OT. Household debt, 14 trillion +

[Ralph Mowery]

Without credit cards you are missing out on a lot of money. I pay them off every month and they give from 1 to 5 % back depneding on what card I use and what I buy.

Most even gave me from $ 100 to $ 200 back just to get the card and charge $ 1000 or so in 2 or 3 months. Grocery bill takes care of that.

About 2 years ago I bought a new car on a 7 year credit plan. I could have taken it out of my IRA with no problem, but would have had to pay tax on some of it. Plus as long as it stays in the IRA it is making intrist, so that probably saves me another $ 5000 over the 7 years.

It is good to take advantage of other peoples money.

[rbowman]

Back in '80 GMAC had 0% financing to try to move cars, so I bought a Camaro on their money to fluff up my credit history. Since then everything has been cash and carry or paid off at the end of the month for credit cards.

Discover amuses me since they include the credit score with the statement. If I'm on vacation and spend money on gas and lodging it usually goes up a couple of points and then drops down to the normal. I understand some people try to game it to get an 850 for amusement.

[Dean Hoffman]

How do you check into a motel without a credit card? I finally got one when I traveled with some friends. No card, no check in. Luckily the lady had one. Otherwise we'd been sleeping on the street that weekend. They're sure handy for buying fuel or even at Walmart. I pay mine off each month with one check. The bad thing with them is that it's easier to spend with them than with actual cash coming out of my billfold.

[invalid unparseable]

Same here. Also how can you shop on line without some form of plastic, credit card, debit card or pay pal?

If you pay them off at the end of the month you benefit with cash or gifts coming back. If you don't you pay an insane amount of interest.

Must have been 20 years ago when a son worked for a credit card company. He could not divulge names but said we would be surprised what some famous people owe. I think the average credit card debt then was $7,000.

Google tells me now: "The average credit card holder has at least four cards. On average, each household with a credit card carries $8,398 in credit card debt. Total U.S. consumer debt is at $13.86 trillion. That includes mortgages, auto loans, credit cards and student loans."

[Terry Coombs]

  No CREDIT cards . DEBIT cards are just as useful and I don't have to remember to send a check every month .

[trader_4]

I've said before, I know what we got for the Reagan deficits. We rebuilt the military. That and SDI put the USSR into an arms and tech race that helped bankrupt them. It ultimately forced the Russians to accept what they had refused to accept for 7 years, Reagan's demand for the zero option for medium range nukes in Europe. Gorbachev capitulated and they signed the biggest nuke deal in history, the first that eliminated an entire class of nukes and reduced total numbers. The USSR went to the ash heap of history and hundreds of millions of people in Eastern Europe were freed.

The economy boomed, we hit 8% GDP growth, inflation went from double digits to normal, Tbonds went from 16% to 8%, we created 21 mil new jobs, good paying jobs in everything from construction to high tech.

Sure sounds like a good deal to me. Subsequent deficits, what have we gotten for that?

[trader_4]

They also offer additional protection when buying something in a store or similar. If you have a dispute with the merchant, if they are wrong, the credit card company will help. I rented a car in FL, somehow the windshield got cracked. IDK how, we never heard anything hit it while driving. I never take out the over priced insurance. The Citi Visa card I used to rent it covered it.

A tip related to that. The rental company wanted like $200, a part of it was for two days loss of usage of the vehicle. Citi refused to pay that. I saw why, they asked for the rental company to provide logs that showed there were no similar cars available on those days. Apparently they didn't. So, the rental folks came after me for the remaining $60 or whatever and I told them the same thing. I wrote them that Citi had denied it for that reason, I'm not paying you either for that reason. NEver heard from them again.

[Ralph Mowery]

Debit cards are bad as the money comes out first and then you have to fight to get it back.

Many credit cards have perks like insurance for rented cars, extended warrenties. I usually charge over $ 1500 per month. Just about everything I buy I charge. Pay it all back at the end of the month. I get back a percentage of that money. I do not fool with the airline miles cards or such as I do not fly.

Store cards are usually bad, but Lowes gives a 5% discount if you use their card. Maybe some others do too. I did take out a couple of store cards as they gave a good percent off the first time I used them or applied for them. Never used them again.

Funny to me story. My wife filled out a store card and got a percentage off. Not too much later she got a letter saying her credit was deniged. She just used her information and as her only income is about $ 6,000 a year she did not qualify, Probably because a car is in her name and the car payment is over half her income. Had she put down both our incomes I am sure they would have approved her. Our combined income is plenty to get approved for almost anything.

[Terry Coombs]

  We dumped ours about 30 years ago . It started with the best of intentions to pay them off every month , but then it was "Well , just this once." and it all went to hell in a hurry . Never again , if we can't pay cash we don't buy .

[gfretwell]

You can usually shut them up with a large cash deposit.

[gfretwell]

Credit cards have a lot more consumer protection.

[Terry Coombs]

  And many if not most places give you the option to run it as either a debit or credit . Running it as a CC gives me the same protections as if it were in fact a credit card .

[invalid unparseable]

I only have one card, Cabelas, and average about $500 a month. First of the year I go to their store and cash in maybe $60 credit and get things like free ammo, targets and hat. I use the card for any purchase above $20.

Wife has several others to take advantage of. She just got one from Wells Fargo that gave her a bonus of about $200 back if she spent $500 in three months.

My wife has a Kohl's store card and I went there one day and they said they would discount my purchase about 30% if I got their card. I applied at the cash register and was declined getting one. I paid with my Cabelas card and she gave me the discount anyway. Made no sense.

[Jim Joyce]

For me, Cabelas is like Starbucks. I've been to each of those places once, to look around and see what the deal is. In both cases, I came to the quick realization that a second visit would not be necessary. Both places sure do seem to be popular, though.

I've never been to a Bass Pro Shop, which is also a popular destination, apparently.

[trader_4]

How does the choice of which button you push when using a debit card change what the terms of the debit card are from the bank that issued it? With any card, what protection you have varies from company to company. But AFAIK, whatever it is, it is and pushing a button can't change it. Does pushing the button for CC make the charge not show up until the end of the billing cycle?

[invalid unparseable]

I have never been to Bass Pro but they also now own Cabelas. There store in Delaware is not as large as the one in Hamburg PA which apparently is a travel destination.

I had shopped them mail order and was trilled to see them come here then highly disappointed when they opened. They are not cheap which is why I cash in at sales.

[gfretwell]

These days you just put them on "autopay" and forget it. They debit the balance every month, zero interest, zero fees and you still get all the percs of having a credit card.

[gfretwell]

Here, the Bass Pro has a great restaurant. I don't buy much there tho and seldom even walk around unless it is just to look at the 2 story fish tank.

[Clare Snyder]

Only if it IS a credit card. Some cards ARE both in the USA - NOT in Canada. A "combocard" in the states can give you the same protection as a credit card when used as a debit. Usually supplied by credit unions. In Canada there are two suppliers involved - Visa and Interac but a debit is ONLY a debit whether used on Visa OR Interac

[Clare Snyder]

About the same for me. Kid Brother is attracted to Cabelas like a fly to you-know-what. LL Bean too. No wonder he never has any money - - -