Paying credit card off completely

[EREKSHUN]

credit forget it!

[BlackbirdM3]

I can't afford to buy a place, then pay to keep it up. I make a little more than $40K a year. On top of that, if I were to buy a place, and decide to go elsewhere (I'd love to get the hell out of Napa, the place sucks if you happen to be single and don't drink or smoke.) I'd end up having to pay both rent on a new place plus pay the bank for the old place. Not happening. The only thing I'd get out of buying a place is a load of headaches and hopefully a 2 car garage that I can work in without being hassled by my landlady.

Thanks, I'd rather be 100% debt free. Besides, I hate working on houses. All my friends have gotten married and all they do is work on the stupid house. Boring. Several of those people have lost money on houses.

I've been financially independent since I was 18. I worked and paid my way through college, paid cash for all my cars, and bicycles, and I've learned to be responsible with the little money I have. I've had a few close calls, but had I tried to live on credit in those close calls, I'd be screwed now. I don't like banks making $ off me through interest. I'd rather pay it all up front and have (whatever it might be) all mine right then and there.

Will

[Thizzelle]

why would you pay rent (giving money to someone else) instead of pay it towards your own investment of ownership? You can sell down the road and make money on it.

[Cletonius]

why would you pay rent (giving money to someone else) instead of pay it towards your own investment of ownership? You can sell down the road and make money on it.

Situations are different for everyone. The real estate scenario posted above worked out fantastic for the person involved. I bought a condo in 2002 and have had the exact opposite happen to me. I owe almost 2.5x what it's worth on the market right now. I really want to move but am stuck because of it. Sure it'll recover someday, but I want to sell it now so that doesn't help me. All the money I paid in is lost, same as if it would've been rent.

I'm not trying to dissuade from home ownership, just realize that not every home purchase scenario is ideal or works with your timetable. The cash only guy had some valid points.

[z31maniac]

situations are different for everyone. The real estate scenario posted above worked out fantastic for the person involved. I bought a condo in 2002 and have had the exact opposite happen to me. I owe almost 2.5x what it's worth on the market right now. I really want to move but am stuck because of it. Sure it'll recover someday, but i want to sell it now so that doesn't help me. All the money i paid in is lost, same as if it would've been rent.

I'm not trying to dissuade from home ownership, just realize that not every home purchase scenario is ideal or works with your timetable. The cash only guy had some valid points.

harp?

[Thizzelle]

Situations are different for everyone. The real estate scenario posted above worked out fantastic for the person involved. I bought a condo in 2002 and have had the exact opposite happen to me. I owe almost 2.5x what it's worth on the market right now. I really want to move but am stuck because of it. Sure it'll recover someday, but I want to sell it now so that doesn't help me. All the money I paid in is lost, same as if it would've been rent.

I'm not trying to dissuade from home ownership, just realize that not every home purchase scenario is ideal or works with your timetable. The cash only guy had some valid points.

I here ya but that's what happened to the market. people were buying shit they couldn't afford or paying way more than worth. There is always a house well within your budget. It might not be the perfect house but it's better to pay towards owning than renting. But all good because I like renters, this is what I'm going to do with this house when I buy my next and just keep collecting property to rent out.

[Todd Black 88]

Situations are different for everyone. The real estate scenario posted above worked out fantastic for the person involved. I bought a condo in 2002 and have had the exact opposite happen to me. I owe almost 2.5x what it's worth on the market right now. I really want to move but am stuck because of it. Sure it'll recover someday, but I want to sell it now so that doesn't help me. All the money I paid in is lost, same as if it would've been rent.

I'm not trying to dissuade from home ownership, just realize that not every home purchase scenario is ideal or works with your timetable. The cash only guy had some valid points.

I fully understand your point, and feel for your loss.

[slammin.e28]

They aren't making anymore land, and the population is growing exponentially. They need to live somewhere.

This this this.

I know several retired people who, this being a rural area, had open land left to them by their parents who farmed the land. This land was outside the city limits. A few years ago, well, maybe more like 10 or 12, Wal Mart, Martins, restaurants, banks, etc wanted the land that was by the interstate exit. These individuals sold said land and are now rolling in millions with shopping plazas bearing their names.

I feel that in another 500 years North America and Europe will mirror Coruscant.


Also, this is why I'm buying a house. Renting I'm dumping $700/month paying someone else's mortgage. I can buy a bigger house for about $110 LESS per month. I'll still pay what I'm paying now for rent, but at least I'm paying it for ME, not someone else.

