general Credit Cards- do you have/use one?

[Jokuc 8,175]

Credit CARDS and credit REPORTS are not the same thing.

Of course not but it's a part of the same system. I find the whole idea of using credits incredibly stupid.

[Ashen Pathfinder 16,165]

Credit CARDS and credit REPORTS are not the same thing.

 

Also, having nothing on your credit report is actually worse than having something bad.

 

 

That isn't necessarily true; at least with the bank I work at. Policies & such may differ, but lenders here would rather lend to someone who has no credit and to someone whose credit is terrible. While the unknown credit is...well, an unknown quantity, the bad credit person usually has a bad history for a reason. Granted not all bad credit histories are equal as things can and do happen in life, but still; the general point remains.

[Liam_marshall 42]

nope never had one never will 

[Scootalove 10,692]

I don't have a credit card yet but I hope to get one soon.

[captainborgue 343]

Of course not but it's a part of the same system. I see the whole idea of using credits incredibly stupid.

 

It boils down to this: getting major purchases (houses, cars, even some appliances) costs an enormous amount of money- "saving up" to buy them outright is difficult, if not impossible, so a loan must be used. But how do you determine who is reliable enough to give a loan to?

 

THAT is what credit ratings are for. People who have demonstrated a capability of paying back their loans on time have a better credit rating. Without credit ratings at all, how could anybody know who was reliable and who was a screw up?

 

And lending to a bunch of screw ups is TERRIBLE FOR EVERYONE. It was actually the habit of lending to people that didn't qualify (or suckering people that qualified for good loans into high interest crappy ones by convincing them their credit was bad), known as Sub Prime lending, that kicked off the Great Recession. Between the loans that people should NOT have been able to get and the massive Credit Default Swaps (which were idiotic stocks where brokers bet other people's money on whether or not a lender would pay back their loan), a MASSIVE swath of the GLOBAL ECONOMY was wrapped up in these terrible loans.

 

So, when these risky people who should have never gotten those loans in the first place couldn't pay them back, it was the spark that quite literally blew up the economy.

 

Now, I'm not blaming the people who took those loans. They should not have qualified, but if someone had told me ten years ago when I had poor credit that they could get me a mortgage, I'd have eagerly taken the offer. No, it was the bankers and brokers who IGNORED credit ratings and lent out massive sacks of money to people that should NOT have been able to get it.

 

It's not a perfect system, credit reports. It's not even a very good system. But until we find a means of categorizing how reliably people pay back their debts, it's also all there is. So unless you plan to pay cash for everything and never own anything of real value, you will have to build credit somehow. And credit cards are the easiest way- and destroy your life the least if you mess it up. Credit card debt going to collections is bad- getting a car repossessed, or a foreclosure, is much, much, MUCH worse.

Edited April 17, 2016 by captainborgue

[Fluttershyfan94 5,749]

I don't have one, I use a debit card but I try to be careful using those you sort of loose the idea of how much you're spending. So I prefer having physical currency to have an idea of how much I have currently available, makes you more aware of your spending.

Edited April 17, 2016 by Fluttershyfan94

[Lucky Star 973]

Why yes, I do have one. But I hardly ever use the danged thing, I prefer to use cash when I have it. 
 

So when I do use the card, it's when I don't have the cash, and I make sure to call the card to make sure I have the money in the back first, even if I know I do, I get paranoid and check anyways.
 

 
 

[Splashee 28,602]

I have a credit card. A Visa one. it used to be Master Card, but somehow was changed. I have used it both here at home, and in the U.S. very successfully.

[Pentium100 2,344]

I use cash and a debit card. I do not see a reason to borrow money from the bank.

[applesjck 5,605]

I use cash and a debit card right now. I’ll have to get one some point though, I’m sure.

[Lucky Bolt 35,250]

I have two debit cards, because I somehow wound up with 2 bank accounts.  Anywho, I dont have any credit cards. I definitely plan on getting one at some point soon. 

[DubWolf 20,093]

I've got one, however I'm currently paying it down. Plus the last time I tried to use it the card was declined so I haven't even bothered with it anyways.

[EpicEnergy 23,255]

I only use cash and debit, I don't have a credit card yet.

[RaraLover 10,427]

At the moment, I don't have a credit card. Though, now that I'm 18, I may get one soon.

[Rainbow Cloud 19,458]

No, I don't have a credit card, I do have debit cards but I hardly use them either, I pretty much just use cash for everything.

