Credit cards: how many do you have???

[cutenirish]

I'd do a poll but don't know how :(

We are down to 4 with balances from 7/8 - the lowes card does not really count its 205 dollars 0% and that will be Paid if full in Sept.

So three with about 8500 on them in total-- to be paid off around Jan 2008 (should be Jan 07 but i lost my job as of July 1st).

I noticed Dagg merged with F.c and I DO NOT like the set up ONE bit its to hard to navigate!!!!!! SO i'll try to recreate some threads i'd started over there for here!

[MrsPinecone]

None.

Do create a poll:
When you are in the "Create new thread" box, scroll down below the box.. one of the options is CREATE POLL.

[kurlisola]

I guess we have about 8-10 including Sears & JC Penneys & Home Depot & Lowes. Only 2 visa's are actively used (one for real life purchases & one for internet purchases). We pay them in full every month. We do carry a balance on the Sears & the home improvement stores; but, they are no interest, no payments for a specific period of time & when they come due, we'll pay them in full.

[luvmy3boys]

We have an amex, mc and discover. They are always paid in full - usually only use the discover - main reason for the cash back on gas. The amex and the mc are also rewards cards so I use them when there are bonus points for certain buys.

[queenofthehivemomof5]

0

[Hina]

I have two major credit cards that I use for everything and anything solely due to the perks I get for using 'em. I also pay my balnce full for every billing cycle.

I use dicover for the 5% cash back on gasoline purchase and Citi card diamond rewards for 5% rewards back on grocery/drug store purchase(I redeemed mine for Shell/Exxon gift cards).
Anything else ( including monthly bills such as Vonage/ dish network /T-mobile/ Comcast goes on Discover for 1% cash back.
The only departmenta credit ard I use is Kohl's (a) because it is my favourite store ( I hate malls) (b) Frequenty when you use their charge card you get 15 % on top of regulat, sale and claranc price.

[mama22qts]

6 or 7, I think. There are some that, while we are jointly on them, I never use. Home Depot comes to mind. We only use one card though routinely...and pay it off at the end of the month. It earns us 5% cash back on gas and groceries.

[Tiffany]

We have a lot, but we only 2 of them carry a balance.

[frugaljenn]

lets see, mc, lowes, sears i think thats it

then my dh has two thru his business


oh wait just remembered he opened an amazon one too

[berlinsmommy]

Chase Amazon...for Amazon Purchases (me only)
Chase Circuit City...for CC Purchases (DH only)
Citi Upromise Card...for Upromise Stuff, I need to get rid of it (me only) I did have a zero percent BT on it with money in savings, but I paid it in full w/ the savings in June before the BT offer expired.
Citi Diamond Rewards...for EVERYTHING, esp 5% gas/groceries (joint)
Kohl's...for special store promos (DH only)
Eddie Bauer...for special store promos (me only) I should get rid of it, I rarely use it.
2 Different Joint Discover Cards, since DH and I each had one when we met and these are our oldest cards, so we didn't cancel them (a long, good credit history helps your credit score), we use them for occasional purchases with special Discover Promos (like $10 off $25 Lowe's with Discover).

All have zero balances except Citi Diamond, which we use and pay off each month, it probably has about $200 or so on it right now. On all the others, we use them for whatever the promo is, and pay them off immediately.

[SavingEye]

3 which carry no balance from month to month... I use them for the perks. Upromise, Discover, and Chase cashbuilder

[reminbi2000]

I got 17 in total. ;)

I only have balance in 4 or 5 of them. Mainly for 5% grocery/gas rewards (I kept multiple since each card have max rewards per year) or discover card which often have 5% special bonus. Of course I paid them in full each month.

Rest of cards I use them to play the 0% APR game. Transfer money between them and use the FREE loan to earn FREE interest from savings account (5% at least). -:) I am never worried if this will hurt my credit score since I do not need to borrow any $$ now, and also in the future. Currently I have about $22,000 0% 12 Months so that is $1,000 free interest I make each year.

Credit card is a wonderful thing as long as you know how to use them to make $ from issuer, instead the vice versa. -:)

[shrup]

I guess we have about 8-10 including Sears & JC Penneys & Home Depot & Lowes. Only 2 visa's are actively used (one for real life purchases & one for internet purchases). We pay them in full every month. We do carry a balance on the Sears & the home improvement stores; but, they are no interest, no payments for a specific period of time & when they come due, we'll pay them in full.
I didn't realize that Sears and home improvement cards don't charge interest. That will be really useful.

