ARGH!!! Credit card companies STINK!!! What are you going to do?

[Parrothead]

Canceling drops your credit score quite a bit for a while. I'd pay it off and let it ride for the history.

[JFSinIL]

Since we never carry a balance it would not matter to us. I put about 2 - 3 thousand a month on our cc, but that is gas, groceries, dd's martial arts lesson,s electric bill, another dd's braces, etc. ...in short - EVERYTHING that can be charged. Then we pay it off in full each month. Why? To get the credits with Amazon (it is a Chase card through Amazon). I am getting $100 gift certificates this month alone from using the credit card. As long as a cc is paid in full each month and you can get miles or other goodies, why not have one.

[coffeefreak]

Since we never carry a balance it would not matter to us. I put about 2 - 3 thousand a month on our cc, but that is gas, groceries, dd's martial arts lesson,s electric bill, another dd's braces, etc. ...in short - EVERYTHING that can be charged. Then we pay it off in full each month. Why? To get the credits with Amazon (it is a Chase card through Amazon). I am getting $100 gift certificates this month alone from using the credit card. As long as a cc is paid in full each month and you can get miles or other goodies, why not have one.

 

I think the problem with most people (including me) is, they won't pay it off. It's too easy to let it ride if you "need" to. Kind of like an addiction. But, if you can make it work for you, why not?

[dirty ethel rackham]

Other: We'll do nothing different. We'll keep the credit cards and continue to NOT carry balances. We haven't carried a balance in 17 years and don't plan to now. If we can't afford it, we don't buy it. Period. (Okay, except for the house - we would be shelling out double our mortgage payment in montly rent payments if we didn't have a mortgage.)

[MeanestMomInMidwest]

This really won't affect me as I pay my credit card in full each month.

[Puma Mom]

Same here. No balance ever--except the 2-3 times over the last 25 years when I've lost the bill under a pile of papers.;)

[Susie in CA]

I will NEVER use a credit card again!!!! EVER.

 

We have not used any for over 4 years. And guess what! We are perfectly fine! You do not need a credit card. They just want us to think we need them. But. We. Don't.

 

Susie

[Danestress]

I don't carry cash because I am so forgetful and I leave stuff lying around all the time. I only carry as much cash as I could stand to lose, because there is a good chance I will lose it.

 

I carry a credit card and put everything on it. I pay it off at the end of the month. I can see a monthly tally of pretty much every penny I spent, apart from maybe a soda or something small.

 

I know we don't technically need credit cards, but they serve a very useful function for people who aren't inclined to buy what they don't need, and who are inclined to pay the balance in fully every month.

[Melissa in Australia]

chop up the credit cards. if you can't afford to buy something without credit than maybe you need to rethink your life.

[Audrey]

I don't have a clue what the rates are on our two Visas (one for business, one personal). We use them for sake of convenience, charging everything and paying them off in full each month. This allows us to receive frequent flyer points & cash backs, too. So if it's at all possible, I recommend only using credit cards when you won't have to carry a balance. And definitely don't let anyone bully you into staying with a particular company. Good luck!

 

 

Same here (but just the one card). I was told by the bank lady (I don't know her title, she's just the 'bank lady') that not carrying a balance and not having a lot of credit can negatively affect your credit rating.

 

Frankly, I don't care if it does or doesn't. I'm not playing that game.

Edited December 19, 2008 by Audrey

[Sharon in SC]

II know we don't technically need credit cards, but they serve a very useful function for people who aren't inclined to buy what they don't need, and who are inclined to pay the balance in fully every month.

 

Yes.

[jail warden]

We no longer have credit cards here either. But I voted close it, becasuse that would really tick me off that they would up my rate. I don't care if you pay it off every month or not, they are trying to be big bullies!

[phathui5]

I'd cancel it. If you've been making payments on time, etc and they raise your rate, they're not a company to do business with.

[Lolly]

We will do nothing. We pay the balance every month.

[stripe]

We also have only one card that we don't carry a balance on.