[Dreambiscuit 12,360]

I have two credit cards. One is my Disney Visa with Tinkerbell on it. The other is my (formerly) Star Wars Mastercard. I only use the Disney one because I like to collect points to use toward my vacation, but I keep the Mastercard in case of emergency. Once they took the Yoda picture off my Mastercard I just lost interest in it. Yep, I keep the important stuff in mind when dealing with my finances!

[Stardust 647]

I only have debit card and that works fine for now. Credit cards are good for large purchases though as they guarantee security. And I guess if you want a good credit score but that I am not looking for.

I do use my debit through paypal so that is some form of security though I hear of people stealing through paypal too so that's something to be wary off.

[AppleButt 8,684]

Huh.  I’m kinda surprised at how many people on here who are old enough for one, who don’t have one.  

Anyway I have a travel rewards card.  I make almost all of my payments on it to rack up the travel points, and pay it all off at the end of the month.  My credit rating is excellent. 
 

 

 

[Splashee 28,602]

I just used my credit card to buy tiny metallic balls at a specific size, so I can repair done old switches on my telephone collection. I had no idea they were sold still, at such odd size as well

[BritishBrony2012 889]

I have a debit card and do use it alot

[Pentium100 2,344]

13 hours ago, AppleButt said:

Huh.  I’m kinda surprised at how many people on here who are old enough for one, who don’t have one.

I just do not see the reason for it. I mean, a credit card is pretty much a one-time thing. That is, when you get it, the bank loans you whatever amount. If you use it, you obviously have to give it back and pay interest. Instead I just saved some money so I could "borrow" from myself when I need to. I don't need to pay interest on that money.

I am also really careful to never spend money I do not (yet) have,which is what a loan, credit card or payment plan is.

[AppleButt 8,684]

15 minutes ago, Pentium100 said:

I just do not see the reason for it. I mean, a credit card is pretty much a one-time thing. That is, when you get it, the bank loans you whatever amount. If you use it, you obviously have to give it back and pay interest. Instead I just saved some money so I could "borrow" from myself when I need to. I don't need to pay interest on that money.

I am also really careful to never spend money I do not (yet) have,which is what a loan, credit card or payment plan is.

Interesting.  I wasn’t saying it as a negative thing btw.  It just surprised me cause I kinda expected that it was a standard thing to have one or something. 
 

You only have to pay interest on credit cards if you don’t make the full payment every month. 
 

I pay off all my debt at the end of the month so I pay no interest, only the annual fee the card has. 
 

Ive found that for me personally the credit card has been a good way to keep up with how much I’m spending every month as it adds the entire amount of all my purchases, so I don’t have to add it myself.  
 

They aren’t for everyone though and I wouldn’t recommend them to those that are at risk of bad spending habits 

[Pentium100 2,344]

Just now, AppleButt said:

Ive found that for me personally the credit card has been a good way to keep up with how much I’m spending every month as it adds the entire amount of all my purchases, so I don’t have to add it myself.  

I have a debit card and I can see how much I spent in the bank account statement.

1 minute ago, AppleButt said:

You only have to pay interest on credit cards if you don’t make the full payment every month.

So, as I said, it's a one-time thing. You get the card, you get some money with it. You essentially get to spend that money once. After that, it's the same as before, just that now you absolutely have to put the "credit amount" back. So, having a debit card, I just skip the "borrow" part.

IMO, the only real use for a credit card in my country is for people who travel a lot - you get free travel insurance with a credit card.

[AppleButt 8,684]

2 minutes ago, Pentium100 said:

I have a debit card and I can see how much I spent in the bank account statement.

So, as I said, it's a one-time thing. You get the card, you get some money with it. You essentially get to spend that money once. After that, it's the same as before, just that now you absolutely have to put the "credit amount" back. So, having a debit card, I just skip the "borrow" part.

IMO, the only real use for a credit card in my country is for people who travel a lot - you get free travel insurance with a credit card.

My debit card account shows me what I’ve spent but it doesn’t add the full amount of all my purchases together.  
 

I travel a lot though and that’s the main reason I have one.

[Pentium100 2,344]

1 minute ago, AppleButt said:

My debit card account shows me what I’ve spent but it doesn’t add the full amount of all my purchases together.  

Interesting, I have seen a bank statement from an account that was attached to a credit card, it looked exactly the same as mine. starting balance, various transfers (in/out) and balance at the end.

Unless what you mean is that your bank shows you money you spent using the card separately from various bank transfers, like paying bills etc.