diet site

[Griff]

Are you guys (Dave/Terry) talking about recovering from a bad credit rating or establishing good credit initially? It seems like those are two different issues. Either way, I don't buy paying for money I don't need. You risk being a tool of the credit card company rather than using their card as a tool. Folks need to look at their own financial circumstance and act accordingly. CC companies rely on people screwing up, if you're living on the edge of financial disaster and are carrying balances so you can get a reasonable loan rate you are getting screwed and need to change banks or maybe join a credit union.

[elSicomoro]

Originally posted by perth
uh, it may not be the same across the country (although i dont know why it would be different) but i can and have done all these things having only a debit card (visa logo).

It's more of a place-to-place deal, from what I've seen.

I've used a Visa debit card for 5 years now, and have never had a problem with it. I do know of people that have experienced problems in trying to use such a card though. Some websites I've shopped at in the past warned of possible problems with them as well.

The company for whom I used to work constantly had problems in processing orders using a Visa/MC debit card. Then, the customers would either wind up on the hold list (if we hadn't sent the order yet) or the collections list (if we had). Apparently, there was no problem with the system we used for processing, and I seriously doubt that all these customers were broke.

I don't know exactly how the systems work, but they should work the same for either type of card. If I buy a $100 item, the system should be able to read the card, note that I either have the $100 available or not, and proceed accordingly. Perhaps debit cards are on a different system...*shrugs*

Originally posted by Griff
Are you guys (Dave/Terry) talking about recovering from a bad credit rating or establishing good credit initially? It seems like those are two different issues. Either way, I don't buy paying for money I don't need. You risk being a tool of the credit card company rather than using their card as a tool. Folks need to look at their own financial circumstance and act accordingly. CC companies rely on people screwing up, if you're living on the edge of financial disaster and are carrying balances so you can get a reasonable loan rate you are getting screwed and need to change banks or maybe join a credit union.

Obviously, I don't buy anything that I can't pay for that day. I used to go and pay off my credit card as soon as there were charges on it. Then, when I applied for a phone with Sprint, they ran a credit check and said "eh, you're getting there"... I talked to my credit advisor (I am a member of a credit union, not a bank) and she advised me that it was best to keep a balance on there - one that I could pay off any time, so I should keep the money in the bank. As it is, I try to keep a "buffer" of $5,000 in the bank in case I need it (and I have needed it recently, which means I'm considerably off that $5,000 right now ), but I still have enough money to pay off <b>all</b> of my debt (which amounts to a few thousand dollars in computer loans and a few hundred dollars on my credit card).

Anyway, the point is that since I have been keeping a balance on my card and making payments, my credit has gone up. I have never had bad credit - I just had <b>no</b> credit, which is almost as bad. I'm now working my way up, which means good things - the better your credit, the lower rates I'll pay on car loans and mortgages in the future. That translates to real dollars that I can save, which I put into my 401K and milk for all it's worth. I'm only 21; if I can put away an extra $50/month (saved from mortgage, since I got a lower interest rate), over 10 years, that's $6,000. So we'll just say that all starts tacking on interest when I'm 31 (which it won't) - by the time I'm 60 and ready to retire, how much do you think that will be worth?

My dad put away some $3,000 when he was 26 and forgot about it. It's worth about $50,000 right now, and that's with the market in the shitter. He's almost 53 so you figure it out.

You got it right though - you do <b>not</b> want to become a tool of the credit card company. You want to use them. I am using them to get good credit and save me money now so I can have more to retire on. You just have to be smart about it.

[elSicomoro]

Originally posted by Griff
Are you guys (Dave/Terry) talking about recovering from a bad credit rating or establishing good credit initially?

How dare you use my real name! People are supposed to figure that out on their own.

I'm primarily talking about establishing good credit initially.

If you've already ruined your credit, it's going to be nearly impossible to get another CC for a while (unless you jump through a kabillion hoops and sell your soul). My parents started off slowly: renting-to-own many of the items in their home, then a new car loan, then buying the house...now their credit is in good shape, and my parents have finally realized how important it is to be responsible when it comes to credit.

It seems like those are two different issues. Either way, I don't buy paying for money I don't need. You risk being a tool of the credit card company rather than using their card as a tool.

Look buddy, not all of us are mechanically inclined enough to freakin' build our own house.

They can be two different issues. However, once you come out of a bad credit fiasco, for the most part, you're on the same playing field as the 20 year old with his first CC...you gotta establish good credit.

What I generally recommend to people is this: Buy something on your credit card that you could easily buy with cash today. Put that money aside, add a little bit to it for interest, then pay it off over 4-6 months, longer if it's a big ticket item.

On the surface, it's ridiculous. Why pay $175 or more for something you could buy today for $150?

Because in today's world, trying to live life without good credit can be an incredible pain in the ass. I'm not saying you CAN'T do it, but it can be one hell of an uphill battle. No credit is almost the same as bad credit. It's all about the big picture in the end: the house, the car, whatever you set your sights on.

Banks and lenders are like any for-profit business--they offer a product or service and try to make money. And I understand the rationale behind showing a history of good credit--they're going to give you $200,000 to buy a house...why should they give this money to you?

