How many Credit Cards do you have?

I ask because I work for a place where people come to pay for Before/After School Care for their kids.

Yesterday, one of the mothers who was late in paying asked to have the small $2.50 late fee waived and we agreed. She proceeded to pay for the days she needed and pulled at least (I counted) 10 credits cards with VISA or MasterCard logos on it and went thru them like dealing cards saying, 'no, can't use that one, no not that one, where is the one I can use?' and then pulled a few more out of another area of her wallet when she found one and said 'this one is OK to use'.

Banks and credit card companies are partially to blame for the credit crisis in housing and soon to be consumer debt crisis! Why do they continue to give loans, credit, to those least able to afford to manage it properly! Why give a home loan where the payment is 50% or higher than the income????

people don't have to take them

and they certainly don't have to max out 8 cards

sorry, it's called personal responsibility

there still is blame to be put on the companies that issue the cards!

This was just ONE mother (out of MANY) that certainly could NOT afford to have that many cards.

People are not taught the cost of credit cards and constantly paying minimum payments! And when it catches up to them, it causes consumer debt to increase and costs to rise for all.

if you can't pay the debt, then don't run it up

I've seen too many people get in trouble, myself included, who buy what they don't need or live well above their means on credit cards

there is no excuse for it

I'd advise everyone to get a copy of their terms and conditions for their credit account and read them!!!!!

if you don't like what you see, pay off the card and close it

there is no excuse for people being surprised when their rates get jacked up

the whole credit mess is very easy to avoid; if you can't pay for something with cash, then you probably don't need it

big ticket items like cars and homes are of course different matters all together as are some purchase like appliances for your home but there is no reason to charge your latte on your credit card

I use a debit card; don't have any credit cards and don't want them

... we shouldn't blame restaurants and grocery stores for selling food to fat people.

high if there weren't all the credit available. If everyone else can put things on credit, where's the incentive for businesses (including hospitals and day care centers) from charging more reasonable rates? And then how is it this one woman's fault that she can't get daycare at a price that doesn't send her into debt?

And what's her alternative? Not get day care? Not have kids? When those are your choices, it's time for the government to step in and start protecting people and society rather than banks who issue credit cards.

And your thoughts about credit has caused prices to be higher is accurate!

Our gov'ment wants to protect us from terra-ists, not corporations!

to someone who has no ability to repay it. Responsibility goes in both directions, certainly the creditor has the most information and power in the relationship.

no ability to repay it".

The trick is, it goes to show you never can tell ... and that´s why it´s a risky business.

Banks are full of bankers, and they only make money when the money is flowing.

they were extending loans to people who didn't have a prayer to repay it, those are considered the bank's best customers.

if you default on a $5000 credit account and a company comes along to buy that debt from the bank, the bank will be lucky to get ten cents on the dollar

they much rather have you paying your bills to them and not to a debt buying company

I'm sorry, but you an be as personally responsible as God and still get screwed by the issuer of the card. Moreover, they go out of their way to drive you through the loopholes in their contracts- anything at all to squeeze a cent or two more out of you, up to and including failing to credit a payment in their hands until the due date has passed, so they can issue a late fee and jack your rate up into the 20-30% range.

It is not possible to be completely personally responsible when dealing with these companies and not get screwed. In fact, being 100% responsible and paying all your bills off 100% each month can get you a AAA credit rating- which can make you actually ineligible for a loan, as my roommate's parents discovered. That's right- their credit was too good to qualify for a homeowner's loan, because they were almost perfect in their "personal responsibility".

That's why I can't apply the concept of "personal responsibility" to credit cards. They do not deal in good faith. "All your responsibility are belong to us", as it were.

purchase before the due date. I think the reason that your roommate's parents not getting credit was because they had no other history of paying off a loan. But that could be for a house for instance or a car. Most of us can't pay full price for a house and not many of us can do so for a car. So inthose cases we do have to pay interest. Also, I can see that some people need the credit card just to survive, like the lady mentioned in the OP.

zero balance EVERY month only brought me higher credit lines and I found it impossible to get these banks to lower them! I'd call in and tell them to lower it and the next month and the month after still the same so I'd call again and get lame excuses. Now, after unforeseeable monetary problems, children, dying relatives etc. we've run up credit cards...four. I've called when they increased the interest because we always pay more than the minimum and have never been late but "No" is the only answer I get. "No" to reducing credit lines in the first place and "No" to lower interest rates. Fortunately, we are doing better but................I still get credit card offers in the mail!
The banks have shown nothing but greed.

