Financial Challenges Support Group
This community is for people who are struggling to meet financial obligations of any kind. Financial challenges include everything from the day-to-day challenges of making ends meet to managing credit card debt to bankruptcy. Get support from others who are going through similar obstacles on the road back to financial stability.
When I went on a program of changing my financial standing, the first thing I vowed to do was to get rid of all my credit cards.
Then within two years, I was hired to give a speech about 800 miles from my home. So, I needed to rent a car to do it... and to rent a car without a credit card is impossible.
So, first credit card was obtained. Within a year of that, another card was obtained because of the rewards it offered and the limit on it.
I began to understand that by being responsible with these cards my credit scores began to bounce back.
The only downfall about these two cards was that they are both MasterCard's. I wanted a Visa as well, just for my travels.
Well about a month ago I was watching a finance show on a news channel and they were talking about great credit cards.
One of them was a Visa card and it was being offered by Orbitz. All my travels I book through Orbitz. So, I listened to what they had to offer and it was 10% back on hotel stays and an unheard of 6% on airplane flights. Plus 2% back on every purchase.
So, I applied and got approved. For a person who never wanted anything to do with CC's again, here I am with three of them.
Sound financial wisdom says to never use more then 30% of the available credit... which to me is kind of high. I've been staying at no more then 10%.
This Orbitz card I don't plan on using for anything but traveling. This years trip to England just got $200 cheaper because of it...
I just pray that I remember how much damage a CC can create... I can never treat it like it is money... it is debt, nothing more then that, which is fine IF I have the means to pay it back...
Then within two years, I was hired to give a speech about 800 miles from my home. So, I needed to rent a car to do it... and to rent a car without a credit card is impossible.
So, first credit card was obtained. Within a year of that, another card was obtained because of the rewards it offered and the limit on it.
I began to understand that by being responsible with these cards my credit scores began to bounce back.
The only downfall about these two cards was that they are both MasterCard's. I wanted a Visa as well, just for my travels.
Well about a month ago I was watching a finance show on a news channel and they were talking about great credit cards.
One of them was a Visa card and it was being offered by Orbitz. All my travels I book through Orbitz. So, I listened to what they had to offer and it was 10% back on hotel stays and an unheard of 6% on airplane flights. Plus 2% back on every purchase.
So, I applied and got approved. For a person who never wanted anything to do with CC's again, here I am with three of them.
Sound financial wisdom says to never use more then 30% of the available credit... which to me is kind of high. I've been staying at no more then 10%.
This Orbitz card I don't plan on using for anything but traveling. This years trip to England just got $200 cheaper because of it...
I just pray that I remember how much damage a CC can create... I can never treat it like it is money... it is debt, nothing more then that, which is fine IF I have the means to pay it back...
One of our strategies was to have a credit card that paid cash rewards for our normal every day purchases (food, gas etc.) When we received our credit card statement we paid it off in full every month, consequently we never have paid interest on our CCs. The rewards that we received were placed in a fund called "Gift fund" and that is the money we use to purchase gifts for friends and family when appropriate (birthdays, Christmas etc.) We never exceed what is in that fund. So, there is, in my opinion, a proper way to handle and have a credit card. You have discovered it. And for that and many other reasons I think you are a very smart man. Thank you for sharing your thoughts with us, I know that its a way to do service work. We try to pass on the solution, not the problem.
Thank you!
Toty
I love your use of rewards. That is something I will start doing. That is a very good idea.
Another one that I get rewards on is my bank debit card... haven't used them neither... I need to start utilizing these "gifts" when I am thinking of purchasing something that is out of the ordinary....
And yes, the "biggie" is to not compare a life to someone else's.
I have friends that have beautiful fancy homes, huge yards, nice cars, fancy entertainment centers... they have it all and they have the debt to go with it.
Me? I drive an '85 Oldsmobile... use rabbit ears for my TV... and live in a 700 sq. ft. apartment and my debt is zero.... so who actually has it better?
I travel once a year for at least a month, they struggle to getaway for a weekend. I really do enjoy this "simple" non-material way of life... it is very stress free
A long, long time ago when I was a child, my mom worked outside the home full time and owned her own car, but Sears would not give her a credit card in her name alone. They gave my dad one, but not mom. We never forgot Sears for that one.
I did have a debit card and that filled the void of having to carry so much cash.
That first credit card had a $300 limit and a $59 annual fee. It was bad but it was all I deserved. My credit was shot.
I used that card at least once a week and paid it on time for a year and my scores improved. When I got a better one, I closed the first one and did the same thing with the second. Then a really good company sent me an application for another card and I shocked myself when I got it.
Those two gave me a limit of $3,500. Which to me meant I could charge $350 safely without it affecting my credit scores.
This third one has increased my limit to $5,000 total. Now it is at $500 that I could safely charge. The reality is though that $500 is pushing the limit that I'm comfortable with. I can make the payments if need be but I'd probably have to dig into savings to make sure I don't get any interest charges.
So I'll stay at that $350 which is only 7% of my available credit, which should continue to improve my scores.
The only time I'll go over that 10% threshold will be when I book a flight to England and then I will take money from savings to pay the card and stay away from the interest...