[Hina]

I didn't realize that Sears and home improvement cards don't charge interest. That will be really useful.

Please note the OP mentioned no interest for these cards for a specific period of time only.

I belive normally these store specific charge cards have outgreous interest rates.

[kurlisola]

I didn't realize that Sears and home improvement cards don't charge interest. That will be really useful.

Hina's right. Its during specific promotions. Usually 1 year no payments no interest, free delivery (after rebate). I've used the Sears to buy (and payoff) over the last 6 years: treadmill, 2 freezers, 1 refrigerator, washer/dryer. The Sears had a zero balance until I got the mattresses for my kids last month. I don't have to pay for them until April of 2007 & no interest.

Lowes & Home depot have specific promos...it usually involves buying more than $299 on a specific weekend. So are no payments for 3 months or 6 months or a year. We used them to pay for the hardwood flooring for the diningroom; a couple months later, the pergo for the kitchen; a couple months later the materials to fence our backyard. The hardwood flooring was pif back in March; the pergo is due in September & the fencing in January.

[mpmama2re]

zero

[lanichan]

Mr. lanichan - Probably around 5 if you include business/work related cards. Best Buy, Home Depot, AMEX, etc.

Me: 2 - One is thru our credit union and one is just mine that I use for groceries and other household stuff.

[shrup]

Hina's right. Its during specific promotions. Usually 1 year no payments no interest, free delivery (after rebate). I've used the Sears to buy (and payoff) over the last 6 years: treadmill, 2 freezers, 1 refrigerator, washer/dryer. The Sears had a zero balance until I got the mattresses for my kids last month. I don't have to pay for them until April of 2007 & no interest.

Lowes & Home depot have specific promos...it usually involves buying more than $299 on a specific weekend. So are no payments for 3 months or 6 months or a year. We used them to pay for the hardwood flooring for the diningroom; a couple months later, the pergo for the kitchen; a couple months later the materials to fence our backyard. The hardwood flooring was pif back in March; the pergo is due in September & the fencing in January.
So if you're using the same card to purchase different products, I'm guessing that it must know somehow when you have made the last payment for the first purchase so that you're not charged interest on the remaining balance (which is the 2nd purchase). :confused: Hope I'm making sense.

[kurlisola]

So if you're using the same card to purchase different products, I'm guessing that it must know somehow when you have made the last payment for the first purchase so that you're not charged interest on the remaining balance (which is the 2nd purchase). :confused: Hope I'm making sense.


Yes, with Sears card its easy because I don't use it for anything else & have never made more than one purchase at a time. It says $xxx, amount due $0, interest 0 until 4-15-07 (for example).

With Lowes, I also only have one purchase so its the same.

With Home Depot, I have made several purchases with 0 due, but also occasionally have small $25 or so charges for various household/repair stuff. So, the statment looks something like this:

Current charge $179, amount due $10 (but of course we pif right away)

and lower down the statment, something like this:

10-5-05 $850 No interest, first payment due 9-25-06
1-10-06 $1200 No interest, first payment due 1-9-07

Does that make sense?

[kurlisola]

I should add, that you have to be careful with this. Cuz otherwise you might all of a sudden have alot of payments & interest due. In our case we could have afforded to pif when we made the purchase, but would rather have our money grow interest somewhere else for a year & then pif when then interest starts accruing.

[shrup]

I should add, that you have to be careful with this. Cuz otherwise you might all of a sudden have alot of payments & interest due. In our case we could have afforded to pif when we made the purchase, but would rather have our money grow interest somewhere else for a year & then pif when then interest starts accruing.
Very good. That makes sense.

[mmb1996]

A LOT. I probably have about 8-9 cards for different clothing stores (penneys, old navy, bonton, fashion bug, new york and co., aeropostale, childrens place, hummmm I am sure there are others) The deals are 2 great to pass up, free gift cards, excellent coupons, cardmember only sales. I always pay these in full whenever I use them. I get great deals on clothes this way. I love clothes so finding a cheap way to get them was a must.

My husband and I each have a citibank rewards card for gas and groceries, everyday purchases. THis also gets paid in full every month and we get hundreds of dollars worth of gift cards everyyear. The 5% back from gas, grocery, drug store purchases is awesome.

We also have a chase card with 0% percent interest for 12 months, on month 5 now with some home improvement purchases on that, we put on a new porch and stuff to fix up the house. It will get moved around to other 0% cards till its paid off. We have been doing this for about 6 years with slowly remoldeling our old 100 year old house. Aside from a few balance transfer fees a couple times we haven't paid any interest in those 6 years. I keep an eye out for good ones all the time to have handy for when its about to expire. I love when I find a good one without any transfer fees. We thought of getting a home equity line of credit but this works out much better.