that this administration and its sycophants thrive off of.

the homeless are homeless because they won't get a job.
the poor are poor because they spend too much money/were too stupid to go to college.
the sick can't afford US healthcare because they don't work hard enough, and if they'd just take that 2nd or third job like all the other hard working middle class citizens maybe they could afford to get better!

i personally took credit cards after 10 years of purposely avoiding them because i had reached the end of my rope. i could no longer afford basic utilities, gasoline, groceries, clothes for my children to wear to school, after-school care, and my housenote (which btw is as low as they come, but still unaffordable at this point).

i'm not asking for sympathy. but i am asking that credit card companies/subprime lenders are held responsible for their predatory schemes, i am asking that their interest rates are capped, and that their late fees are more reasonable; i am asking those who are behind it and who profit off of my desperation be held accountable; i am asking that tax cuts are no longer handed to the wealthy and that the middle class gets a break so that it doesn't have to fall back on credit cards, whose rates and monthly payments pretend to be low until a payment is one day late because i was waiting for my paycheck to clear the bank; i am asking that us jobs/industry be brought back to restore our economy, and that we end all wars right now, and that we stop borrowing money from foreign countries and start researching our own fuel sources. etcetera.

don't judge me and millions of others who got into a rut and were tired of choosing between electricity or a roof over our heads, or between running water or buying groceries. $45K a year just ain't what it used to be.

hasn't been forced to pull out the plastic to survive in the last few years.. There are no more boot straps to pull up.

we've used our credit card(s) from time to time, but not because we HAD to- it's more out of convenience than anything else. btw- we're not wealthy but we're not poor, and i'm disabled...but we don't have any kids, and we know how to live within our means. it isn't that difficult.

Try NOT using a card when you work 10 hours a day at a job for pay about $10/hr and pay for your child, rent, gas, food, etc.

And please don't come back with "they chose to have kid". Sometimes it happens and it costs people a lot for trying to care for their family.

cell phones, new cars, new clothing, big tv's with cable or satellite...too many people want it ALL, right fucking NOW!. our society isn't geared toward teaching people to do without.

I have dealt with many people, women especially, who aren't the type you refer to...

There are many working poor people out there who need help and credit card companies take advantage of those people who ARE SLIPPING THRU THE CRACKS by earning "too much" for any assistance, yet still earn lower wages while paying higher prices for healthcare, housing, transportation (car & GAS), heat, etc. And then the bloodsucking credit card companies entice them!

I didn't mean to offend you by saying you would have a comeback by telling us peoples' situations are their choice, but I guess you got it in anyway.

i didn't get my first credit card until over halfway thru my 30's. prior to that, i couldn't afford one. like i said- it's all about living within your means. not everyone can have a car- not everyone can afford to live without roomates, not everyone can have cable tv, etc...

I decided to use the credit card only for emergencies. My daughter needed her wisdom teeth pulled. Cost a small fortune. Had to charge it. Now my diabetic husband needs extensive dental work. We also pay $300. a month for health insurance with dental coverage that amounts to about $25. per visit.

We live within our means. Many people have to use credit cards for health and emergency services.

and my teeth/gums weren't getting/looking any better.

the most cost-effective route for me was to have them all pulled.

so now i have dentures.

if you have dental coverage, why was your daughter's wisdom teeth so expensive?

I have dental insurance and it cost almost $600 out of pocket to have my daughter's wisdom teeth pulled--that was WITH insurance.

That would be an additional premium which we cannot afford.
It's part of our regular Health Plan. It covers a small amount towards office visits, cleaning twice a year. It doesn't cover anything major. We've been fortunate that we haven't had dental problems up until now.
We will charge the dental work and try to pay the bill off by Summer barring no emergencies. We will do what we have to do.
I hate credit cards but in the event of emergencies you sometimes have to use them.

many of them will let you pay in installments. for instance- my dentist gives you a 10% discount if you pay for everything at the time of the first visit, for procedures that require multiple visits or just one. otherwise you can pay in installments, and not get the discount. considering the interest rates on credit cards, it's not such a bad deal.

Its worked out great for us over the years too.