I remember the days of every credit card company hawking their products on campus at SEMO...sign up for our card, get a free t-shirt! Get coupons for free food! Some kids just don't understand credit cards and the need for good credit down the line...they sign up for the cards, rack 'em up, then are nearly bankrupt before they're out of college. By the same token, these credit card companies love to prey on easy targets...knowing damned good and well the possible consequences of what they're doing.

Folks need to look at their own financial circumstance and act accordingly. CC companies rely on people screwing up, if you're living on the edge of financial disaster and are carrying balances so you can get a reasonable loan rate you are getting screwed and need to change banks or maybe join a credit union.

Absolutely, Griff. If your financial picture isn't good, or you fear that there may be too much of a temptation in having one, don't get one. (Though I would recommend seeking some help on the latter.)

[russotto]

Originally posted by juju
Wow.. rich white men are really playing you folks for all you're worth, aren't they?

As an upper-middle-class white man, I'm playing THEM for all I'm worth. Just bought some furniture and a new Apple Powerbook.

Coincidentally, First Union (known as "FU" to most customers) had just sent me an offer I couldn't refuse: 0% interest until February 2002. On everything but cash advances, not just balance transfers. No doubt they are expecting me to run up the card and then get stuck paying their regular interest rates (sky-high) in February. But: I have the money. It's sitting in an FU savings account, in fact (don't laugh, it's done much better than the stock market). So instead of me paying THEM interest, those suckers are going to be paying ME interest. And I'm going to have almost-free (gotta pay the minimum) use of my furniture and computer until February.


Oh, of all the times i've been completely fucked because I couldn't rent a car or a hotel room! Seems like a travel thing if you ask me. I'm content with borrowing my mom's card for such occasions.

Financial independence from one's parents is hard to over-rate.

Originally posted by russotto
As an upper-middle-class white man, I'm playing THEM for all I'm worth. Just bought some furniture and a new Apple Powerbook.

Which one'd you go for? They're supposed to be refreshing the lineup soon. Myself, I'm thinking I might get another iBook and pass this one to Jenni or my sister come January or February. I like the PowerBook, but I just can't get over my iBook. I love those things.

If it had a G4 processor, capability for more RAM and a 64MB Radeon 9000 Mobility, it would be the perfect notebook.

[russotto]

Originally posted by dave

If it had a G4 processor, capability for more RAM and a 64MB Radeon 9000 Mobility, it would be the perfect notebook.

667 DVI (current model). The 800 cost a lot more and I heard the 667 had longer battery life. It's a refurb, too, which saved me a few hundred bucks.

The rumors I've heard put a SuperDrive in the new Powerbooks, which unfortunately would increase their thickness, and that 1" thickness is part of the reason I've wanted the thing since it came out.

Agreed. I love the thickness, but it's too wide for my tastes. I personally like the form of the iBook a lot more - though like I said, it could be a bit thinner and I wouldn't complain.

667 DVI is a perfectly acceptable laptop I certainly wouldn't complain. If you don't mind me asking, what'd you pay for it? Or what price range? Just curious... I have a friend that's looking for one, but he doesn't want to pay too much. Like I said, personally, I'm holding out for a decent-graphics iBook, hopefully by January-February.

[russotto]

Originally posted by dave
\
667 DVI is a perfectly acceptable laptop I certainly wouldn't complain. If you don't mind me asking, what'd you pay for it?

The new ones are out! 1GHz with Superdrive, still 1" thick. Might have the iBook you want too.

Makes me glad I bought refurbished -- I'd really be kicking myself if I paid full price and then the new one came out. I think it was $2299, but it might have been $2199 + $100 for the airport card.

Not bad, not bad at all.

After seeing the upgrades to the PowerBooks, I've decided that I'm going to get one instead of the iBook. I didn't think they'd get all that they've gotten. Wow.

[That Guy]

I still don't see where you guys are coming from. I've never carried a balance on a CC, yet I somehow got "magically" approved to buy a house over two years ago. Several lenders were willing to shell out their money to me.
"What?! But you can't build credit without carrying a balance!!"
*BS alarm* You can build creadit just by carrying credit cards and making purchases with them. Never spend more than you have, and never carry a balance. Why pay 8%+ on a balance when you can make that in a long-term investment?
D - I think you need to tell your "credit advisor" to go to hell. That's a load.

[Undertoad]

People also often make the mistake of buying the most expensive house for which they can get a mortgage. Yeah, sometimes that's a good idea because sometimes a mortgage is the cheapest loan you will get in your life. In other times, you put yourself on a stupid treadmill for a decade, where you HAVE to work a certain level of job because you HAVE to earn a certain amount.

I think the next place I get will be a fixer-upper where I devote my time to being the fixer-upper. Learn some of that carpentry, plumbing. The Griff way seems too hard on the back though.

[Griff]

Either way yah gets to buy all those tools, don't tell me you don't want a chop saw in the garage. Griff drooling having a Tim Taylor moment

[elSicomoro]

Originally posted by blowmeetheclown
I still don't see where you guys are coming from. I've never carried a balance on a CC, yet I somehow got "magically" approved to buy a house over two years ago. Several lenders were willing to shell out their money to me.

Have you bought a car or other items on installments before? I dunno if you're married or not either.

You can build creadit just by carrying credit cards and making purchases with them.

To a degree, but if you pay those balances off the minute you get the bill, it doesn't help you much. 1) You're not making the CC company any money and 2) It doesn't show that you're responsible enough to pay on installments.

[juju]

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