 

Dh says that credit card companies don't like that, and they have a name for people like us (something along the line of "leeches" or "parasites" or that ilk.)

 

They're still making money, though -- companies have to pay them every time you use the card (3% or whatever). I'd imagine customers who pay off their balances are better than those who never pay the bills and then declare bankruptcy or otherwise work out a deal with them that involves large amounts of debt forgiveness.

 

My husband just got a letter in the mail that because he hadn't used a card in the past 2 years, they were canceling it. I thought that was weird, but I think it is a card he never asked for anyway, it just...arrived one day, which may have been even weirder.

[Jean in La]

I say everyone cut up their cards and let us all take a stand.

 

I am a huge Dave Ramsey fan. :001_smile:

 

Great comment! We love Dave Ramsey here too. I'm so glad we got out from under those stinkin' credit cards last year!!!:001_smile:

[Sharon in SC]

They're still making money, though -- companies have to pay them every time you use the card (3% or whatever).

 

Yep.

[Suzanne in ABQ]

Yes, a large part of your credit score is based on the ratio between your available credit and your debt. If you have two credit cards with a $10K limit on each, and you owe $2000 on them (combined), then your credit to debt ratio is very high (10/1). That looks good, and raises your credit score. If you cancel one of the cards, you have cut your ratio in half because you still owe $2000, but your available credit is only $10K. Your ratio is only 5/1, and your credit score is lowered. It looks better to potential lenders (or landlords) for you to have a lot of available credit that you're not using.

[coffeefreak]

Same here (but just the one card). I was told by the bank lady (I don't know her title, she's just the 'bank lady') that not carrying a balance and not having a lot of credit can negatively affect your credit rating.

 

Frankly, I don't care if it does or doesn't. I'm not playing that game.

 

I agree Audrey, it's all a game. And really, why should we play? It's the banks making the rules.

 

You know what I think is funny? Everyone that's responded except for me and one other has no CC Debt! That means either the majority of the people on the board are fiscally responsible or everyone with debt is afraid to post.

 

Well, here's to being debt free in 2009!

[clarkacademy]

I have no credit cards either!!!

[Trivium Academy]

So, we canceled our card. Now, they have to leave it at the current interest rate until we pay off the balance.

 

Good to know! I canceled my card before Thanksgiving due to being tight financially each month and being unable to get dh on a budget- he kept saying, "we can use the credit card..." so since it was only in my name, I canceled it. I didn't realize they can't touch the interest rate, that is wonderful to know, thank you for sharing that. (I have to double check now)

 

I think there are a lot of changes on the horizon that will be 'for the good of economy' that personally we will not like, but that's what every one wanted- isn't it?

 

Good for you for canceling your card instead of paying the economy 'fee'!

[Chris in VA]

I wish I'd never gotten a credit card. I am in serious debt, and it is unbelievable, the amt of stress it causes.

 

Good for you all, not using cc's or using them responsibly.

[LisaKinVA]

I agree Audrey, it's all a game. And really, why should we play? It's the banks making the rules.

 

You know what I think is funny? Everyone that's responded except for me and one other has no CC Debt! That means either the majority of the people on the board are fiscally responsible or everyone with debt is afraid to post.

 

Well, here's to being debt free in 2009!

 

We aren't completely out of credit card debt! -- that is scheduled to happen in 2009. We've been paying everything down for 2 years, and inherited some store-closing debt in August. We've been paying cash for 2 years -- and 2009 is our debt free year (whoo-hoo!)

[Kari C in SC]

I don't have a clue what the rates are on our two Visas (one for business, one personal). We use them for sake of convenience, charging everything and paying them off in full each month. This allows us to receive frequent flyer points & cash backs, too. So if it's at all possible, I recommend only using credit cards when you won't have to carry a balance. And definitely don't let anyone bully you into staying with a particular company. Good luck!

:iagree:

 

I don't know what my Visa rate is either. We do have a 0% off that ends this summer, but we will have it paid for before that is up.

