Credit cards

[biziedizie]

 ::)How many credit cards do you have???  I was just going through my safe and I noticed that I have 17 credit cards that I use for business and personal. I have a total of about $20,000 in personal debt and about $400.00 in business.
  I know that I'm better at keeping the business debt to a minimum but this personal thing is way out of hand.  
  Is this normal or am I just bad with the money thing.  :P ;D

     Steve

[RavioliKid]

Let me get this straight...You have $20,000 in personal debt that you actually owe?!!!?

That's a fair chunk of change! If I were you, I'd make every effort to get that total down. You'll be glad you did. (I'm getting off my soapbox now.)

Good luck!

[bull]

Throw out all them damb cards, they can dig you a whole faster than a brand new backhoe...... The available credit on  all those cards will kill you if you apply for a mortgage or a loan for a new truck,tractor, mill etc..... Get a debit card from your bank on you checking or savings w/ a visa or mastercard backing.... and a small credit line.... then you will only spend what you have.

[Ianab]

Hi Bizie

2 Sugestions

1: Talk to a good accountant
Interest on money you have borrowed for your business should be tax deductable.. so it makes sense to borrow money against your business rather than your presonal accounts....

2: If you owe that sort of $$ on plastic talk to your bank manager. You may be better consolidating that into a mortage on a property and getting a much better interest rate you can pay off over 3 years? Dunno about your rates... but interest on plastic here is 18%... loan secured on house is 7.2%....

once ya do that cut up the cards ya dont need?

Ian

[Tom]

Bizie,
Those cards are for emergencies and record keeping.  While it may seem good to have a bunch of them, each is considered a liability when you go to a bank for a loan.

I keep two only to make sure I have one that will be accepted.  It gives me a backup record keeping for business purchases.

Pay the things off every month.
That's important.  

The Card companies get paid by the merchants for the transaction, don't feel bad about them not getting your money.  If you pay your card off by their schedule and don't ever buy another thing, you may never get it paid off.  

See a credit councilor and get some ideas on how to get rid of the debt.  They know some tricks that the everyday citizen doesn't.

Do it before you get any older.  Do it now.

[woodmills1]

I was going to stay out of this one but you are getting the kind of advice I would give you.  I keep 2 cards, one to save me from having to carry too much cash which I pay off every month, and a second with a low max to use for internet purchases, which I also pay off every month.

One thing I would ask is if you own property and does it have a mortgage?  Home loan interest is deductable from income taxes and sometimes is a better place to carry debt, though many purchases are not apprpriate for long term debt.

By all means get a credit counselor to helpyou manage the level of debt you have $20,000 at 18% costs $300 a month in interest and is not deductable unless it is for business purposes.

[Texas Ranger]

You have been given good advise, let me give an anecdotal example.  A friend here in town has a thriving business, money coming in every day, but, they had financed much of their extravagant life style, and some of the business daily cost, with credit cards.  Dozens of credit cards.  The business folded, and family collapsed.

$120,000 of credit card debt at 18%.

[biziedizie]

   So 20 grand is alot of money??? Last year at this time I was in cc debt for about 50 grand, over the last year I paid back about 30 grand of that.
  When I pay these blood suckers off the cards will be going in the trash except for two of them.
  Me thinks I should have them paid off by Nov if everything works out right. 8)
  When I went to the bank to consolidate my debts they wanted to lend me more money then I needed. : That was the only way that they would lend me money??? Didn't make sense to me.
  What pisses me off (can I say that???) is that once you get a card and they see that you pay your bills they keep sending you new ones. Like I have cards that I will never use but they send them anyways.
  What I would like to do is just say to hell with it and not pay them and see what happens.
  Anyways it's nice to hear some opinions, just thought that I was like everyone else but I guess I'm not. :


     Steve

[woodhaven]

Bizi,
I got almost as many cards as you. Just counted 15. The differance is we almost NEVER use them. We get a new card when there is a pretty color or design my wife likes. Then when it comes we look at, laugh and throw it in the drawer with all the others. To compare, on all 15 added together we average about $50.00 a month.  Will Power Man, Will Power.

[biziedizie]

  $50.00 a month??? That's all you pay??? Wish my bills were that low. :D
  Just off the top of my head with my cc bills, mill payment, insurance, 3 phone lines, cell bills, accountant, company stuff etc...etc I figure I need 4 grand a month just to keep my doors open. :
  Last year after the smoke cleared my paycheck was a little over 65 grand. Do ya think I've seen any of that??? Seems that as fast as the loot comes in it goes out just as fast.
  I left the house yesterday with a little over six hundred in cash and I think I have about 40 left. Where did it all go??? I've given up on keeping track of money, as long as I keep making it. ;D

   Steve

[Haytrader]

I think we all get lots of cards in the mail and even more offers. When ya get them, take the scissors to em just as fast as you can.
I agree with everyone else. Pay they balance monthly, not just part of it. And do it on time also. I have three just so I don't even get close to the over limit fee. I rotate them in my wallet so I make sure to use them equally.
Get that debt taken care of and start building a nest egg. The years and health go fast some times. In an earlier post you were talkin about shingling Mark's house. Years ago I ran two crews shingling, now, twenty years later, I don't even want to look that high...... ;)

[woodhaven]

Bizie,
Yea I got plenty of bills to. My point was we don't put things like you said on credit cards. We pay all bills by check when and as they come in. I would rather have my lights turned off than put something like that on a card.

I even had 2 cards canceled this year for non-usage.

[Larry]

I get a bunch of credit card deals in the mail.  They say if you transfer the balance to the new one you won't pay any interest for something like 6 months.

