so. Can you rent a car with a debit card ? </font>[/QUOTE]Yes you can.....JMJ

[ July 17, 2003, 03:01 PM: Message edited by: JMJ ]

[kev]

There is one rental company that will let you rent a car with a debit card (I've done it a couple o' times with them). Can't remember which one to save the life of me right now, but I'll report back later when I figure it out (c'mon braincells you can do it). And from what I know this is the only company that will let you rent with a dc.

I've watched people close to me get reeeaaaally into credit card debt when I was younger. I'm 31 now and still don't have a cc. People tell me that I should probably get one to establish a line of credit, but I noticed that the people suggesting that to me have credit problems.

['Magic' Juan]

I was one of the very few who was very responsible with his credit card. Had one at age 16 and only had to pay a late fee ONCE. Now I get all these other banks trying to offer me their cards plus I have a CC limit in the 10's of thousands. Michael, you really should consider getting at least ONE credit card because when it comes time to make a major purchase (such as a house), it will count. No credit history is a problem.

magic_juan

[GROOVE VICTIM]

YO I didn't know what a FICO score was until I started watchin Suzi Orman on CNBC on the weekends. I was like, "Whoooooooaaaaaaaa!!"

I thought getting a copy of your credit report would be enough to see where you stand and to see if there were any problems within the report, but the FICO score came at me from left field. Very important to know your FICO score!!!!!!


Peace

[JMJ]

Originally posted by Magic Juan:
I was one of the very few who was very responsible with his credit card. Had one at age 16 and only had to pay a late fee ONCE. Now I get all these other banks trying to offer me their cards plus I have a CC limit in the 10's of thousands. Michael, you really should consider getting at least ONE credit card because when it comes time to make a major purchase (such as a house), it will count. No credit history is a problem.

magic_juan You are correct. No credit is as bad as bad credit, especially if you're in your late 20's - early 30's or beyond. Why would someone lend you $15k for a car or $80k for a house with no record of credit worthiness?? In MOST cases they won't.......JMJ ;)

[darrow]

I have two cards, now used wisely.

My main credit card is my payment method for almost everything...gas, groceries, take-out, home stuff, etc because it all goes to frequent flyer miles. The balance is paid off every month even if I have to sell myself on the corner to do so. I'll never carry a balance again (if there's an interest rate) on a credit card.

I have one other card whose balance is now on a card that briefly offered a 0% interest for two years. That balance will be gone way before then. I never use this card for anything.

[darrow]

Another word of advice regarding credit reports/fico scores.

If you go to a site like Equifax's for instance (www.equifax.com), you'll see you can purchase a 3-in-1 credit score. Through Equifax's site, you can get a comprehensive credit report that includes data from Equifax, Experian, and Transunion in one package as well as your FICO score from Equifax (the other agencies also have FICO-like scores but they are not called FICO).

My suggestion...don't do the 3-in-1 deals.

I did a 3-in-1 from Equifax. The Equifax report was cool. The Transunion one was all F'd up and had some other guy's stuff (same name, different ss#) on my report. Typically if you see a problem on a report, you can dispute it through the reporting agency. Not so in this case. I couldn't dispute the Transunion stuff through Equifax's online site. I had to dispute it through Transunion's site. The problem was that in order to dispute it, I needed a Transunion credit report. That meant BUYING a Transunion credit report (though I already had one via Equifax's 3-in-1 product). I ended up having to dispute Experian's also, so again...I paid for an Experian one.

Had I just gone to each three and got the reports individually, I probably would've saved a lot of time and hassle as well as a bit of money.

[Alanda Marquette from DiscoLadyLand]

no credit cards for me. Debit cards are the way to go. I am making a conscience effort to spend wisely and clean up my old messes. I believe if I were to ever get another card it would be an American Express card and that's it.

[JMJ]

Originally posted by GROOVE VICTIM:
YO I didn't know what a FICO score was until I started watchin Suzi Orman on CNBC on the weekends. I was like, "Whoooooooaaaaaaaa!!"

I thought getting a copy of your credit report would be enough to see where you stand and to see if there were any problems within the report, but the FICO score came at me from left field. Very important to know your FICO score!!!!!!