We also have lowes, home depot and sears for all the perks, never pay interest on them.

Sounds like a lot but if you know how to work them and keep excellent track of them they do work for you. I don't recommend this to anyone though because it is so easy to slip up and you really need to read all the small print. I am a SAHM so I spend a lot of time doing the bills and finding the best way to get a deal.

[cutenirish]

That is alot of cards but if you can manage them all and pay no interest thats awsome-- we won't use credit cards again until we are able to pay off what we charge monthly-- which i don't see happening in the near future unless it's a 0% for xyz to buy something that we can pay off before the interest gets applied.

I'm loving the tightwad gazette and i'm just on page 30!!!!!! I know i know 9xx pages to go! I think I'm going to have to buy a copy of it-- i can only read about 10 pages a day before my eye get to tired! So thats about 3 months of reading and I can only have the book out for 3 weeks then can renew for another three weeks then it has to go back to the library!

[kurlisola]

Cute, we went cold turkey on credit cards for 6 years...lets see, from about1994 until about 2000. During that time we only paid cash for stuff. We were completely irresponsible with our credit before. It took us almost 3 years to pay everything off & another 3 before I felt we were disciplined enough for credit. So, its not an easy road for everyone. Just take one month at a time:-)

[shrup]

We also have a chase card with 0% percent interest for 12 months, on month 5 now with some home improvement purchases on that, we put on a new porch and stuff to fix up the house. It will get moved around to other 0% cards till its paid off. We have been doing this for about 6 years with slowly remoldeling our old 100 year old house. Aside from a few balance transfer fees a couple times we haven't paid any interest in those 6 years. I keep an eye out for good ones all the time to have handy for when its about to expire. I love when I find a good one without any transfer fees. We thought of getting a home equity line of credit but this works out much better.
This is another wonderful idea. I’m learning so much. How do you go about transferring the balances over to a new 0% card? Do you just call the credit card companies and have them do the transfer? What other hidden cost could there be besides the transfer fees that we should be aware of?

We once took out a line of credit, and at that time we asked them to tell us about all the hidden fees associated with it. What they didn’t tell us was that the checking account that we had to open with them had to have the auto deduct service. This is to ensure that they can deduct from this account in case we don’t make the monthly payment, and that there would be a fee if it goes below a minimum balance.

[MaryMary]

We carry very little cash, no debit cards, 1 of each AmEx, MC, Visa and Discover, no store cards. For me it is too much bother to keep up with all these due dates, rather have fewer good ones with high limit. My cards are used every day for most of my spending, including utility bills. This will give me fewer consolidated bills I pay in full every month.
I find that only the initial promotions of store cards are good, winding down if I do not have lots of transactions and large amounts charged. Coupons and promotions can be found on FW and other sites even if you do not have the store card. We do not need to buy as for right now anything major: electronics, appliances, not involved in any major house improvements, so no need in HD and Lowe's credit, even for 0%.

[MaryMary]

How do you go about transferring the balances over to a new 0% card? Do you just call the credit card companies and have them do the transfer? What other hidden cost could there be besides the transfer fees that we should be aware of?



Be aware that balance transfers are treated differently then purchases for these 0% cards. It may incurr fees and may not be interest free al all, compare to your charges.

[anyothername]

I have 2. One has a very low credit limit 300.00. I use and pay this one off every mounth for misc stuff like gas when i don't want to go in and pay. Then my boyfriend and i have a joint credit card with much to big of a limit on it. It gives us money towards a down payment on a car, so anything big we charge on it and try to pay it off. That hasn't been working, so we have a balance that is a little higher than i like. So i have laid down the law that there is no more charging on it enless we really have the money to pay it off, and we are putting double the amount we used to into paying the balance off. We are planning to buy a house next year so i want no outstanding debt.

[shrup]

Those with zero cards, how do you establish your credit? In some cases, it's the points in your FICO that determines your interest rate.