[lauriep]

so I don't even know what the interest rate on our card is.

[Kari C in SC]

Since we never carry a balance it would not matter to us. I put about 2 - 3 thousand a month on our cc, but that is gas, groceries, dd's martial arts lesson,s electric bill, another dd's braces, etc. ...in short - EVERYTHING that can be charged. Then we pay it off in full each month. Why? To get the credits with Amazon (it is a Chase card through Amazon). I am getting $100 gift certificates this month alone from using the credit card. As long as a cc is paid in full each month and you can get miles or other goodies, why not have one.

 

This is what we do only we have a Choice Hotel Visa. Boy it came in handy this year when we had an unexpected trip to Oklahoma to see our oldest graduate from Basic Training. We were able to stay in a hotel for 7 nights and not pay a dime because we had so many credit card points. It saved us about $1000. If we hadn't had that to fall back on, I don't know if we could have made the trip.

[Murphy101]

I say everyone cut up their cards and let us all take a stand.

 

 

:iagree: And as for that support/stimulate the economy cr*p..

 

well since my dh will be using his severance package that is comming in January to pay off as much of our debt as possible, they can either kiss my backside or give him a decent job if they really give a flip about the people in this ecomony!:glare:

 

The ecomony doesn't need debt - it need income from decent jobs!

[Jennifer3141]

I pay my CCs off every month so I don't really care what they do to interest rates personally. I do worry about other who are going to get caught in interest payment traps though.

 

Jen

[Dayle in Guatemala]

I know this sounds a little strange, but, we don't have any credit cards. We've never had credit cards. We've just not needed them.

[Night Elf]

Me too! The CSR told me I would have trouble getting credit after this, and I said, "Well, when you pay in cash, no one looks at your credit, do they?" She had to agree.

 

I don't know why. I've cancelled various cards over the past 20 years and have had no problem getting new credit cards. I've also changed banks a few times.

[Sharon H in IL]

No credit cards here, debit only.

 

They were a useful crutch for us though when DH's job was tanking. We lived off our credit until he got a new job. Our debt load was staggering, but at least we stayed afloat till his new position started paying the bills.

[MrsMe]

Always screw the people that can pay, right?

 

We don't use them. I use one for the internet for safety only, so they don't have access to my bank account, but I pay it off every month. I take the money out of my checking account just as if I've paid cash for the item, so the money is always there to pay it off. So the rate is non-existent for me.

 

Don't use them. They're nothing but a hassle.

 

Thanks Dave Ramsey.:tongue_smilie:

[hsmom]

My solution to the problem (well for me) is I never plan on getting a credit card. If I cannot save for it, buy it out right, then I don't need it.

[cillakat]

So, what will you do when your credit card company ups your rate?

 

I definitely won't cancel any cards as credit score is based significantly on 'age' of accounts (and utilization ratios and usage habits etc).

 

1)dont' carry balance

2)there will always be another card who will do it for less

3)I find that generally, when I've called to ask someone to lower rates, it's been done.

 

 

But really, the bottom line? Do the Dave Ramsey thing and don't use them, or at least don't carry a balance.

 

I am so sorry for your frustration though. It sucks when someone doing the right thing (ie *you*....paying bills on time etc) gets screwed b/c of those who don't.

k

[jamnkats]

I'm an other - I don't keep a balance so I don't really care what they charge for interest rate. When we did keep a balance, though, I would constantly keep it at 0% interest by transferring to those cards that offered a 0% interest rate.

[jamnkats]

I know this sounds a little strange, but, we don't have any credit cards. We've never had credit cards. We've just not needed them.

 

This is not us, but our situation. We don't use credit cards unless we're in the US - and then only for the points. Here where we live we pay for everything with cash. We've lived this way for 4 years and it is 2nd nature now. If we can't pay cash, we don't buy. And we also scrutinize our purchases - is it really a need or just a want. And even if it is a need, how bad is the need. For example, we have 2 refrigerators. Both were free. One is 1/2 way working - really only the freezer - and the other freezer frosts up incredibly in just a week. The fridge part is small but functions. I still don't see a need to get a new fridge - even though we certainly could use one.