Peace While your FICO, Beacon, or Empirica score is important, most lenders are looking beyond score when making credit decisions. Scores don't tell the whole story, nor are they as accurate as the bureaus would like you to believe. Debt to income ratio is very important. Debt to income helps determine your ability to pay. A good score means nothing if you're maxed on all of your accounts, and could cost you in the long run. Zero balances on your credit cards CAN be a good thing, as long as you continue to use the cards.......JMJ

[JMJ]

Originally posted by darrow:
Another word of advice regarding credit reports/fico scores.

If you go to a site like Equifax's for instance (www.equifax.com), you'll see you can purchase a 3-in-1 credit score. Through Equifax's site, you can get a comprehensive credit report that includes data from Equifax, Experian, and Transunion in one package as well as your FICO score from Equifax (the other agencies also have FICO-like scores but they are not called FICO).

My suggestion...don't do the 3-in-1 deals.

I did a 3-in-1 from Equifax. The Equifax report was cool. The Transunion one was all F'd up and had some other guy's stuff (same name, different ss#) on my report. Typically if you see a problem on a report, you can dispute it through the reporting agency. Not so in this case. I couldn't dispute the Transunion stuff through Equifax's online site. I had to dispute it through Transunion's site. The problem was that in order to dispute it, I needed a Transunion credit report. That meant BUYING a Transunion credit report (though I already had one via Equifax's 3-in-1 product). I ended up having to dispute Experian's also, so again...I paid for an Experian one.

Had I just gone to each three and got the reports individually, I probably would've saved a lot of time and hassle as well as a bit of money. Most banks and finance companies use Transunion reports when considering auto loans, so make sure yout Transunion report is current and accurate. Check it every six months. You may be able to obtain a free report once a year in the very near future.......JMJ

[darrow]

Originally posted by JMJ:
</font><blockquote>quote:</font><hr />Originally posted by darrow:
Another word of advice regarding credit reports/fico scores.

If you go to a site like Equifax's for instance (www.equifax.com), you'll see you can purchase a 3-in-1 credit score. Through Equifax's site, you can get a comprehensive credit report that includes data from Equifax, Experian, and Transunion in one package as well as your FICO score from Equifax (the other agencies also have FICO-like scores but they are not called FICO).

My suggestion...don't do the 3-in-1 deals.

I did a 3-in-1 from Equifax. The Equifax report was cool. The Transunion one was all F'd up and had some other guy's stuff (same name, different ss#) on my report. Typically if you see a problem on a report, you can dispute it through the reporting agency. Not so in this case. I couldn't dispute the Transunion stuff through Equifax's online site. I had to dispute it through Transunion's site. The problem was that in order to dispute it, I needed a Transunion credit report. That meant BUYING a Transunion credit report (though I already had one via Equifax's 3-in-1 product). I ended up having to dispute Experian's also, so again...I paid for an Experian one.

Had I just gone to each three and got the reports individually, I probably would've saved a lot of time and hassle as well as a bit of money. Most banks and finance companies use Transunion reports when considering auto loans, so make sure yout Transunion report is current and accurate. Check it every six months. You may be able to obtain a free report once a year in the very near future.......JMJ </font>[/QUOTE]Transunion was also very responsive and had the three questionable items off my report in no more than two weeks.

For some reason Transunion wasn't used for my home purchase last year but was for my refinance this year. Go figure.

[MC]

Originally posted by Magic Juan:
I was one of the very few who was very responsible with his credit card. Had one at age 16 and only had to pay a late fee ONCE. Now I get all these other banks trying to offer me their cards plus I have a CC limit in the 10's of thousands. Michael, you really should consider getting at least ONE credit card because when it comes time to make a major purchase (such as a house), it will count. No credit history is a problem. magic_juan Goodlooking out MJ, but man I already purchased my house back in August of 2001. I get offers all the time, but it's all junk mail to me.

