Comments on: PF Bloggers: Attitudes About Debt And Credit Cards

By: 63 Fantastic Personal Finance Posts : SCN - Personal Finance

63 Fantastic Personal Finance Posts : SCN - Personal Finance — Sun, 09 Dec 2007 18:10:00 +0000

[...] PF Bloggers: Attitudes About Debt And Credit Cards – No Credit Needed [...]

By: lastAutumn

lastAutumn — Fri, 02 Nov 2007 10:15:54 +0000

Great! I would like to answer a questionnaire like this…Can you provide it for the readers?))

By: mhesidence

mhesidence — Thu, 08 Mar 2007 05:51:49 +0000

“Credit card companies DO NOT give you these cards for free”

Yes, they do. In fact they’ll give you $100 to take a card. For example, google “sony credit card” not only do they give you $100 they give you 0% apr for 1 year.

Now this part will blow your mind. I took the balance transfer check that came with the new card and wrote a check to myself for $25,000 and put in an FDIC insured savings accout earning 6%. In 11 months, I’ll pay back all the money, but I’ll keep the interest earned of course, around $1000. No I can’t make a living off it, but its easy money.

“Even if you pay your balance in full at the end of the month, there is still an annual fee they charge you.”

There are many many cards that do not charge an annual fee.

“Otherwise, these companies would go out of business.”

Clearly they are not going out of business. Just as clearly you cannot handle credit cards, but don’t post false information.

By: cindee

cindee — Fri, 02 Mar 2007 16:16:10 +0000

I would like to address several points everyone on this thread has brought up. Some clarifications are in order.
Using credit cards to make daily purchases and paying said charges at the end of the month, in full, is still a 28-30 day loan.
Credit card companies DO NOT give you these cards for free. Even if you pay your balance in full at the end of the month, there is still an annual fee they charge you. Otherwise, these companies would go out of business.
Consoling yourself and justifying to yourself that your usage of credit cards enables you to earn points/rewards is ‘fooling yourself’ into thinking credit card usage is a good thing. That’s what the credit card companies are counting on. They have done extensive research and marketing to trap their users into this false sense of security. LOL!
Credit cards are addictive. That’s what the companies are counting on. They know if you carry a credit card in your wallet, one day you are going to use it. They know that over time, you are going to mess up, miss a payment, lose a job, get sick, yada, yada, yada. Just like an alcoholic who carries a bottle of boubon in his pocket, your going to take a drink.
To “Living Almost Large’ (notice, she says ‘almost’.) whose parents own 2 homes, 3 cars, will retire at 55 w/$4K a month and 1 mill in the bank, are we to believe that your parents accomplished all of this by using credit cards? Or perhaps, did they, have they earned enough money during their lives to accomplish all of that? I would bet the farm that it’s the latter.
In my opinion, and from my 50+ years of experience, I have found credit card (any any kind of debt for that matter) to be detrimental to my financial well being.
You will achieve greater goals in life by turning in your credit cards and exchanging them for Check Visa/Mastercards, sign up for their rewards program and start living within your means. It is a painful process, takes about 3 to 5 years to accomplish, but it will awaken you to a new discovery: true financial freedom.
End of story.

By: plonkee

plonkee — Tue, 27 Feb 2007 12:17:58 +0000

Its interesting how everyone else uses credit. I’m probably in group 2. I use a credit card but pay off in full.

Also, just as not everyone who drinks alcohol is an alcoholic, so not everyone who uses credit is a spendaholic. In fact, if I gave up alcohol for a month, I’d probably notice that I had a very boring time in the pub with drunk friends. If I gave up credit cards, I wouldn’t notice any difference as I treat my credit card like a debit card. Just my 0.02.