I only have one credit card but only use it for emergencies. Unexpected doctor's visit was the last time (my doctor is not part of the preferred provider plan so I have to pay up front and get reimbursed the 75%).

and its a good thing for him and by paying in full each month it cost him nothing or very little, I'm not privy to that info and don't want to be, for everything he needs to get his reimbursements

I don't use them all, but I have a couple of them for my family to use in case of emergencies. The others I use but pay off every month.

I don't carry a balance on either of them.

Don

I tend to put just about everything on it (it's a airline card, and I do cash it in for trips occasionally) and pay it off religiously every month. I can get my charges on-line and then transfer them into my Quicken files so I know what I'm spending for what when.

when I didn't get better due to lack of health insurance shit hit the fan when they went into collections.

If I hadn't been so sick I would never have responded to the zillion ccs that came in the mail. I had perfect credit up til then. I hate credit card companies.

Credit cards companies are nothing but greedy SOB's - they send out millions of applications and collect money from those that can afford the loan sharking rates they receive by collecting minimum payments!

American Express...pay balance each month
Debit Card....comes out of checking
Visa....owe a bit
Discover...0 balance


And get at least a dozen or so solicitations for new credit cards in the mail every week and calls to switch my cards for 0%. Not to mention the checks they send with the credit cards in case you need cash fast. :eyes:

Used to have about ten until I realized all stores took the bank cards. We don't keep a balance on the card even though it gets difficult around the holidays and tax time.

except that i've never had more than 3.

and that's it.

Life is a lot less stressful and I don't spend more money than I have. Period.

I cleaned up my credit problems after I got divorced 10 years ago and never looked back. (it's one thing we got divorced about; he's a spendthrift; I'm a saver.)

In fact, I send all credit offers I get through my shredder. It's completely satisfying. ;-)

Both paid in full every month.

One I use mostly for online purposes, the other for face-to-face transactions. And I pay the balances off every month.

...although getting to the zero balance point took some work. Had to rely on the cards pretty heavily in some tough times. It's a proud feeling to be out from under the credit debt.

card the most since I can control my spending that way. I do not carry balances. I have gotten a couple of those store cards that offer discounts when used. I even pay those off immediately. HD had a recent promotion for zero interest and I took one of their cards to pay for a home insulation project I was going to do any way. I now have until March 09 to pay it off interest free. I have seen people use card for small purchases $10 or less and they obviously don't seem to realize those small items add up quickly. A credit card was not designed for those occasions.

I've done this with a new TV most recently, but also did it with furniture in the past. It's a good way of taking advantage of an opportunity to actually save you money.

I also paid off my car as soon as I could. I have been driving payment free for 7 years now! I keep the car in good condition and will drive it until the repairs in one year cost more than the value of the car. Then I'll get a good used one to replace it.

financing again. Heck at 6yrs 0% its got to cost them. I've been offered 15k for mine which has 37 thousand on it. I even get a 1000-1500 discount. I am thinking one of those GM credit cards might get me a few more bucks before the end of the summer.

Business must grow, or business goes out of business. Who else was left but people who couldn't afford the loan or credit card? Who else could they get to buy a home except the people who couldn't afford one after the people who could afford a home got a home? It works the same way with cars, or electronics, or anything else. Business is like any other organization; they constantly need more and more people pumping energy into it(money, blood, sweat, etc). Just like universal healthcare. The education system. Exxon. Monsanto. Banks. They all work the same way.

you don't maintain a balance or get charged interest on it. I use AmEx for all of my business expenses because it makes tax time much easier on me. Other than that; just a debit card here. Credit cards-even those that aren't used- can spell real trouble in the future.

And two major credit cards, one Visa and one MasterCard. I can't imagine trying to manage more than that.

machines.

debit card only, I am beginning to really appreciate being debt free.

Never had one, never will.

Thank goddess! I'm still paying one off but it's not active. If I can't afford it, I don't buy it until I've saved enough money to afford it.

but they were stolen last weekend along with everything else in my purse. Will replace them because I do use them but pay them off each month so they do not accumulate.

I can't imagine ever needing more than one really, if that. 10? Wow, why?

I don't think she has much of a choice.

She really looked like she couldn't afford "late charge" of $2.50, yet the only way to pay for day care was to charge it (I bet because she doesn't earn enough to pay cash or via check when rent, heat, clothing, gasoline is needed).

It is a sad situation out here in "We're #1" land. I have been there, it sucks. Thanks for the explanation.

That is all. Had several with balances for years, but finally paid them off and cut them up.