[JMJ]

Originally posted by Michael J. Carmona:
</font><blockquote>quote:</font><hr />Originally posted by Magic Juan:
I was one of the very few who was very responsible with his credit card. Had one at age 16 and only had to pay a late fee ONCE. Now I get all these other banks trying to offer me their cards plus I have a CC limit in the 10's of thousands. Michael, you really should consider getting at least ONE credit card because when it comes time to make a major purchase (such as a house), it will count. No credit history is a problem. magic_juan Goodlooking out MJ, but man I already purchased my house back in August of 2001. I get offers all the time, but it's all junk mail to me. </font>[/QUOTE]Sift thru the offers and pick the best one. You may not think so, but you WILL need it for something important someday.....JMJ ;)

[blackwax]

the only time i had a credit card was in 98 on my 1st trip too nyc I cut the damb thing up when i got back and it has taken me years yes years to pay it off!!
I am not too hot with credit graemlins/spanka.gif

[Gojay]

Originally posted by DiscoLady:
no credit cards for me. Debit cards are the way to go. I am making a conscience effort to spend wisely and clean up my old messes. I believe if I were to ever get another card it would be an American Express card and that's it. Same here! Debit all the way. Need to clean up my outstandings though. Hope to do that with in the next two years.


peace
gojay

[imported_Gman]

Generally speaking (Except for things like a car,home or education) if you can't pay cash for it then you can't afford it. When you charge stuff up and don't pay it off at the end of the month then you are living beyond your means and its going to catch up with you. But you know what when you don't have all your money going to pay bills then its amazing how many things you can pay cash for.

-G

[imported_Gman]

Originally posted by Discogoddess:
Any tips to share with us scrubs who haven't made good decisions re: credit cards? Yes... coming up

[JMJ]

I usually only use my cards (I only carry two) for emergencies or vacations (try reserving a room in Las Vegas without one). Credit cards are a must for travelling abroad. Paying by credit in Europe or Japan can save you a ton of money because of the mostly unfavorable exchange rate......JMJ

[däp]

i only use my credit card when i need to pay off another one. is that ok? graemlins/conf44.gif

[JMJ]

Originally posted by t o r i n:
i only use my credit card when i need to pay off another one. is that ok? graemlins/conf44.gif Funny.....JMJ :D

[MyNia]

I got rid of all store credit cards a few years ago. I have an American Express and a Mastercard. I keep my bal under $300 and always pay more than min due.

[Erob the One]

Very important topic. Here is my suggestion. Write down all of your credit card bills and truly get a picture of what you owe. The next step is to establish your plan. Pay off the card with the highest intrest first by paying the minimum on the others so that you can send the maximum amount to the high interest one. Repeat until this is complete.

The most difficult part about being engaged was sitting down with my wife and talking over our debt. It is a very personal and sometimes embarassing ordeal. There is nothing romantic about it, but the dividens are starting to pay off. We paid off about $20k in debt including student loans within 2 years. We kept our expenses low and adjusted our lifestyles and behaviors to match our goals. We were not always on track so the lesson here is to revisit your goals and adjust accordingly.

With minimal adjustments we were still able to live a faboulous lifestyle with a couple of yearly vacations. The best thing to do is buy a house right now. Do what you can to clean up your credit and then use that buying power to spend wisely.

Hard work pays off, my wife and I were able to build our dream home right here in Chicago with instant equity and at the same time build a nice little nest egg while also maximizing our retirement accounts.

It is hard work, but sacrafice and planning and goal setting it what get the job done not only financially but life in general. Rely on your family to help you out too. You probably will ask you family for a loan for a car or trip or something, why not to help get your financial house in order.

Erob

[imported_Gman]

Something else to think about. Lets assume you have $5,000.00 laying around and you want to invest it. Where do you think you can invest the money and make an almost guaranteed 18%?, 14%? 10%? 6%? . It ain't easy to get those type of returns on "your" money let alone guaranteed. Yet we borrow money from the credit card companies and pay ridiculous rates on the money without even thinking about it. They make it so easy. Whip out the card and you can have it now. mad1.gif

[JoeB]

Originally posted by Erob the One:
Very important topic. Here is my suggestion. Write down all of your credit card bills and truly get a picture of what you owe. The next step is to establish your plan. Pay off the card with the highest intrest first by paying the minimum on the others so that you can send the maximum amount to the high interest one. Repeat until this is complete.

