Do we really need credit cards?
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Post Fiend
Joined: Feb 2004
Posts: 5,378
Likes: 3
From: nebraska
Do we really need credit cards?
Hey guys an gals are credit cards a necessary part of buying. Not for me. If I cant afford something. Paying for it as soon as I purchase it. I dont buy it. I always no where Im at. Have never gotten in over my head. I credit this to no credit card. I do have a debit card but thats just like having a checkbook. As soom as I purchase something its withdrawn from my account. This time off year credit cards are being used every minute off every day. Ive read in the paper that some people have over $10,000 in credit card debt. Man that looks like beginning off the end. The end being bankruptcy. Debt is a necessary part off life but being able to manage it is so crucial. Easy to spend but hard to pay back. Credit cards make it look so easy until pay back time. An if you fall behing the excessive interest rates can kill you. Thoughts on this guys an gals.
Elder User
Joined: Sep 2005
Posts: 911
Likes: 0
From: Mexifornia
Like you say management...my wife and I are getting ready to have pur fourteenth anniversary next week... and we have always paid our card(s) off every month. I have a Discover we use for internet buys and all our fuel because of cash back and an extra 5% on fuel (its a special card) but we ALWAYS pay every month. I know what you mean, a lot of our friends are runnig debt all the time, but the only debt I have is my house and solar system the latter which will soon be paid off in a couple of years. But I don't see in the age where you can own a home without that debt.
Postmaster
Joined: Oct 2004
Posts: 4,155
Likes: 0
From: Southern Louisiana
I had a visa that I maxed out a few years back and am still paying on, was supposed to be an "emergency card" yeah right, turned out to an 18 year old that trying to impress a woman was an emergency. Never again if I can help it. The only debt I am currently in is a loan for a vehicle and that one card.
Postmaster
Joined: Jun 2004
Posts: 2,646
Likes: 1
From: Milky Way Galaxy
Absolutely not, credit cards are evil. Maybe in the old days, before the advent of Visa and Mastercard bank cards that link directly to your account, they were useful. I personally only use the Mastercard bank card and a charge card (American Express) and have not had a problem.
Posting Guru
Joined: Nov 2003
Posts: 1,931
Likes: 5
From: Allen, Tx
If you obey the rules of common financial sense, credit cards are very useful tools. For example, I would never use my debit card to buy anything online or at store I don't shop at frequently. A debit card is tied to your account so if your card number gets stolen, you loose your cash-on-hand. Even if your bank has fraud protection, it takes them a while to correct the problem, and in the meanwhile, what do you do for purchases? (Use credit cards? 
) What about renting a car or U-Haul truck? They put a hold on a certain amount of your cash until you close the transaction. If you don't have a lot of money in the bank, you might become overdrawn with additional purchases or checks you have issued. Credit cards are good when you don't carry a balance, which is how I use them. I've never paid interest on any of them. If I can't pay it in full at EOM, I don't charge it.
) What about renting a car or U-Haul truck? They put a hold on a certain amount of your cash until you close the transaction. If you don't have a lot of money in the bank, you might become overdrawn with additional purchases or checks you have issued. Credit cards are good when you don't carry a balance, which is how I use them. I've never paid interest on any of them. If I can't pay it in full at EOM, I don't charge it.
Post Fiend
Joined: Mar 2004
Posts: 24,418
Likes: 3
From: San Francisco, Ca.
Someone once told me that credit cards are keeping us out of another 1929 type of depression.
What do you think he meant?
What do you think he meant?
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Post Fiend
Joined: Feb 2003
Posts: 6,940
Likes: 2
From: Eastern WA
With very few exception (real estate as an example), I realize and understand that the best interest paid is the interest other people pay to me 
. Credit cards are needed to rent cars, get some hotel rooms, sometimes rent tools/equipment, and occasionally to buy things online and are to be payed in full when the statement arrives. Basic rule, only make payments on things that appreciate in value, pay cash for the rest.
. Credit cards are needed to rent cars, get some hotel rooms, sometimes rent tools/equipment, and occasionally to buy things online and are to be payed in full when the statement arrives. Basic rule, only make payments on things that appreciate in value, pay cash for the rest.