[Joanne]

I'll offer another perspective. Know that I believe in and follow *much* of what DR recommends. I do want to point out, however, that it's not always about *buying* something aa in "if we don't have cash, we don't buy.". Try paying meds for a specific illness when you don't have insurance. Or an unsolicited custody battle. I've often wondered what THE GURU would say about that. But then, I've identified one of his weak points is single moms and related to divorce issues.

[coffeefreak]

I'll offer another perspective. Know that I believe in and follow *much* of what DR recommends. I do want to point out, however, that it's not always about *buying* something aa in "if we don't have cash, we don't buy.". Try paying meds for a specific illness when you don't have insurance. Or an unsolicited custody battle. I've often wondered what THE GURU would say about that. But then, I've identified one of his weak points is single moms and related to divorce issues.

 

I see what you're saying here. A friend of mine has teeth rotting out of her head because she doesn't have the money to pay for them, and she refuses to do anything on credit. She's now having other health issues because she won't look into payment plans to get them fixed. In that case, I would totally use the CC! And, as other people have pointed out, sometimes having a CC is just unavoidable. I have another friend who owns her own business. They have to have a credit card. They try to pay it off each month, but, sometimes they don't have as much cash flow and they have to carry the balance for a month or two until people pay them. I think that we'll probably get another CC eventually, but we need to pay this one off first. DH thinks maybe we'll just build up our "emergency fund" to the point where we won't need them. We'll just have to see.

[coffeefreak]

I would not be without a credit card. We use it for everything and we pay it off each month. But the reason we have one is for the immediate purchase of urgent healthcare or other necessities--things where going to the bank to get a cashier's check is not an option. That being said, I would never, ever carry a balance. It is *totally* for convenience.

 

Without going into the long, and sad, story, my dh had to use his credit card yesterday for an unforeseen purchase. The fact that he didn't have to drive 45 miles to the nearest bank to get a cashier's check was an enormous blessing to him.

 

And just for the record, you think this is bad? Credit cards with 14% interest were like GOLD in the early 80s, with interest rates *typically* in the 18-21% range.

 

I can see where in this case having one might be a necessity. We don't have that problem. We can withdraw cash within 5 min, and the hospitals bill us because we have health insurance. We also have savings, and that REALLY is the key if you're not going to have a CC. I think the key here is learning to use them responsibly, whether you're just using it for convenience, or emergency. We've done both and learned the hard way that they are only for emergency.

 

The other point you made is also right, the interest rate is better than most, but that's not what matters to us. I know a lot of people will think we cut our noses off to spite our faces, but it was the principal of the matter. I also think that if/when we decide to get a new CC, the interest rate won't matter as much because we'll pay it off every month. Everyone who's posted and said the rate doesn't matter because they pay it off each month has really encouraged me! It proves it CAN be done :)

[LisaKinVA]

I'll offer another perspective. Know that I believe in and follow *much* of what DR recommends. I do want to point out, however, that it's not always about *buying* something aa in "if we don't have cash, we don't buy.". Try paying meds for a specific illness when you don't have insurance. Or an unsolicited custody battle. I've often wondered what THE GURU would say about that. But then, I've identified one of his weak points is single moms and related to divorce issues.

 

My dh and I were just discussing this at 4am this morning (he just woke up and couldn't go back to sleep, I was having a sick attack again...)

 

There is a point, in which you don't qualify for assistance from the state because you make "too much money" -- but you can't really save anything either. When your child needs meds, or treatment in the ER, you don't say "we can't pay for these -- so we'll let our child die" -- you pull out the credit card.

 

Or, you hit a road-hazzard and blow not only a tire, but need to replace the actual wheel. It's the only transportation, and is needed to get to and from the only sources of income... there is NO public transportation, and bicycles aren't an option either. You have to repair the car... period. credit card.