The most difficult part about being engaged was sitting down with my wife and talking over our debt. It is a very personal and sometimes embarassing ordeal. There is nothing romantic about it, but the dividens are starting to pay off. We paid off about $20k in debt including student loans within 2 years. We kept our expenses low and adjusted our lifestyles and behaviors to match our goals. We were not always on track so the lesson here is to revisit your goals and adjust accordingly.

With minimal adjustments we were still able to live a faboulous lifestyle with a couple of yearly vacations. The best thing to do is buy a house right now. Do what you can to clean up your credit and then use that buying power to spend wisely.

Hard work pays off, my wife and I were able to build our dream home right here in Chicago with instant equity and at the same time build a nice little nest egg while also maximizing our retirement accounts.

It is hard work, but sacrafice and planning and goal setting it what get the job done not only financially but life in general. Rely on your family to help you out too. You probably will ask you family for a loan for a car or trip or something, why not to help get your financial house in order.

Erob no matter how many times i've read the similar methods to lower debt, it never get tiring and old. thanks for sharing, erob.

[Erob the One]

No prob - we just have to stay diligent. Hell, if you can be passionate about music, food, art or anything else then surely your finances can get some prime time.

Erob

[DJ Timmy Richardson]

Originally posted by Gman:
Something else to think about. Lets assume you have $5,000.00 laying around and you want to invest it. Where do you think you can invest the money and make an almost guaranteed 18%?, 14%? 10%? 6%? . It ain't easy to get those type of returns on "your" money let alone guaranteed. Yet we borrow money from the credit card companies and pay ridiculous rates on the money without even thinking about it. They make it so easy. Whip out the card and you can have it now. mad1.gif How bout the Gov't borrowing your money every year interest-free and then giving you a refund. Try to use their money for a year and see how much you owe..

Some other cards worth having but only if you use them right are PC Richard, Sam Ash, or any card that allows you to pay off in a certain amount of time interest free. Right now Sam Ash is like 18 months no interest. But, they are banking on you not paying in time. Then they charge you the interest dating back to the time you borrowed the money.

[SMOOTH87]

I stay away from them AR15firing.gif ..... Learned my lesson :(

Thank God 4 Debit cards!! biggrinangel.gif

[(Im)poster]

Originally posted by DJ Timmy Richardson:

Some other cards worth having but only if you use them right are PC Richard, Sam Ash, or any card that allows you to pay off in a certain amount of time interest free. Right now Sam Ash is like 18 months no interest. But, they are banking on you not paying in time. Then they charge you the interest dating back to the time you borrowed the money. I love these deals and anything that allows me to beat creditors at their own game. It's fun like a sport to me. Here's a tip if you pay balances in full: Wait until the day after your statement closes to make a major purchase and then you can float it interest-free for 50-60 days (depending on your billing cycle). On the 90-days-same-as-cash type plans, you always have to read the fine print because some plans start charging interest from day one and others (rare these days) really don't start charging until the first day after the promotional period if the balance is unpaid. Watch out for those who will revoke the interest-free deal if you make even one payment late. If you are disciplined, these deals are a great way to hold onto your money a little longer.

Also, if you tend to pay your bills in full and on time and you slip up and pay a little late once (or twice) ALWAYS call and have the late fee/charges reversed. They will reverse charges for customers with a good payment history. Don't waste time with the customer service reps, ask for a supervisor who has the power to make such decisions.

[ July 17, 2003, 11:37 PM: Message edited by: (Im)poster ]

[Monny JcIntosh]

Originally posted by Gman:
Generally speaking (Except for things like a car,home or education) if you can't pay cash for it then you can't afford it. When you charge stuff up and don't pay it off at the end of the month then you are living beyond your means and its going to catch up with you. But you know what when you don't have all your money going to pay bills then its amazing how many things you can pay cash for.

-G That's how I live now. When I was at college I was terrible with credit. I lived for a while afterwards at my credit card and overdraft limits but decided a while back enough was enough. Now I'm looking at buying a flat with my girlfriend, and still be able to work part time and pay the fees on a graduate course. I still have 4.5K student loans outstanding but the interest on them is very low, and I'll wait until I have finished the MA before tackling them.

[C hristian]

i have no credit cards, only debit cards that act like credit cards. BUT, I have school loans that are in default.

