I've never owned a credit card.
Do you own credit cards?
12/23/2012
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Good for you! They come in handy but studies have been done showing that people spend more when they're using plastic than if they're using cash.
We use ours for the airline/hotel miles but I have no clue whether it's really a good deal or not. If you can stay plastic-free, and save something every month, you'll be on your way to a financially secure future.
We use ours for the airline/hotel miles but I have no clue whether it's really a good deal or not. If you can stay plastic-free, and save something every month, you'll be on your way to a financially secure future.
12/24/2012
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Me either! I came close, but at 18 I made the decision to never get one. I don't even need one, at all and I'd rather stay safe. I do have a debit card, but that's using only the money I already have. No credit cards for me. I like to keep it simple too.
Originally posted by
Creepellah
I've never owned a credit card.
12/24/2012
I haven't owned one yet either. I feel like Kendra here, I don't ever want to get one.
12/24/2012
I have one that we use to build our credit. We decided on one big purchase to make with it and we've since paid it off. It's for emergencies now.
12/24/2012
Hate to break it to you, but you pretty much have to own a credit card (or have some line of credit) if you ever want to buy a house. You're not going to get approved for a mortgage if you have no credit. Nothing wrong with having a credit card, you just need to be responsible. It's also good to have in an emergency. Debit card isn't going to cut it if you suddenly need to spend thousands of dollars to get your car fixed, or some other unforeseen circumstance. There is nothing inherently wrong with credit cards. It's just a piece of plastic after all. Any problems with a credit card come from the person whose name is stamped on to it.
12/24/2012
I have a few credit cards. Most of them I keep forgetting to cancel. I used them just enough to build my credit up to a really high score. I don't use my cards anymore at all because of the interest rate. My fiance's card has a lower interest rate so we use that if we have emergencies or find something we really want but don't have the cash for at the moment.
I do like to take advantage of store cards that offer x months of credit interest free. I always calculate the amount I will need to pay a month to get it paid off before the end of the interest free period and then I don't charge to it anymore.
I do like to take advantage of store cards that offer x months of credit interest free. I always calculate the amount I will need to pay a month to get it paid off before the end of the interest free period and then I don't charge to it anymore.
12/24/2012
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I own just one. I studied Finance in school, and they told me it's a great way to build credit if you are responsible enough to spend within your means. Plus, I needed an emergency backup!
Originally posted by
Creepellah
I've never owned a credit card.
12/24/2012
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I pretty much agree with this.
Originally posted by
UnknownGirl
Hate to break it to you, but you pretty much have to own a credit card (or have some line of credit) if you ever want to buy a house. You're not going to get approved for a mortgage if you have no credit. Nothing wrong with having a credit card,
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Hate to break it to you, but you pretty much have to own a credit card (or have some line of credit) if you ever want to buy a house. You're not going to get approved for a mortgage if you have no credit. Nothing wrong with having a credit card, you just need to be responsible. It's also good to have in an emergency. Debit card isn't going to cut it if you suddenly need to spend thousands of dollars to get your car fixed, or some other unforeseen circumstance. There is nothing inherently wrong with credit cards. It's just a piece of plastic after all. Any problems with a credit card come from the person whose name is stamped on to it.
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12/24/2012
I have several and never carry a balance
12/24/2012
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Yup. I worked in finance for a number of years. Our clients that would come in and never had a credit card NEVER got approved for car or home loans. They were thinking they were being smart with their credit, but at the end they couldn't get the big loans they really needed. Unless you plan on buying homes and cars in cash, you pretty much have to have a credit card. They key is using it responsibly.
Originally posted by
UnknownGirl
Hate to break it to you, but you pretty much have to own a credit card (or have some line of credit) if you ever want to buy a house. You're not going to get approved for a mortgage if you have no credit. Nothing wrong with having a credit card,
...
more
Hate to break it to you, but you pretty much have to own a credit card (or have some line of credit) if you ever want to buy a house. You're not going to get approved for a mortgage if you have no credit. Nothing wrong with having a credit card, you just need to be responsible. It's also good to have in an emergency. Debit card isn't going to cut it if you suddenly need to spend thousands of dollars to get your car fixed, or some other unforeseen circumstance. There is nothing inherently wrong with credit cards. It's just a piece of plastic after all. Any problems with a credit card come from the person whose name is stamped on to it.