[cutenirish]

Yes we are paying off old spending stupildy!!! that started in 2001 and went til about July 2004-- lots of bills racked up fast! I can count the 4 or 5 things we've used a credit card for in the past two years:
1. dinner with friends for a bday July 2004
2. haircut August 2004
3. a nascar jacket (that dh was not supposed to use the card unless it was an emergency) March 2005
4. cowgirl boots for me (DH had the cc from the nascar trip and wouldn't give it back til after he bought the boots) April 2005
5. paid off part of our old tahoe to get rid of it as a trade in and not roll so much over onto the malibu Aug 2005- yeah i know not that smart but it worked out so-so for us

We refinanced the house in Dec 2005 Put 2 lines of credit on it and two credit cards. That was the best move we could have made yes we still have 8500 in credit card debt but three years ago cc and line of credits truly totaled about 60,000 plus the car, house and four wheeler (sold that last summer thank god).

SO we've learned the hard way YES but we've learned!!!!!! So don't think we'll ever use credit cards again--- unless it's truly an emergency! DH thinks we'll be able to use them again but I don't want to risk it!

[Apennysaved]

This is another wonderful idea. I’m learning so much. How do you go about transferring the balances over to a new 0% card? Do you just call the credit card companies and have them do the transfer? What other hidden cost could there be besides the transfer fees that we should be aware of?

We once took out a line of credit, and at that time we asked them to tell us about all the hidden fees associated with it. What they didn’t tell us was that the checking account that we had to open with them had to have the auto deduct service. This is to ensure that they can deduct from this account in case we don’t make the monthly payment, and that there would be a fee if it goes below a minimum balance.

If you do not pay the monthly minimum on the balance transfer on time each and every month the credit card company will kick the interest rate up, sometimes up to 30%!

If you continue to use the credit card that you used for the balance transfer please be aware that your monthly payment first goes toward the charged amount for that month and THEN to the minimum required on the balance transfer. This can be tricky and how most people end up getting switch over into paying the high interest rate, so I would not continue to use your credit card after the balance transfer is made. Put the card away in your sock drawer until the balance transfer is completely paid off!

You need to make sure you pay off the balance transfer by the end of the introductory period. After the period expires, the rates will be jacked up, sometimes up to 30%!

As always, read and completely understand the fine print for the credit card before you do any kind of balance transfer. You could call the customer care department of the credit card company to ask questions, but the representatives on the other side don’t always have the latest facts and if a mistake is made, you will be the one to pay.

This is a great website
http://www.mymoneyblog.com/archives/2005/01/good_credit_car_2.html
to go to the home page just click "main" at the top of the page.

http://www.mymoneyblog.com/archives/2006/07/request_for_que.html#more

[MOM2SNOX]

Several! But a majority of them are sitting with low balances or none. We keep them open to keep our credit score high.

[BzyBee DH]

Those with zero cards, how do you establish your credit? In some cases, it's the points in your FICO that determines your interest rate.

2-part answer

1) Mortgage, etc is also basis of score.

2) Long term objective = no debt (including mortgage), therefore does not matter.

(Dave Ramsey states he has a FICO score of zero, as he has had no debt in more than 7 years - do not know the veracity of this statement, BUT it does shift the thought pattern, if you make a plan for no debt, it does not matter what your FICO score is)
Also, there is an option for manual underwriting (not FICO lending) - usually smaller banks, etc.

[MaryMary]

(Dave Ramsey states he has a FICO score of zero, as he has had no debt in more than 7 years - do not know the veracity of this statement, BUT it does shift the thought pattern, if you make a plan for no debt, it does not matter what your FICO score is)


Unless he has an underlying problem with compulsive spending or lack of discipline, I have hard time believing in his statement.
Well, depends what he calls a debt:
He doesn't use credit cards at all or pay balances in full?
He has less then 1 debt to assets ratio?

[BzyBee DH]

Unless he has an underlying problem with compulsive spending or lack of discipline, I have hard time believing in his statement.
Well, depends what he calls a debt:
He doesn't use credit cards at all or pay balances in full?
He has less then 1 debt to assets ratio?

I can not speak for the veracity of the statment.

But - DR states he owns no credit cards, no debts. (only debit card).

We only have 1 debt - mortgage for a few more years. I do not share his thought on credit card vs debit card.

[cutenirish]

In 10 years I'm hoping to have just a mortgage and thats it-- my student loans go another ten years. But our credit cards should be gone in three, unless I find a job that pays what I made before then they will be gone in about a year (7600 not so bad) and our car lease will be up in August 2009 and we don't want to buy new or lease again need to find out if we can trade our lease in and buy a used car from the dealer with cash (early trade in type offer) KWIM :)

[MaryMary]

I can not speak for the veracity of the statment.

But - DR states he owns no credit cards, no debts. (only debit card).

We only have 1 debt - mortgage for a few more years. I do not share his thought on credit card vs debit card.