[imported_Gman]

Originally posted by C hristian:
i have no credit cards, only debit cards that act like credit cards. BUT, I have school loans that are in default. I had student loans that were in default as well. Have you started to pay them back ? Don't make a big deal out of this. Start to pay them something, whatever you can afford but send them something. I imagine mister bill collector is calling as well. Take the initiative and call them and tell them you are interested in making this debt good. Tell them you can only pay this amount every month. Don't let them bully you.

-G

[MC]

Originally posted by Magic Juan:
I was one of the very few who was very responsible with his credit card. Had one at age 16 and only had to pay a late fee ONCE. magic_juan Juan,

You're a better man than I am. I couldn't manage those damn cards. I wish I could've been more disciplined with them, but oh well I learned from my mistakes.

[Wild i]

I've come to accept the fact that I'm no good with credit. Consequently, I am currently trying to eliminate my debt. I've got 2 store cards to go, which I would be able to just pay off (both under $500) were it not for my car note and insurance, both very high in NYC. They get paid off during the next cycle (after the insurance is paid).

My solution to staying on an even keel has always been to stay out of the stores. That works pretty well, but now there's internet shopping and that can really sneak up on you. For example: just yesterday I had to break my own fingers to keep from ordering sheet music on line. Then I priced a new laptop and sat it in my shopping cart. I have 30 days to decide on that. So within an hour I came within a hair's breath of spending over a grand without leaving my seat.

So here's my two cents: BE VERY VIGILENT ABOUT SHOPPING ON LINE. If you make a pact with yourself only to buy what you must GO TO THE STORE to buy (with the exception of substantial savings buying on line), you'll find yourself buying a lot less. For example, I only know of 3 really decent spots for sheet music and they usually don't have a clearance bin on-line. Having to get up a get it also gives you time to consider whether or not you really need it.

One of the biggest problems me and my sigo have is her determination to remain insolvent. A few years ago she cleaned up all her credit, no mean feat since she'd defaulted on her mortgage. Now she's almost back to square one and the whole time I kept telling her to stop buying things she didn't need. Got a closet full of clothes with the tags sill on them for over a year.

Don't get me started....

[Wild i]

I've come to accept the fact that I'm no good with credit. Consequently, I am currently trying to eliminate my debt. I've got 2 store cards to go, which I would be able to just pay off (both under $500) were it not for my car note and insurance, both very high in NYC. They get paid off during the next cycle (after the insurance is paid).

My solution to staying on an even keel has always been to stay out of the stores. That works pretty well, but now there's internet shopping and that can really sneak up on you. For example: just yesterday I had to break my own fingers to keep from ordering sheet music on line. Then I priced a new laptop and sat it in my shopping cart. I have 30 days to decide on that. So within an hour I came within a hair's breath of spending over a grand without leaving my seat.

So here's my two cents: BE VERY VIGILENT ABOUT SHOPPING ON LINE. If you make a pact with yourself only to buy what you must GO TO THE STORE to buy (with the exception of substantial savings buying on line), you'll find yourself buying a lot less. For example, I only know of 3 really decent spots for sheet music and they usually don't have a clearance bin on-line. Having to get up a get it also gives you time to consider whether or not you really need it.

One of the biggest problems me and my sigo have is her determination to remain insolvent. A few years ago she cleaned up all her credit, no mean feat since she'd defaulted on her mortgage. Now she's almost back to square one and the whole time I kept telling her to stop buying things she didn't need. Got a closet full of clothes with the tags sill on them for over a year.

Don't get me started....

[mhd]

funny credit story, yesterday i negotiated the payoff of someone's credit card, they owed 400 last august, last week they said the balance was over 1,000 (no additional charges, just interest) they then offered to settle it for 750, i asked for a detail of the charges, they then offered to settle it for 650, i told the guy we would be willing to pay 500, he said this was not lets make a deal i said everything is negotiable and he hung up on me. they called back the next day to say they would take the 500.

[mhd]

Originally posted by darrow:
</font><blockquote>quote:</font><hr />Originally posted by JMJ:
</font><blockquote>quote:</font><hr />Originally posted by darrow:
Another word of advice regarding credit reports/fico scores.