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I have a number of credit cards with zero balances. I have an American Express charge card, which requires you to pay the balance in full every month. We run most of our purchases on that. We earn money back and keep our credit score high. We've been able to get our car and home loans easily because of this.
The problem comes in when people get a credit card, run the balance up, and then either don't pay it or pay minimums for years and years.
12/24/2012
I'm surprised by the number of people who don't have credit cards. I found I needed one to build credit for home and car loans. I also use it for shopping online. While I have a debit card, I feel safer using my credit card information online.
12/24/2012
Just one...and it's maxed out! Good luck getting your money suckers!!!
12/24/2012
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I suppose they could just go to a collection agency and maybe sue me for it. Yeah...that could happen to I guess.
Originally posted by
Rod Ronald
Just one...and it's maxed out! Good luck getting your money suckers!!!
12/24/2012
Yep. I've never made a late payment and have excellent credit.
12/24/2012
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That actually only happens if it's a very large sum of money. My husband is bad with credit and owes people thousands from years ago. While they've all been sent to collection, no one has sued him. It's all well past statute of limitations by now. Most big credit companies have so many defaults that they just write them off.
Originally posted by
Rod Ronald
I suppose they could just go to a collection agency and maybe sue me for it. Yeah...that could happen to I guess.
12/24/2012
I have never had a credit card ever.
12/24/2012
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I have one, just great for online shopping and hotel rooms
Originally posted by
Creepellah
I've never owned a credit card.
12/24/2012
I don't have a credit card. I plan to get one but not now since I don't have a stable job and I don't want to be paying someone to give me good credit just yet.
Since I'm a student I most likely wont need them for loans since they know a majority of students don't have credit but Kira and Oxygen are very much right. After I graduate med or grad school, I'll basically be building my credit for cars and stuff like that.
Since I'm a student I most likely wont need them for loans since they know a majority of students don't have credit but Kira and Oxygen are very much right. After I graduate med or grad school, I'll basically be building my credit for cars and stuff like that.
12/24/2012
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If you don't have credit, it doesn't matter if you just graduated. Most all credit is automated by computers now. They don't look at "oh s/he just graduated," it just spits a credit score out and goes from there.
Originally posted by
Bleu
I don't have a credit card. I plan to get one but not now since I don't have a stable job and I don't want to be paying someone to give me good credit just yet.
Since I'm a student I most likely wont need them for loans since ... more
Since I'm a student I most likely wont need them for loans since ... more
I don't have a credit card. I plan to get one but not now since I don't have a stable job and I don't want to be paying someone to give me good credit just yet.
Since I'm a student I most likely wont need them for loans since they know a majority of students don't have credit but Kira and Oxygen are very much right. After I graduate med or grad school, I'll basically be building my credit for cars and stuff like that. less
Since I'm a student I most likely wont need them for loans since they know a majority of students don't have credit but Kira and Oxygen are very much right. After I graduate med or grad school, I'll basically be building my credit for cars and stuff like that. less
What I used to recommend for college students is to get a credit card with a small credit limit and literally run a few coffees or sodas on it each month. Then ALWAYS pay the balance in full. Your credit score improves based on timely payments, not how much you paid. So making $500/m payments on a card versus $10/m on a card are both gonna improve your credit score. Paying the balance in full and not carrying a balance also helps. If you keep balances it messes with your credit utilization, which negatively impacts your score. So run $10/m on a card, pay it off, and that will help build credit for when you get out of school.
12/24/2012
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I meant getting a credit card after I graduate. XD That's what I mean by "building credit." But you're right, I might look into it in a few years but I haven't transferred to a university yet, so I don't know if I'll have any money to spend on improving my credit. I know my bank really wants to give me a card.
Originally posted by
- Kira -
If you don't have credit, it doesn't matter if you just graduated. Most all credit is automated by computers now. They don't look at "oh s/he just graduated," it just spits a credit score out and goes from there.