I use a debit card. No one is stealing our money.

And I don't use it.

We use this card for all of our purchases, but pay it off each month. We have a bazillion miles points that we usually redeem for cash.

I had to file for Chapter 13 bankruptcy last year. The only thing I have now is my bank debit card.

and the line of credit only on major purchases related to home improvement.

equals profits. Credit cards supply a good service in terms of safety and convenience but they are not your friends.

I have 5 my Wife has 7. I pay them off every month. One way or another.

There was a time when if you were unable to manage your finances banks would not have you as a customer. Now those unable to manage their finances are the bank's best customers. That's the business model banks follow (well, not all).

But in America these days there are a lot of profits made from misery of others.

is from my credit union - low interest rate, and I don't carry any balances for more than a couple of months at a time.

The only reason I keep the other two is that it supposedly helps the credit rating to have a card for several years (assuming you've had no late payments or any other problems like that).

I pay them all off each month. I like the convenience when it comes to returning items. I also like having a record available for what I spend. I also have found that I get notices for sales and coupons by using certain credit cards. I do think they can be used responsibly. I definitely could pay with cash when I make purchases, but believe the credit card keeps me in line!:blush:

And, in the years when money was tighter, I couldn't have gotten by without them!

I try not to buy anything on credit, but I am lucky that I can skirt it. Many people arent.

and that is two too many. We use them for gasoline purchases and, like the rest of the sheep, for what we can't afford. I hate it. Just when I get them paid off something comes up (like Christmas!) and the balance goes up again.

Last year I sold stock in the company I work for to pay off the balance and it was a wonderful relief. Then my dear husband went on a book buying spree. If not for him needing to buy gasoline, I would take his card away. I think that if everyone were forced to pay cash for gasoline there would be a lot less purchased. Its a horrible cycle.

We bough a house last year and have yet to finish furnishing it because we pay cash, simple as that. Sometimes it's painful, but we're better off for doing so.

I hate them all.

most of which I'm not aware of on a regular basis. I shift my debt from card to card often (for introductory rates on balance transfers) but I don't actually use any cards except the one attached to my bank. I guess I need to be more dogged in getting the unused ones to CLOSE the account, which is something many of them (Citi is the biggest offender) just won't do for you no matter how you ask them.

although we're dropping the united mileage-plus visa, and getting an amex card thru costco instead.

I have seven credit cards and two lines of credit.

It's a struggle to keep all of them current, but I do the best I can.

Sorry, but she has 10 cards because she applied for 10 cards. She is maxed out on her cards because she overspent on her cards.

In the overwhelming majority of cases people are in credit card debt because they are irresponsible and have no self-constraint.

It's all about integrity, respect, honesty, decency, open mindedness, fairness, and genuine desire to wish good upon all. That is why I'm a liberal. Doesn't mesh with your post here!


As I stated above....

I have dealt with many people, women especially, who aren't the type you refer to... she applied becasue she was OFFERED those cards, and the companines OFFERED those cards because they make BILLIONS from people like her who think that is the way to help themselves out of their situation.

There are many working poor people out there who need help and credit card companies take advantage of those people who ARE SLIPPING THRU THE CRACKS by earning "too much" for any assistance, yet still earn lower wages while paying higher prices for healthcare, housing, transportation (car & GAS), heat, etc. And then the bloodsucking credit card companies entice them!

Key word: Applied.

No one forced her to do anything. She did it on her own.

I'm not disputing that credit card companies don't take advantage of people in ways. But they are not to blame for someone having 10 credit cards which are all maxed out. She's to blame for that.

Granted, there are some small overall percent of people who have literally zero options left but to max out their cards, but when fully analyzing lifestyle and choices this number is relatively small overall. The majority of those in debt from cards are in debt because they are irresponsible and have no self restraint. They spend what they cannot afford, and refuse to change their lives in order to accommodate their financial situation, such as by buying a cheaper car or moving from a house to an apt, etc.

If you cannot afford the purchase, the purchase should not be made. It really is quite that simple. Cause at the end of the day, if one continues to use cards recklessly to purchase products they know they cannot pay for, then they are basically doing the equivalent of stealing.

And your use of my tagline was as pathetic as each time anyone else has used it in their limited minded ways. Having integrity and wishing good on all does not mean condoning irresponsible behavior or ignoring the concepts of self-accountability.