If you go to a site like Equifax's for instance (www.equifax.com), you'll see you can purchase a 3-in-1 credit score. Through Equifax's site, you can get a comprehensive credit report that includes data from Equifax, Experian, and Transunion in one package as well as your FICO score from Equifax (the other agencies also have FICO-like scores but they are not called FICO).

My suggestion...don't do the 3-in-1 deals.

I did a 3-in-1 from Equifax. The Equifax report was cool. The Transunion one was all F'd up and had some other guy's stuff (same name, different ss#) on my report. Typically if you see a problem on a report, you can dispute it through the reporting agency. Not so in this case. I couldn't dispute the Transunion stuff through Equifax's online site. I had to dispute it through Transunion's site. The problem was that in order to dispute it, I needed a Transunion credit report. That meant BUYING a Transunion credit report (though I already had one via Equifax's 3-in-1 product). I ended up having to dispute Experian's also, so again...I paid for an Experian one.

Had I just gone to each three and got the reports individually, I probably would've saved a lot of time and hassle as well as a bit of money. Most banks and finance companies use Transunion reports when considering auto loans, so make sure yout Transunion report is current and accurate. Check it every six months. You may be able to obtain a free report once a year in the very near future.......JMJ </font>[/QUOTE]Transunion was also very responsive and had the three questionable items off my report in no more than two weeks.

For some reason Transunion wasn't used for my home purchase last year but was for my refinance this year. Go figure. </font>[/QUOTE]this is a constant problem, tell us what steps you took to remove the wrong data, i'm guessing providing the proper ssan cleared up the identity problem, were there any other problems that they corrected?

[mhd]

Originally posted by blackwax:
the only time i had a credit card was in 98 on my 1st trip too nyc I cut the damb thing up when i got back and it has taken me years yes years to pay it off!!
I am not too hot with credit graemlins/spanka.gif man, what did you buy? the brooklyn bridge?

[mhd]

Originally posted by Gman:
Something else to think about. Lets assume you have $5,000.00 laying around and you want to invest it. Where do you think you can invest the money and make an almost guaranteed 18%?, 14%? 10%? 6%? . It ain't easy to get those type of returns on "your" money let alone guaranteed. Yet we borrow money from the credit card companies and pay ridiculous rates on the money without even thinking about it. They make it so easy. Whip out the card and you can have it now. mad1.gif here is one way to get 18% return, bid your 5k on a tax sale property with a tax lien of 5000. if you don't get the property because the owner has redeemed you will get your 5k back at the rate of 18% a year later.

[Wild i]

Originally posted by mhd:
this is a constant problem, tell us what steps you took to remove the wrong data, i'm guessing providing the proper ssan cleared up the identity problem, were there any other problems that they corrected? My credit report lists Julie as my spouse and me as hers. Go figure...

[darrow]

Originally posted by mhd:
</font><blockquote>quote:</font><hr />Originally posted by darrow:
</font><blockquote>quote:</font><hr />Originally posted by JMJ:
</font><blockquote>quote:</font><hr />Originally posted by darrow:
Another word of advice regarding credit reports/fico scores.

If you go to a site like Equifax's for instance (www.equifax.com), you'll see you can purchase a 3-in-1 credit score. Through Equifax's site, you can get a comprehensive credit report that includes data from Equifax, Experian, and Transunion in one package as well as your FICO score from Equifax (the other agencies also have FICO-like scores but they are not called FICO).

My suggestion...don't do the 3-in-1 deals.

I did a 3-in-1 from Equifax. The Equifax report was cool. The Transunion one was all F'd up and had some other guy's stuff (same name, different ss#) on my report. Typically if you see a problem on a report, you can dispute it through the reporting agency. Not so in this case. I couldn't dispute the Transunion stuff through Equifax's online site. I had to dispute it through Transunion's site. The problem was that in order to dispute it, I needed a Transunion credit report. That meant BUYING a Transunion credit report (though I already had one via Equifax's 3-in-1 product). I ended up having to dispute Experian's also, so again...I paid for an Experian one.