[LEANE30]

I'm a little surprised no one has commented on the aspect of the value to the cc companies to be holders in due course for the interchange exchange on the transaction notes. Even if you use any plastic card wisely and are "paying no interest" to the cc from foolishly running a monthly balance and not paying it off in full at every statement or whatever your grace period is, the merchant is still building in at least 3% into the price of goods sold to cover their cc processing fees that they get billed for each month by the cc companies for accepting your plastic swipe. Fees for the merchant are higher for certain cards like amex than visa. So not only are they making good money every time you swipe, even if you pay no interest and get a portion of the interchange processing fee in the form of rewards or cash back, they are also holders in due course as the funds get transferred from your bank too them then to the merchant's bank. This effectively balloons their balance sheets revolving accounts. ...in the days of computerized stock markets and micro second trading in the markets, the bear always wins. ...and you think your vote for politicians makes a difference, lol. To paraphrase Rothschild?: whoever controls the currency controls the empire.

Vote with your wallet. Pay cash locally to small business and family biz, amex foreign, visa deadbeats and other states or large conglomerates

[mrsleeve]

^
Rothchild

Give me control of a nations money, and I care not who makes its laws - Mayer Amschel Rothschild

[e30vert]

How is your credit score? Pay majority off keep a small balance and work your credit score up if you have a poor one. But if you know 26% is coming pay it down.

This!

[LEANE30]

Word mrsleeve. You know what's up

[evandael]

don't get me wrong, i'm a huge proponent of buying over renting. i am not at that point in my life yet, though.. i am not yet 22.. but part of that is improving my credit score which i'm working on.

[JCarp90]

My rent is $1300/mo lol. I fucking hate it, especially knowing that a house larger than we are renting would cost us probably $300/mo less and we would own it.

As soon as our lease is up in October, we plan to buy a house. We were pre-approved before we signed this lease but we just didn't have the time to house hunt and close in time and that's IF we found the house we wanted in the first few days of searching.

[rwh11385]

Pretty much why I mentioned from my understanding (very little). This is good to know though, as I would prefer to have a card with much lower interest than my current rates (20+ percent).

I have a $500 limit card that I try to use every month, but I wouldn't put anymore than $100 on. Most times it's in the $10 to $40 range, which seems clearly not high enough.

I know - I didn't chew you out, just posted the link to Quizzle's top myths about credit scores. Lots of people have misunderstandings about credit.

I honestly have no idea what any of my credit card interest rates are. If you only put under $50 on the card, there's hopefully not much reason for you to worry about your rates vs. just paying it off each time. The more you do that, the less risky you seem to them and lower the rate they'll offer.

I am a huge fan of my American Express Blue (no fee great rewards) but I believe I am grandfathered into the old rewards program and it may not be as good now. I get 3% back on everything and 5% on gas, grocery and pharmacy stuff after spending $6,500/year before that I it 1.5% and 2.5%. It works for be as I spend everything I can on that card (so far this year I am at $39k spent on that card, I would pay me mortgage on it if they would let me but haven't figured that one out yet.

Spring 2011 was the AMEX Blue change:

http://bucks.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/04/27/big-changes-to-american-expresss-blue-cash-card/

http://www.nerdwallet.com/blog/2011/amex-unveils-rewards-cards-blue-cash-everyday-preferred/

If you still have that, you are indeed grandfathered in their old card. I got my Blue Cash in 2010 but it was mostly for future spending amounts not right then so it mostly sat. When Everyday came out, I had my account converted to it and I actually enjoy the new system much better for my spending pattern: Mostly use it for groceries and might hit $6500 in December on those... if I spend what I do now and only on the Blue, the old system might have been good but I like splitting it up - especially since AMEX seems more low-balling on credit limits than Chase, BMW, etc.

Freedom too keeps changing. It sucks they no longer give you $250 for 20,000 in points, but the 5% rotating categories have had me avoid getting Discover and worrying if a retailer takes it. The 5 top categories of the 15 possible was a bit weird and probably took a LOT of computations on their end, as does the 10 points per transaction for checking customers.

All this talk has me shopping around again and hoping to upgrade my Chase Slate to Sapphire and a BoA Platinum to their BankAmericard Travel Rewards. I also wonder if I can get a Fidelity AMEX if I only have a 401k through them and not a brokerage, considering SallieMae's Barclays card, and Hilton's AMEX. (There's better travel cards but I refuse to pay an annual fee, so no Sapphire Preferred, Starwood, Southwest Airlines, etc.)