 

We're well past that point now -- but for about 2-2.5 years, that is how we paid for those emergencies.

 

I don't think anyone's advice can be taken as strictly "black and white." Whether that be the Pearl's, Bill Gothard, or Dave Ramsey.

[umarider]

You know what I think is funny? Everyone that's responded except for me and one other has no CC Debt! That means either the majority of the people on the board are fiscally responsible or everyone with debt is afraid to post.

 

Well, here's to being debt free in 2009!

 

Okay, I gotta admit that while we try to pay off the balance every month, I haven't been as good as I'd like the past 3 months. Our interest rate has also increased and I'm in a quandry... I like using the card and getting the cash back, but if I can't get my act together and pay on time, then the interest more than cancels-out any cash back. It's not that I'm really buying stuff I can't afford, I just find myself being postponing making the payment. So there is a part of me that recognizes my current lack of discipline and resents the bank hiking my rate. That side of me says "get out the scissors!' The other part of me wants to give myself another shot at making the payments on time and getting the. cash back.:confused:

[mcconnellboys]

My husband has a card that's at about 14% and he got a notice that it's going up to 20%.

It's being cancelled....

[coffeefreak]

My husband has a card that's at about 14% and he got a notice that it's going up to 20%.

It's being cancelled....

 

:grouphug:

That sucks.

[Peek a Boo]

Another leeching other here :)

 

no balance, love the convenience [i lose cash too], love the credits & rewards.

 

But I'm interested in going and canceling just to be ornery, lol! Maybe dh will let us cancel one of the extra ones he uses for traveling......

[riada]

No credit cards here either. It's a great feeling when reading other posts that we don't have to be concerned about increasing rates. I do feel for those dealing with this though. We tried credit cards years ago and found them much too irritating for what they are worth. You couldn't give us enough miles, perks, etc. to have a credit card.

[Night Elf]

You know what I think is funny? Everyone that's responded except for me and one other has no CC Debt! That means either the majority of the people on the board are fiscally responsible or everyone with debt is afraid to post.

 

Well, here's to being debt free in 2009!

 

We're in debt! We don't pay off our balance every month. I've had credit debt all my adult life. We've paid off our Visa a few times and were very excited about it. We paid off our 2 cars and were very excited about it. We managed to go 18 months without a car payment until this month. Our 1997 Accord got totaled by an accident in a driveway! The insurance company decided it wasn't worth fixing and the good news is that we got top dollar for it considering it was an old vehicle. We thought about buying a car with the cash we had but after much thought, decided on a 2007 model that we had to finance. So while we just got our Visa under $1000 and 2 months away from paying off yet again, we now have a car payment for the next 3 years.

 

I absolutely love hearing about people who live debt free. I find it absolutely amazing. I love Dave Ramsey's ideas; in fact, one of his books is on my night stand right now. But my DH and I really like being able to live freely and do things now rather than "live like no one else later" when we're too old or too disinterested to do fun things. We feel we are very smart with our choices. We have investments including a rather large 401K. Part of our investments pays off twice each year and we use those payments to catch up on credit cards and loans. Yeah, we're spending more than we would if we didn't use credit but we're okay with that. :)

[Laura Corin]

We're in debt!

 

Moving country involves massive set-up costs, including owning cars for the first time. My car was put onto the credit card (we got a special deal with zero interest for a year) and DH's car is on a payment plan.

 

We use debit cards for normal purchases, just using our (one) credit card for internet buying. Oh, and then there's the mortgage..... I'm going to look around for a second credit card that we can use instead of the debit card, then pay off at the end of each month, but get useful points in the process.

 

Laura

[Blessedfamily]

My husband has a card that's at about 14% and he got a notice that it's going up to 20%.

It's being cancelled....

 

:iagree:In this case I would cancel and transfer, even if my credit score takes a small, temporary dip.

 

Lisa's case is different because she's trying to finance a house right now.