Had I just gone to each three and got the reports individually, I probably would've saved a lot of time and hassle as well as a bit of money. Most banks and finance companies use Transunion reports when considering auto loans, so make sure yout Transunion report is current and accurate. Check it every six months. You may be able to obtain a free report once a year in the very near future.......JMJ </font>[/QUOTE]Transunion was also very responsive and had the three questionable items off my report in no more than two weeks.

For some reason Transunion wasn't used for my home purchase last year but was for my refinance this year. Go figure. </font>[/QUOTE]this is a constant problem, tell us what steps you took to remove the wrong data, i'm guessing providing the proper ssan cleared up the identity problem, were there any other problems that they corrected? </font>[/QUOTE]If you purchase your credit report online at one of the credit reporting agencies, you can view the report online and also dispute any items online. Disputing is fairly easy, at least in my experience with Experian and Transunion. Both have online web forms that will request things like the credit report number (your credit report has a unique identifying number) as well as other personal info (like the SSN). In the form you also identify what items you are disputing.

For instance, my previous address was wrong on my Transunion. It had me (well..my name) living somewhere I had never lived. There were also 2 civil judgments that were not mine. Also, the report showed that I had a 50K loan through a mortgage company I had never heard of. I indicated in the dispute form that these things were wrong and then basically waited. The agency must verify the disputed items and in my case, it was pretty clear that the items were all wrong. If they can't verify that the items belong to you, they have to be removed.

One thing I did do on my own though just so I was somewhat as informed as the reporting agency was do my own investigation. On your credit report, the contact information on all the companies that are indicated as creditors is listed. The account number (or in my case, court case number) associated with whatever credit item you have (or at least are reported to have) is listed also. I contacted each of the creditors and did my own little investigation, simply by giving them my name and the reported account number/case number. It was pretty clear through my investigation that someone with the same name was appearing somehow on my credit report, though his SSN was entirely different. I wanted to make sure I knew all that while my stuff was being disputed. If Transunion and Experian were going to be difficult, I'd have my ammo ready.

[darrow]

Originally posted by mhd:
</font><blockquote>quote:</font><hr />Originally posted by Gman:
Something else to think about. Lets assume you have $5,000.00 laying around and you want to invest it. Where do you think you can invest the money and make an almost guaranteed 18%?, 14%? 10%? 6%? . It ain't easy to get those type of returns on "your" money let alone guaranteed. Yet we borrow money from the credit card companies and pay ridiculous rates on the money without even thinking about it. They make it so easy. Whip out the card and you can have it now. mad1.gif here is one way to get 18% return, bid your 5k on a tax sale property with a tax lien of 5000. if you don't get the property because the owner has redeemed you will get your 5k back at the rate of 18% a year later. </font>[/QUOTE]this is interesting. I had never heard of this stuff. I ended up doing a google search and came up with a somewhat informative site about this sort of tax lien sale. (http://www.taxliens.org/index.htm)

I'll have to read up on it.

[julian_kelly]

tax leins are guranteed money and a good investment...i know a few people who have done them


Originally posted by darrow:
</font><blockquote>quote:</font><hr />Originally posted by mhd:
</font><blockquote>quote:</font><hr />Originally posted by Gman:
Something else to think about. Lets assume you have $5,000.00 laying around and you want to invest it. Where do you think you can invest the money and make an almost guaranteed 18%?, 14%? 10%? 6%? . It ain't easy to get those type of returns on "your" money let alone guaranteed. Yet we borrow money from the credit card companies and pay ridiculous rates on the money without even thinking about it. They make it so easy. Whip out the card and you can have it now. mad1.gif here is one way to get 18% return, bid your 5k on a tax sale property with a tax lien of 5000. if you don't get the property because the owner has redeemed you will get your 5k back at the rate of 18% a year later. </font>[/QUOTE]this is interesting. I had never heard of this stuff. I ended up doing a google search and came up with a somewhat informative site about this sort of tax lien sale. (http://www.taxliens.org/index.htm)

I'll have to read up on it. </font>[/QUOTE]

[imported_Gman]