And I don't care if the credit card companies 'offered' her cards. See, the whole concept of self-accountability is that 'just because you could, doesn't mean you should'.

Replied to the wrong one...oh well.

the credit card companies are to blame for a lot of the debt just by what "spotbird" said above

"... certainly the creditor has the most information and power in the relationship.

Therefore THEY should KNOW when she has 5 other cards, and when she has 7 other cards, and when she has 9 other cards AND NOT ACCEPT HER APPLICATIONS ANY MORE.

I can whole heartedly say BEEN THERE DONE THAT with only 2 credit cards 30 years ago, and yes, we dug ourselve out of that hole and but when I consider what the companies charged us in interest, that was pure loan sharking for the amount we owed (charged about $2,000 on 1 card and $1,000 on another) and paid back well over $9,000 because that is ALL WE COULD AFFORD and still pay our bills!

Have some sympathy for the working poor out there in this economy please!

The interest rate hikes on most cards is shameful, and automatically puts someone in a hole they can't possibly dig themselves out of. That aspect of credit card companies I'll readily agree with you about. I also think the whole paycheck advance racket is the worst thing that exists. I can't think of what the technical name is now, but I know it's where people in dire need get their pay ahead of time or whatever, but have to end up paying like 90 friggin percent in interest or something. I think it's absolutely disgusting.

I never really heard of this before until I came across the new 'loan' site prosper.com. I came across it a few weeks ago because I have to invest some money and want to find the best way to do it. On that site, you can bid on loan requests for people with bad credit or with trouble getting credit, and earn the interest from their loan. I was looking into it as a possible way to not only make a good return on my investment, but also to help people in need by loaning them the money and offering them a lower interest rate than others bidding for them. I haven't done it yet, as it still seems to risky to me, but I did explore the site a bit. What I learned quickly was how many decent people who just needed some temporary help, were put into complete debt by these loan sharking high interest payday loans. My heart broke for them and I couldn't believe that there were places allowed to charge that high of an interest rate for such dire circumstances. In fact, I think Congress should totally do something about that. It's disgusting.

and realize, that a good portion of the decent people who get into these situations are because of unexpected MEDICAL BILLS!

Yeah. I think they have a couple technical names - check advance loans, deferred deposit check loans or cash advance loans. Payday loan shops are a fucking racket. If I had my say, I'd put all those bastards out of business - they're nothing but parasites, that charge fees to rack up the equivalent of 650% annual interest.

As for me, I will never, ever do business with one of those sharks. At least for the moment, I'm financially above water and have a little savings for emergencies, and a growing nest-egg for retirement. Even without those, I'll find another way that doesn't involve 650% interest.

this past Christmas everything was cash and if i didn't have ebough then i did not buy whatever. It took my husband and i 8 years to dig out of a hole and we decided that it was cash or nothing, the exceptions are car rentals and plane tickets.

and always make timely payments -- if you care about raising your FICO score.

one is low limit--for ordering online or phone only (use as little as possible). Other 2 are for convenience but always paid down quickly. Plus a gas card & a couple of minor store cards. Except for an emergency I wouldn't do a lot on credit. Not much in savings but not because of spending. I may never make it to Europe at this rate though. Every spare dime seems to go to house maintenance or something house, car, or health-related. That's it.

I'm not really an avid consumer. As far as extreme frugality I'm sure I could do better, but it's hard to let go of a few dinners out or tickets to some entertainment or computer/TV. Other than that there's not much to buy that really interests me. I find it boring to try to find the lowest price or the best source & all that. If a purchase gets too complicated, too much of a relentless search, I just do without. I have bought some furniture and real art but I wouldn't mind parting with any of it if I had to. I have a sister who makes frugality a hobby & that's OK. But she spends an awful lot of time at it. You have to get into the minutiae about all the vast array of consumer products. I'm not a detail person. Also these products are decreasing in quality no matter how much research you do--so you always seem to have to buy more when something breaks or doesn't work right. It's a losing game IMO.

Keeping it simple isn't only about decreasing credit purchases but decreasing all purchases.

I am delighted when I can combine the coupon with the weekly specials at Stop and Shop. Hubby clips them, and I arrange them in a little folder for my trip to S & S. I know it may seem a little tedious but hey, I'm retired...

Hardly use either. Pay off the credit every month which I only use for online stuff.

When shopping for gas/groceries/toys I pay cash only.