Don't know if this is a come on or really works but might be a way to save some money on interest until you get the principal paid off.

[biziedizie]

  Haytrader you bring up a valid point about growing old and that's one of the things that are on my mind that's why I've been thinking about walking from the whole mess. Don't really want to be paying these cards when I could be saving the money instead.

  Larry I get those deals all the time and I do transfer the balances, pretty good deal //[b]BUT[/b] (wow that's cool) I read the fine print on some of them and they charge me a fee. :(

    Steve

[D._Frederick]

We have only two cards and just use one for a number of months and then rotate. This past spring, I got a call in early evening from the credit card company asking if I had OKed  a purchase in the last 2minutes for 2500 and 10minute earlier for 3500 in Dallas, Texas which is about 3000miles from home. We had both cards, but someone had gotten the number of the card we were using. It didn't cost me any money, but I had to call police and fill out a bunch of paper work. They have me down for 15k credit line, I had told them that 2k would be enought, but was told that it would be there risk and they would not reduce the amount. It cost them 5.5k to some thief.

[Frickman]

I get I must be missing out on something. I've never had a credit card, and hopefully never will. I use cash or check everywhere I go. Around town I have some charge accounts set up at NAPA, feed mill, etc., but those are paid every month. If we need to borrow any money we have a line of credit at a local bank. 2% over prime is alot cheaper than 18%.

The only time I'm inconvenienced by not carrying a credit card is when traveling, which isn't often. I've found that most  hotels and car rental places will accept cash if you pay in advance and appear to be a reasonably responsible person.

I've also witnessed folks living above their means on credit cards. It seems they fly high as a kite for a few years, then they get to where they can't cover all the bases and things come crashing down around them. I'd rather just plug along and know that everything I have is mine and not owe my right arm and both legs to some New York banker.

[biziedizie]

   Frickman you is a very smart man. I re-gained my credit a few years back and I wish I never did. Cash and cheques worked great before the cc, wish I never fell for the easy money.

   Steve

[Ed_K]

 Burn them cards, and all the paper work that comes with them. Its to easy for someone digging around in the trash, to steal your identity's.
 Saw a clip on tv tonight about this.
 Ed K

[Minnesota_boy]

Go back to the bank and get the debt consolidation loan.  Accept the extra they want to give you.  Use it to make some of the payments early.  Keep paying more than the amount they want each month and the principle will be reduced by that amount which can take months off the loan period and hundreds of dollars off the cost.  Much better than any on the credit card.  Always pay the entire amount on any credit card each month to avoid the high interest they charge.  Let somebody else finance the presidents bonus.  Use the credit card as a guaranteed payment and not as a loan vehicle.

[beenthere]

Okay BizieDizie

You have heard some good advice (similar to the advice you received about the smoking "give-em-up" thing). The ball is in your court. Now what will you do with it?  I'm hoping the same thing you did with the smokes (you did give 'em up, didn't you?).  Your son will be the better, for your wise decisions now.  

Our credit card gets paid off every month, so no interest charge here. Some cards will charge interest beginning the day of purchase. We don't have any of them. Also, some states allow more than the 18% interest charge. Ours isn't one of them, but 18% is really high. What makes it high are those who try to skip out on paying. I think the cc companies have pretty good collection success, though.

My daughter has a thing about credit cards. She doesn't want to see anything but a 'zero' balance when the monthly bill comes. So - she calls the cc company hot line early, finds out what the monthly total will be, and sends them a check before the last posting date. Drives her sister nuts! - as she usually sends her a copy of the 'zero' balance bill.

We're wishing you the best of luck here.

[Kevin_H.]

I have one credit card, I use it almost every day to pay for business stuff, at first of the month I go to the web site and transfer my money from checking to make the payment, this gives me a way of tracking my spending.

I have'nt written a check from the account in over a year, seems I had problems writing them all down. ;D

[biziedizie]

  Beenthere,
  
  To tell ya the truth I have noooo idea as to what I'm gonna do. I know that I owe alot but I'm not ready to face the music if ya know what I mean.
  If there was a way to walk from it all I would do it in a heartbeat.
  If work was consistent year round then I would be ok but this summer has kinda suxed for work and I will be going into winter kinda broke.
  We have a building boom here but as I chose to dedicate the last two years to my sons pre-school I kinda got forgotten by the bigger guys.
  I was the vp of a hands on parent participation pre-school and it was alot of work and I lost out on some pretty big contracts because I was tied up with meetings and everything else that goes along with a school that depends on donations. I lost my contacts as in this buisness people don't really care about your family life and things like that.
  I put my kid's education before money and I really don't see anything wrong with that. As I have said in the past my kid is my world.
  I am at this very moment doing residential work and the pay suxs. :D
  I got way to used to doing commercial where I could make a grand a day doing nothing but giving orders.
  I like the advice that I'm getting here and it gives me something to think about.

   BTW your daughter has the right idea 8) My ex is the same way and she drives a 40,000 car.


      Steve

   Oh yeah the smokes are down to less then 6 a day. 8) I'm very proud about that. 8)
  

[Fla._Deadheader]

  Congrats on them smokes. What ya save on them should make a BIG dent in them CC's.

[biziedizie]

  Fla_ I'm amazed at how much loot that I don't spend now plus I feel better. 8)
  Left the house this morning with two smokes and came home with one.
  The more I break my ways the more I hate these things. Do we got a smiley that I can put here that pukes. :


     Steve

[Haytrader]

Kevin,

I know what ya mean about "forgettin" to write em down.
 :D
I don't write any down and it drives my wife crazy. I tell her not to worry. If ya run out, they will send ya  a personal letter tellin ya xactly how much ya don't have.
 :D  :D  :D