Originally posted by mhd:
</font><blockquote>quote:</font><hr />Originally posted by Gman:
Something else to think about. Lets assume you have $5,000.00 laying around and you want to invest it. Where do you think you can invest the money and make an almost guaranteed 18%?, 14%? 10%? 6%? . It ain't easy to get those type of returns on "your" money let alone guaranteed. Yet we borrow money from the credit card companies and pay ridiculous rates on the money without even thinking about it. They make it so easy. Whip out the card and you can have it now. mad1.gif here is one way to get 18% return, bid your 5k on a tax sale property with a tax lien of 5000. if you don't get the property because the owner has redeemed you will get your 5k back at the rate of 18% a year later. </font>[/QUOTE]http://deephousepage.com/smilies/scratchchin.gif

[formerly known as kenspank]

my wife and i don't even live extravagantly, but our cost of living is high compare to our income.
we made some improvements on some real estate with a credit card several years ago and because we didn't receive the pay off we though we would, we're still paying on that. also, my mom was unemployed for 24 months. she used a credit card to finance her living expenses. she's now employed and owns a house, but has had problems paying both her mortgage and the back credit card debt with the income she has now. that credit card was a joint account between her and i. unfortunately neither one of can pay on it.

the total debt is about $25k. pieces of which have different interest rates.

i live in a country that spends billions of dollars a day on war and i can't pay down a measley $25k.

there's people out there who rack up $80,000 or more in store credit card debt and other forms of credit card debt. in their households they will have like 4 kids and only one source of income.

i feel like there's a million and one ways to spend cash, but most people only know a hand full of ways to generate cash. most people work for income, but long hours of work debiltates your health and keeps you away from your family.

are there more sophisticated ways of generating cash excluding getting a paycheck from an employer?

[JMJ]

Originally posted by kenspank:
my wife and i don't even live extravagantly, but our cost of living is high compare to our income.
we made some improvements on some real estate with a credit card several years ago and because we didn't receive the pay off we though we would, we're still paying on that. also, my mom was unemployed for 24 months. she used a credit card to finance her living expenses. she's now employed and owns a house, but has had problems paying both her mortgage and the back credit card debt with the income she has now. that credit card was a joint account between her and i. unfortunately neither one of can pay on it.

the total debt is about $25k. pieces of which have different interest rates.

i live in a country that spends billions of dollars a day on war and i can't pay down a measley $25k.

there's people out there who rack up $80,000 or more in store credit card debt and other forms of credit card debt. in their households they will have like 4 kids and only one source of income.

i feel like there's a million and one ways to spend cash, but most people only know a hand full of ways to generate cash. most people work for income, but long hours of work debiltates your health and keeps you away from your family.

are there more sophisticated ways of generating cash excluding getting a paycheck from an employer? Legally??......JMJ

[imported_Gman]

Originally posted by kenspank:
my wife and i don't even live extravagantly, but our cost of living is high compare to our income.
we made some improvements on some real estate with a credit card several years ago and because we didn't receive the pay off we though we would, we're still paying on that. also, my mom was unemployed for 24 months. she used a credit card to finance her living expenses. she's now employed and owns a house, but has had problems paying both her mortgage and the back credit card debt with the income she has now. that credit card was a joint account between her and i. unfortunately neither one of can pay on it.

the total debt is about $25k. pieces of which have different interest rates.

i live in a country that spends billions of dollars a day on war and i can't pay down a measley $25k.

there's people out there who rack up $80,000 or more in store credit card debt and other forms of credit card debt. in their households they will have like 4 kids and only one source of income.

i feel like there's a million and one ways to spend cash, but most people only know a hand full of ways to generate cash. most people work for income, but long hours of work debiltates your health and keeps you away from your family.

are there more sophisticated ways of generating cash excluding getting a paycheck from an employer? Hey Ken, just a thought has your mother thought about refinancing her existing mortage down to a lower rate and incorporating the $25,000 credit card debt into the mortage assuming she has enough equity. ?

[ July 18, 2003, 01:52 PM: Message edited by: Gman ]

[kristibeauty]

It's really nice to have credit cards, but we must be sure to pay our debts. But nowadays, there are problems caused by credit cards, some of the credit card users were sacrificing from the debts which they didn't spend. This is because of identity theft, it is done when an impostor obtain pieces of personal identifying informations like your name, credit card number, Social Security number without your permission.

How do this thieves steal your identity? (http://lifelockblog.com)