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Posting Guru
Joined: Dec 2003
Posts: 1,651
Likes: 0
From: Maine
Having a credit card, using in occasionally, and always paying it off will build you a good credit rating, which can then be used to get a bigger/cheaper loan when you need one (i.e. to buy a house/property).
Post Fiend
Joined: Mar 2004
Posts: 24,418
Likes: 3
From: San Francisco, Ca.
Or, just pay off the credit card balance; if possible.
What's the average credit card debt now?
$11 grand; or something like that.
Buy now and pay later, and later, and later, and later...........................
And yes, I do need/want my credit cards, but I'm not a slave to them.
What's the average credit card debt now?
$11 grand; or something like that.
Buy now and pay later, and later, and later, and later...........................
And yes, I do need/want my credit cards, but I'm not a slave to them.
Last edited by sierraben; Dec 17, 2005 at 08:16 PM.
Post Fiend
Joined: Mar 2004
Posts: 24,418
Likes: 3
From: San Francisco, Ca.
Originally Posted by john112deere
Having a credit card, using in occasionally, and always paying it off will build you a good credit rating, which can then be used to get a bigger/cheaper loan when you need one (i.e. to buy a house/property).
Senior User
Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 352
Likes: 0
Originally Posted by n578md
If you obey the rules of common financial sense, credit cards are very useful tools. For example, I would never use my debit card to buy anything online or at store I don't shop at frequently. A debit card is tied to your account so if your card number gets stolen, you loose your cash-on-hand. Even if your bank has fraud protection, it takes them a while to correct the problem, and in the meanwhile, what do you do for purchases? (Use credit cards? ) What about renting a car or U-Haul truck? They put a hold on a certain amount of your cash until you close the transaction. If you don't have a lot of money in the bank, you might become overdrawn with additional purchases or checks you have issued. Credit cards are good when you don't carry a balance, which is how I use them. I've never paid interest on any of them. If I can't pay it in full at EOM, I don't charge it.
) What about renting a car or U-Haul truck? They put a hold on a certain amount of your cash until you close the transaction. If you don't have a lot of money in the bank, you might become overdrawn with additional purchases or checks you have issued. Credit cards are good when you don't carry a balance, which is how I use them. I've never paid interest on any of them. If I can't pay it in full at EOM, I don't charge it.
Posting Guru
Joined: Dec 2003
Posts: 1,157
Likes: 0
From: Wichita, KS
There's times when credit cards are useful, even if you'd rather not. I got laid off from work in 2002, was off about two years. I drew unemployment most of that and it covered our living expenses, but we had car repairs, medical bills, a couple trips to the vet, etc. No way I could have covered those costs if I had to depend only on the cash I had on hand. Yeah, I hated to do it, but I couldn't really leave the car broken down, and no way I was going to leave my wife or the pooch to suffer either.
I think the credit card problem is just another symptom of whatever disease makes people strap themselves down with mortgages and car payments until there's nothing left to stretch. I'm still paying off credit cards and will be for a year or two, but those and my wife's car are the only debts we owe, so I'm not too worried about it.
I think the credit card problem is just another symptom of whatever disease makes people strap themselves down with mortgages and car payments until there's nothing left to stretch. I'm still paying off credit cards and will be for a year or two, but those and my wife's car are the only debts we owe, so I'm not too worried about it.
Last edited by mikebon08; Dec 17, 2005 at 10:00 PM.
New User
Joined: Jan 2008
Posts: 0
Likes: 24
One needs a credit card to rent expensive items.
No credit card > No car rental
It is my belief that "One day we will be a cashless society"
Interact cards = Good ..because I am using my own money...not someone elses.
No credit card > No car rental
It is my belief that "One day we will be a cashless society"
Interact cards = Good ..because I am using my own money...not someone elses.
Elder User
Joined: Jul 2005
Posts: 966
Likes: 0
From: Hudson Florida.
I only need my Debit card from the bank. a credit card, I'm likely to get in debt with. personally, I'd rather pay for the item, have it totally paid off, and not owe anything on it unless its a big thing like a home.
I know what my limits are, and do the best I can to stay within them. if that cannot be done, I will do without it.
I know what my limits are, and do the best I can to stay within them. if that cannot be done, I will do without it.