And if I charge at all, it's paid off monthly. I carry no balance.

I've noticed that in my grocery store, the majority of customers use a credit card to pay for their food.

Being naive, at first I thought that these people must be in financial trouble if they had to pay for groceries with a credit card.

Then it dawned on me.

My town is one of the top 10 highest income towns in MA. These people who charge their groceries are just doing it for the airline miles, or whatever incentive the CC companies dish out.

We pay for virtually everything with our debit card - groceries, gas, regular shopping.

With the rewards on the card I use, I can get a $15 Target gift card for every $400 spent at grocery stores, pharmacies, and gas stations.

I try to funnel as much of this sort of spending as feasible through that card and pay it off every couple of weeks.

I have a Master Card and a Bombay card.

I prefer to only spend what I have...which doesn't really amount to much. But that doesn't bother me.

If you can't get off their mailing list, shred 'em up.

they bought out my credit card company (MBNA) so i call them up "I'm already a customer, please stop sending me offers" so they said they would stop but they never did so into the shredder they go.

1-888-5-OPT-OUT

This is the number the three credit bureaus have set up for you to opt out of those "pre-screened" offers. I called ages ago and never get them anymore.

However, having worked for a credit card company, I know how to work the system to my advantage and screw the companies rather than vice-versa. I'm one of those dreaded "deadbeats" that the companies loathe; I pay my bills in full every month and don't acquire interest. Also, I'm responsible with my cards and don't run around buying a whole lot of stupid shit I don't need just because I can.

I have a Chase Freedom rewards card whose sole purpose is to make money off paying my bills. All my bills are set up to Auto-Pay on it--electric, cell phone, landline, DirecTV, internet. It's also set to automatically be paid in full every month. Rewards points rack up insanely fast doing this, especially now that they've switched to dynamic earning for the rewards. And if you save up $200 in cash back, they throw in an extra 50. When I get the rewards check, I put that sucker into my high yield Orange Savings account. That is a shitload of free money I get just by normally paying my bills. Once I build my credit up enough I'm opening an AmEx Blue account and switching to it for this scheme because you get better cash back with it than Chase Freedom. However, I'm leaving the Freedom open, because of that good history of on time payments I've built up with it. That's good for my FICO score.

My Capital One card is my "break in glass in case of emergency" card, and has never been touched. I have a Best Buy store card whose only purpose was to build my credit; I just bought a TV on it because they had a 0% financing deal, and I am paying the bill off in full once I receive the first one. The final card I have is a Best Buy Rewards MasterCard through BofA that I use for everyday purchases and semi-big ticket items (like my iPod) that I want chargeback ability or extended warranty protection for. That also gets paid in full every month, and I use the gift cards I get as birthday gifts for acquaintances or to treat myself to the occasional free thing at the store.

Credit cards are not the devils that a lot of people make them out to be. If used responsibly, they're a fantastic tool for itemizing your purchases, helping your credit, and giving you free shit. You just have to be careful with them, and if you're a compulsive spender stay far away.

I don't like them, learned my lesson long ago!

Spent many thousands rehabbing an apartment a couple years ago. Until then the only rolling debt I had was the mortgages on my house and on the apartment.

I keep rolling that rehab debt from 0% introductory offers to 0% introductory offers thereby saving myself hundreds of dollars a month in interest. Which is why I have a couple dozen credit cards which will never be used again.

As long as they keep sending me those 0% introductory offers, I will keep taking advantage. If/when they cease, I will roll it into my home equity line of credit. Or take a loan from my 401(k) and pay myself interest. The 401(k) certainly hasn't made much investment income the past seven years. Actually, I am fairly certain it has had a net loss since idiot became president. So I should probably borrow my 401(k) and put the money into CDs where it will actually make me some money.

I've been quintupling my minimum payment to get it paid off. (Not as impressive as it sounds--the minimum payment is only $44.) No special reason, I just don't want that monthly bill hanging over my head any more.

I have a friend with a handful of cards, he got behind on one and they upped his rate to 26% on a couple of his others. Don't have them and don't want them.

The other was intended to only be used for true emergencies -- unfortunately my life has been wrought with emergencies.

my debit card gets lost or mangled.

In good times they drag you down, in bad times they will drown you.

I also don't have to worry quite so much about identity theft, bullshit charges and fees, and I stick to my budget.

and i never carry more on it than I can pay off within 2-3 months and really try (and am usually successful) at having zero balance on it.

