They want "personal responsibility"? Give them a big dose of it!

Pay off your credit cards and never carry a balance again!!!

...Bush will have you arrested as an economic terrorist

:shrug:

Recognized a scam when they started charging junk fees on top of their very generous 18.9% interest, compounded monthly.

There's life after credit cards. Really.

my only worry is ID theft. I am also switching over to doing business with Credit Unions only.

about $8000.00 worth of debt in less than a year. We lived off of my income while directing ALL of my wife's income toward the debt. It can be done no matter how insurmountable the mountain seems.Pay 'em off, no matter how long it takes!

and I pay in full at the end of the month. They must hate people like me but to be sure there is some plan out there to start some sort of fee for those that try to use the cards as a convienience.

I don't want to give them any money if I can help it.

credit cards are just for getting frequent flyer miles and convinience.

That's what I'm doing now -- I have no yearly fee so I charge everything, get the perks, and pay the balance off every month, thus costing THEM money.

Personal responsibility my ass - they want people in debt up to their eyeballs!

I'm also returning every postage paid credit card solicitation at their expense with a "why do you hate America?" sticker which I made with sheet labels on my computer.

The bastards!

envelopes of other junk-mail solicitations.

Great idea. If more of us did that or have a sticker of some Bible quote about money lenders....

so the banks will own you.

Credit card companies make money of each of your purchases(average 5%) regardless if you pay your balance or not, the interest is just gravy to them. How do you think American Express, which is not a credit card, you have to pay the balance every month, make money? Though AE does charge a higher percentage of each purchase, that's why it is less excepted, retailers make more money off other credit cards.

It depends on volume, and on average transaction size.

But don't kid yourself that you're "costing THEM money". They're paid a fee by the merchant who accepts your card equal to a small percentage of amount of the sale so they're not losing anything on your purchase, they're just not making anything on it directly from you (though, at least in theory, your purchase price could be slightly lower if the merchant didn't accept credit cards).

I mentioned this on another thread, but there's another tactic that my Father taught me long ago to make your credit card work for you, and that's to use it whenever possible for larger purchases that you would otherwise have paid cash for and to time those purchases, whenever you can, to be just after the cut-off date on your account and then pay-off your bill every month just before the due date. By doing so, you're using the CC company's money free of charge to you for anywhere between 45 and 60 days, meanwhile collecting interest on the money sitting in your account until you pay the bill.

Over a period of years, it can make a significant amount of money for you but even if it's only $10, better in your pocket than theirs, right?

Small businesses pay higher fees and often have tighter margins anyway.

Big business pays a lower rate for processing credit card transactions
and many of them prefer, or even demand plastic, so let them eat plastic.

Pay it off every month.

in just a few months ~ we will be free & clear of debt !!!

(except, of course, it's about time for the two youngest to need help with schooling =) and that's ok,,, things will come up but forevermore the goal will be debt-free,,,,

and hopefully never will. Too much temptation and a totally raw deal. Love being a "cash only clown. . ."

if you don't have a credit card, I dunno, I would find it a bit limiting. But you're right, in my younger days I ran up lots of CC debt and shudder to think how much interest I paid!

Most would find it restrictive. I've no problem renting movies. As for rental cars, I haven't really required one in years by travelling to places that either have great public transportation (Europe) or travelling to places where I've friends, or just driving myself to a place. I do love to drive my car, that is if it's not snowing.

Airline tickets, you just have to plan a little better without credit cards, though I'm sure it would raise more red flags now than it used to.

I once felt that if I couldn't pay cash for anything I couldn't afford it so I never put anything on credit or credit cards. Then the emergency happened. My uncle, who lived in a little backwater mining town in Arizona died and my mother, without consulting me, told my aunt I would attend the funeral because she couldn't, so I was stuck.

I paid cash for an airplane ticket to Phoenix, but since there wasn't even a Greyhound going to this little town, I had to rent a car. Well, no credit card, no car, no matter how much I argued with the counter person. I was about ready to go out and hitchhike on the highway when one of my cousins from another part of the country came up to the counter to rent a car and I was able to bum a ride with him.

Anyway get a card even if you only charge a few things each month to keep it active and pay it off in full the following month. You never know when you might have an emergency. This is where credit cards are a necessary evil.

So appreciate the friendly words to the wise.

Think I'm just holding out as long as humanly possible 'cause I'm fundamentally rebellious.

I've marginal access to someone else's card for emergencies.

And guess I've just been lucky in the rare incidents when I needed to rent a car with understanding agents who allowed me to leave hefty deposits and cross reference with my car insurance policies.

Oh and I did respond to your response to my post on the MJ astro thread late last eve. I was really tired at the time so if it sounds at all snarky then please forgive.

thanks again

record. He has personally ruined every business he's touched, never paid his own way OR paid his own debt.

The man consistently generate negative results and never is held responsible. Our kids and grandkids are now the suckers having to pick up bush's tab, from the instant they're born.

They always spin it as him getting bad advice or other people making decisions for him - isn't he the Yale and Harvard educated MBA President? How can we continue to let him claim ignorance or being misinformed by aides when he should have the ability to know better, given his elite education?

Does someone more clever than I have ideas - two or three word labels - to tie bush's record in with this bankruptcy bill? He's the worst abuser of all.

They're making money off of us right now, give us 6-8 months, and that will be the case no longer. It will be back to having them as a convenience and paying everything off monthly. I can't wait.

Once I get a decent job, maybe I'll finally have a mortgage.

Which about matched my actual spending capacity, I think I made like $300 a week or something, but nowadays they give college kids a high limit just HOPING they'll overspend and be saddled with it.

I didn't get a REAL credit card witha $5,000 limit until I was about 25 -- and of course I maxed it out on dumb shit!! I worked an extra job and paid it off though. That same year I quit smoking, credit card balances, cigarettes, donuts, fast food and most other things that trash your life directly benefit the GOP. People think I'm kidding when I say that but look at the Political donations for Philip Morris (Altria) and Krispie Kreme, I'm totally serious!

RESIST!

to paying the minimums until I find work.

I ran up some bills after a divorce and have had virtually no child support in three years.

I got laid off about a month ago. Looking. Luckily, we paid off all our CC debt years ago and haven't carried a balance since.

Seriously -- I think these credit card companies are going to regret pushing this bill.

you're right.

:kick:

Do it, ya'll!!!