Credit Cards - Experienced People Wanted!

Yeah, it's awesome~ Unless you've got an ungodly APR like ~29%, leaving a couple hundred dollars untouched for a few months barely costs much at all =3

For example, I'm moving once I hit land. I'm putting almost ALL of my expenses on to my line of credit. I bought a PS3 since 60gb models are gonna be scarce as hell soon (and pricier), so I decided to buy it ASAP, making use of the line of credit. After I finish moving and have enough for the last half of this month's rent (for the new place) and $760 for the next month laid out (~$1050 I'm thinking), I'll dump almost all the rest on to my credit cards/etc. Since I saved on the cash for the last four paychecks (in addition to no food expenses while offshore, plus cutting off my thermostat. 'Sup $40 Electricity Bill), my checking account is pretty hueg, giving me lots of room to breathe (as well as "o shit" funding).

For my apt/etc, I have to write checks. If I draw money out of my line of credit, I pay 30% or so interest on it. It's best to run that stuff off of the card, but my rent and stuff has to be on checks. This month will have me paying a bit more since I paid ALL of my last month with my Houston place (had to for the lease to wrap up) in addition to half the monthly cost for this new place (since I'm moving in mid-month). Plus, I have all the activation costs, the cost of moving, etc to deal with. Some of that stuff, too, has to be paid by check or in cash. Once again -- giving myself to breathe financially. And I'm pulling it off with my awesome line of credit~

I should really open a savings account though. I could've made a couple bucks, since I let this sort of money gather dust as I prepared for the move =(

There's nowhere I can't reach.

Originally Posted by GRUN-2

They hear it in their head when they realize they can't pay off their bills and need some way to justify just making the minimum payment.

Haha, just makin' sure~

I found VISA cards to better in terms of availability; it seems that every store that accepts credit cards accepts VISAs, so maybe they'd be a decent card to start with?

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Yeah, I don't think I've ever been to a store that doesn't accept Visa or Mastercard if they accept any credit cards. American Express is accepted most everywhere, though there are times I have to use my Visa card because AMEX isn't accepted.

I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body?

I currently have a Visa, and then got a credit-line set up after buying a house, the credit-line is great because it calculates your history and then gives you access to a large lump sum in case you need it.

I often use my Visa on online stores and then pay it off the next day, I always make sure I have actual cash before shopping online, doing it this way is a great way to build credit.

Getting my card was hard because I had no dept and I paied eveything in cash on the spot, I had no student loans, the money my parents had set aside for me was enough to pay for my college and car with some left over, and I got my job immediately after graduating. My father has many connections with the bank, so he had to make arrangements for a card for me seeing as I kept getting denied while doing it myself.

Anyway it worked, his reference got me a visa under my name.

I was speaking idiomatically.

The first credit card I could get was one from my bank (Bank One, now Chase), and the cool thing about that one was that it was linked to my checking account, so as soon as there was a charge on the card, I could go online and pay it off right away. Then after using it and building up some credit, the bank offered me one of those rewards cards like 5% cash back on certain purchases and a lower % on purchases falling under a different category. I've had my reward cards for years now but have never looked into checking out my points and all that shit, I'm too lazy, but if I can get some cash back from spending money, that's always a good thing.

I still have that original credit card that I first got, and it's still open, but I haven't used it in forever and had thought about closing it in the past, but everyone keeps telling me to keep it open, even the bank, since they tell me it shows I have a long-term established relationship with them in good standing and all that bullshit. Really, it's just a hassle to have that extra crap in my wallet, but meh, whatever.

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

I've had my credit card for just about two years now, and really haven't understood how people can really get into debt with it. Advice to prevent that would be to ensure that you keep track of purchases, typically keep your recipts when you use your CC and keep a running tally of what you have on your card. When a statement comes in, this gives you a double-fold use, as you can not only see what you owe before it comes in, but then allows you to check and ensure that your card's number hasn't run into a fraud use.

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