I used to have a credit card, but after a bout of unemployment, I ended up using it for daily expenses, eventually defaulted, and ended up with a chargeoff.

Now I've got a good job, I've come to settlement with the collectors, and cleaned up my mess. It took me a good couple years to pay them down, and I have no intention of ever being indebted to them again.

one, Sears, almost always had a zero balance. I got it just to get new appliances when I became a homeowner.
the second main one, BofA, usually stays in the 1k balance range and I routinely make payments and has a low interest. It's a Star Wars co brand card.
The newest Chase, who I work for, was just acquired since I'm getting married this year and need another one to spread out costs and keep finance charges down.

I'm motivated also to payoff and close the BofA card. It was an MBNA account before the merger. I later learned from the documentary Maxed Out that they drafted the bankruptcy bill and were the largest contributor to * in 2004. So I can't in good conscience keep using them.

Mr. MG and I are both on it. We used to have several, plus loads of department store credit cards, but we got rid of all of them except one MasterCard. It has a hefty balance, though. Damned unexpected car repairs. x(

Paid them off and I won't do it again. We use the "spend as we go" at my house.

We consolidated all of our debt during this latest interest rate cutting because it would save us money long-term. My wife and I both came into our marriage with our own debts and never really were able to kick the habit of using the cards and not pay off the balance. We've since wised up and decided that we will own one credit card between the two of us and everything put onto it will be things that we can't get with cash or the debit card (or emergencies). No more credit cards for us.

I've never had any credit cards.

Currently, I no longer have a bank account, either.

Those poor people who think that plastic is free money are victims of this society we live in.

money management skills. i know we like to blame the credit card companies, and there are certainly bitches about them, but... a spender is a spender and i have found regardless of how much money they make, they are always in the hole. brother is like that. and he has made some damn good money, should easily be able to make it, but cannot allow money to sit, not be spent

balance 0

i make a few grand off the cards each year (0% offers, cash bonuses, etc). it takes some work but the hours spent versus the gains are pretty good. plus it always feels nice to stick it to the cc companies. they got plenty of interest off me while i was in school and now it's payback time!

one thing i will never do though is use a debit card over a cc card. a cc card provides a layer of protection between you and your bank account. kind of like a firewall as long as you can use it wisely.

Now I'll never have another. The old one two.

Probably 20.
I have closed 5 in the last several weeks.
most have a zero balance.
only 3 are high/no limit (2 have a balance)

In the 80's I had some. I cut them up and paid them off. Now I have a debit/credit card which comes out of my checking account.

Until about a year ago, I was getting cc offers in the mail weekly. I began writing naughty words on the applications and sent them back. I haven't received an offer since.

So, if I write "Fuck off, you blood-sucking capitalist pigs!" on the application forms and mail them back they'll stop sending mail to me?

I've definitely got to try that. They never stop; year after year, week after week, I'm barraged almost daily with mail from every credit card company out there telling me that I'm "pre-approved". It's like they can't stand the idea that I don't own a credit card.

"You are not of the Body."

sw

"Are you fucking kidding me?"

(I wanted to be sure they could read it.)

It was a great way to vent at what the cc companies did to the bankruptcy bill.

Try it!

I wonder if Homeland Security will come after me if I write "bloodsucking capitalist pig"...

sw

yet. lol

I imagine the envelopes are opened by clerks. So, in a way, I'm giving them a chuckle in a humdrum job.

When it is, I'm giving Wells Fargo the heave-ho and putting my money in a local bank.

What if credit cards did not exist? What if subprime loans did not exist? What if loans for college did not exist? What if car loans didn't exist?

If easy access to debt did not exist, then prices for everything would be lower, and the people would demand better wages and better benefits from their jobs and their government.

Easy access to debt is THE biggest reason why Reaganomics still dominate our politics and why true progressive socio-economic policies have been put on the back burner.

I learned my lesson long ago. I have a debit card for online purchases, that's it. I refuse to be in debt.

I lived in a very expensive city at the time and it was either rent or the minimum payment on the cards. Right now it's all I can do to pay my student loan payments.

Income has not changed an iota since 2004, and even that was a miniscule increase.

We use the Discover once a month to keep it active..(in case we ever need to rent a car or have a mega-emergency)..we pay it off every month..

the other cards are attached to our checking accounts at our bank(s)..we have accounts at three banks