What I ... more
What I ... more
If you don't have credit, it doesn't matter if you just graduated. Most all credit is automated by computers now. They don't look at "oh s/he just graduated," it just spits a credit score out and goes from there.
What I used to recommend for college students is to get a credit card with a small credit limit and literally run a few coffees or sodas on it each month. Then ALWAYS pay the balance in full. Your credit score improves based on timely payments, not how much you paid. So making $500/m payments on a card versus $10/m on a card are both gonna improve your credit score. Paying the balance in full and not carrying a balance also helps. If you keep balances it messes with your credit utilization, which negatively impacts your score. So run $10/m on a card, pay it off, and that will help build credit for when you get out of school. less
What I used to recommend for college students is to get a credit card with a small credit limit and literally run a few coffees or sodas on it each month. Then ALWAYS pay the balance in full. Your credit score improves based on timely payments, not how much you paid. So making $500/m payments on a card versus $10/m on a card are both gonna improve your credit score. Paying the balance in full and not carrying a balance also helps. If you keep balances it messes with your credit utilization, which negatively impacts your score. So run $10/m on a card, pay it off, and that will help build credit for when you get out of school. less
12/24/2012
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The credit card applications are automated as well. Even more so than loans, actually.
Originally posted by
Bleu
I meant getting a credit card after I graduate. XD That's what I mean by "building credit." But you're right, I might look into it in a few years but I haven't transferred to a university yet, so I don't know if I'll
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I meant getting a credit card after I graduate. XD That's what I mean by "building credit." But you're right, I might look into it in a few years but I haven't transferred to a university yet, so I don't know if I'll have any money to spend on improving my credit. I know my bank really wants to give me a card.
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Banks really want you to get a card and then never pay more than the minimum. They sorta expect most college students to do that (and most do). They get a huge amount of revenue from that. We even had special college cards because the approval took being a student into consideration. Almost every one I saw was maxed out with minimum payments. Banks *love* that. You gotta just know how to manage them. Which, of course, banks hate. LOL
12/24/2012
I don't have one but I'm thinking of getting one soon because I need to start building up credit.
12/24/2012
I do not have any credit cards at this time.
12/24/2012
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Your posts on this topic have been extremely informative. I wish I'd known these things when I was just starting out. I received a bunch of credit card "pre-approved" mailings and took whatever was offered. I should have done as you suggest but of course, I maxed them out instead and spent years digging my way out of credit card AND student loan debt. My thinking after finally getting out of debt was that I'd have been better off just shredding those unsolicited credit card offers--but paying off a token balance would've been the way to go.
Originally posted by
- Kira -
If you don't have credit, it doesn't matter if you just graduated. Most all credit is automated by computers now. They don't look at "oh s/he just graduated," it just spits a credit score out and goes from there.
What I ... more
What I ... more
If you don't have credit, it doesn't matter if you just graduated. Most all credit is automated by computers now. They don't look at "oh s/he just graduated," it just spits a credit score out and goes from there.
What I used to recommend for college students is to get a credit card with a small credit limit and literally run a few coffees or sodas on it each month. Then ALWAYS pay the balance in full. Your credit score improves based on timely payments, not how much you paid. So making $500/m payments on a card versus $10/m on a card are both gonna improve your credit score. Paying the balance in full and not carrying a balance also helps. If you keep balances it messes with your credit utilization, which negatively impacts your score. So run $10/m on a card, pay it off, and that will help build credit for when you get out of school. less
What I used to recommend for college students is to get a credit card with a small credit limit and literally run a few coffees or sodas on it each month. Then ALWAYS pay the balance in full. Your credit score improves based on timely payments, not how much you paid. So making $500/m payments on a card versus $10/m on a card are both gonna improve your credit score. Paying the balance in full and not carrying a balance also helps. If you keep balances it messes with your credit utilization, which negatively impacts your score. So run $10/m on a card, pay it off, and that will help build credit for when you get out of school. less
12/25/2012
Total posts: 25
Unique posters: 18