Sooo I got my Visa credit card today...

I had 2k in credit card debt...paid em off and cut em in half haha

 

cutting them up=ok, closing the account=bad If you close an account your credit score will go down because you lower your debt to available credit ratio. That is why its good to have several cards and never use more than 20% of the available credit which will keep your score up and we all know the higher the score the better rate you will get on loans.

I have 5 cards but only carry one. I use the other 4 just twice per year to keep the account active.

 

The credit card company is your adversary: they want you to get into long term debt. Don't take the bait.

Treat your card like cash. Only spend what you have.

I have friends who are wealthy and friends who are poor. They both earn about the same income. The difference is how they manage their money. Can you guess which ones carry balances on their credit cards?

 

True words

 

rip up that card!!! you'll regret it... it has to be paid back...

 

G - Get
O - out
O - of
D - debt.

It starts by cutting that new card into little pieces. For most people, if you don't have the cash, you can't afford it.

 

Little up date, August of last year, bought the treck mountain bike @ $1400, in November the URD TCAI and AT2525 at about $500 shipped, all on credit.

I'm debt free

Oh and to answer some of ya'lls questions on my APR, it's at 0% APR for any purchases OVER $200 if paid off withing the first year of having the cc. After the first year is passed, OR if I make any purchases under $200 I will be charged a RIDICULOUS 24%. So I will not be buying anything under $200 and all my debt (from some more crap I'm about to "buy" ) will be paid off well before this summer is over.

 

Cut that damn thing up.

 

NO!

 

I got a credit card at 16 so I could buy things off the internet. I was all well and good for a few years, then I got out on my own (19). I also got another credit card with which I earn air miles. The highest debt I was in was 2400. It doesn't sound like much, but it becomes quite the mountain when you do not make enough money to pay it back.

Admitting this sucks, but my parents bailed me out. After getting a solid extra job int he summer last year (doorman at a strip club), I was able to easily lift my new truck, get new golf clubs, and best of all stay debt free. The I do have 2 credit cards, and they both carry no balance. I find carrying it with me a necessity because you never know when emergency will strike.

Be careful, often times the credit card company will up your limit without telling you. I now have a 10k limit on my air miles mastercard!

Bottom line for me:

Credit card is for getting things online (with I have the cash for)
and emergency.

 

I know people that do that. Spend $250k in CC, sell it all for cash, then hide out in China for 7 years. Then come back and do it all over. Crazy stuff

 

i would cut it up and throw it away

 

Man some of you guys sure made your beds huh?

I only have the one credit card, my only payments are the truck, insurance, phone, and money for gas of course, and the bare necessities.

I moved in with my sis after I got out so I don't worry about rent, aaaaand unlike some of you I can control myself

Seriously though guys, thanks for all the warnings. When I first got the cc, I was about to go NUTS on my truck. I posted on here and I've been reading some of ya'lls horror stories, and MAN I hit the brakes REAL QUICK.

So I did like some suggested, and only bought stuff when I had the cash (using the cc that is) for it in the bank. I'll keep using that method .

The reason I'll do it that way^^^ is cuz I'd rather not just get a big ass chunk of dough taken out of MY account, and would rather pay off the credit card in increments of half of the price of the purchases. (if that makes any sense)

 

Smart person lives within their means, a rich person lives below their means, and dumb asses are in hock for the rest of their lives cause of 1 word "Credit"

 

I don't put anything on my credit cards that I can't afford to pay cash for right away. Pay my credit card bill off in full every month. If I don't actually have the money for something, I'll wait. Only time I'll carry a balance on a credit card is if there was some sort of emergency or un-planned for expense or repair bill that came up.

 

and some people know how to manage their money

If I see a hole, I'm not dumb enough to step in it, even if it may only seem like a tiny puddle I won't jump in.

 

jeez some of you guys really messed up lol.

I've had a credit card since I was 16 and have only used it for gas since then, I completely pay the balance every month and my parents made sure I knew that I should treat the card like cash, plus it only has a $300 limit so I can't mess up if I wanted to.

 

Credit cards are perfectly fine so long as you pay them in full before the end of the grace period. They help cashflow a ton.

The only people that complain about them are people who use/used them wrong. I've had a credit card for close to ten years now and haven't paid a penny in interest. And thanks to that, among other things, my credit rating is fuckin' ballin'.

Living within your means is key.

 

ID THEFT PROTECTION.

People make fraudulent charges on your CC, it's Visa's problem.

People steal your debit/savings account info, they just left the state with all your untraceable cash.

I hardly ever use cash any more.

 

I use my credit card for big purchases because I get miles for ever dollar. Then at the end of the month I pay it off. I've had my credit card for over a year and have never once had a balance on it. Plan to keep it that way too unless some emergency comes up. I never put anything on my card unless I have the money in my bank account to pay it off.