If I'd be a bank, I'd love to have customers like DR if what he said about his money use is true. In order to cover his expences he has to keep good amount of money on his checking accounts all the time, or to pay fees to connect it to his savings. Since no interest is usually paid on checking, this is good for the banks, not the account holder. That's an advice from a frugal money guru to people scrambling for every dollar to let the banker, not you, make $$$ on your earnings?? People, this is a conspiracy against average Jo and Jane! :Nod:
I also find it hypocritical of him not to reveal why he doesn't recommend credit cards. IMO, the underlining is users discipline, lack of it to be exact. DR sings in tune of the people who put a blame on CC, but keep forgetting that it was no one but the users who handed CCs to the cashiers and signed on the dotted line. First, people waved that cards at every occasion they've got, but when the debt had been accumulated beyond their paying ability they claim that CC is a devil. :rolleyes:
What is a next step? Pronouce debt as a sin? :hysterical: Unfortunately your banker is not as forgiving as your preacher, just keep it in mind. :Nod:

[BzyBee DH]

Yes, DR promotes having 6 months of ongoing expenses in liquid accounts (checking, CDs etc).

[MaryMary]

If you have $2000 in your total monthly expences and charge it to a credit card instead of paying by directly from your checking, it will give you an extra $8 in interest (keep your $2000 25 days longer on your savings account @ 5%APR) and $20 if your card gives you 1% back in perks. At least $28 each and every month, without any work at all. For DR this is payment for 1/2 min or less of his show, for many of us it is 2+ hrs with the families instead of working.

What is $28 for us? 9 gallons of gas? Half of your phone bill? Lunch out? Or it will go back into saving?

Wanted to add:
It is understood that your credit card bill must be paid in full every month. By charging your daily expences you are giving yourself a month of free use of bank's money, while your own is earning interest for you.

[Shopz2Much]

I got myself in trouble with credit cards in my early 20's. That was actually a GOOD thing cause now I won't carry a balance at all. They get paid off EVERY month. I'm like a drill sergeant with them. LOL I live on my AmEx, but like I said, it gets paid off every month (love their points system). Have 2 other visa/mastercards but they have no balances and are for REAL emergencies.

[shrup]

If you have $2000 in your total monthly expences and charge it to a credit card instead of paying by directly from your checking, it will give you an extra $8 in interest (keep your $2000 25 days longer on your savings account @ 5%APR) and $20 if your card gives you 1% back in perks. At least $28 each and every month, without any work at all. For DR this is payment for 1/2 min or less of his show, for many of us it is 2+ hrs with the families instead of working.

What is $28 for us? 9 gallons of gas? Half of your phone bill? Lunch out? Or it will go back into saving?

Wanted to add:
It is understood that your credit card bill must be paid in full every month. By charging your daily expences you are giving yourself a month of free use of bank's money, while your own is earning interest for you.
This takes good planning assuming that you keep the minimum amount in a non-interest checking account, then when it’s time to pay the credit card, transfer the amount needed to pay from the savings to the checking account.

[MaryMary]

The planing is much less then to keep up with due dates on the multiple bills, you need to watch due dates for 1-2 cards. Just charge your bills, then in a month or so pay your credit card, all in one. Your credit card statement will reflect a complete structure of your family budget, all without tedious recording.
A couple days before your bill due go online, transfer money to your spending account and schedule your payments. Make sure you know how long does it takes for money to appear on your spending account from your savings/investment. All it takes is a few clicks.
WARNING! The funds you designated to pay your bills are indeed must be available in time, not spent on something else. If someone is not sure, rather not try it at all.

[knucklemama]

I'm sorry. I think it's ridiculous to use credit cards for any reason at all, especially is you are carrying a balance of them. Get "The Total Money Makeover" book written by Dave Ramsey and you'll never look at cc's the same again. I can say "it's ridiculous" because I've been in cc debt before but never again. Using this "system" outlined in the book we have paid off $22k in a little over two years.

[momabrown3]

no credit cards for me.if i can't pay with my debit card i don't need it.

[catinhat]

I think using cards depends on your control. Everyone's situation is different, including ours.

3 - because I earn rebate cash on them, we utilize them for our business, and it offers protection against companies that don't deliver. I've had to go to my credit card company once when trying to special order something. The guy (business) lied to me and lied to me for months, but I was able to go through my credit card company and I got all of my money back.

I wouldn't of seen a dime if I would have paid by check.

We also pay in full every month so we never pay those outrageous interest rates.

[cutenirish]

I did some consolidation all onto one card at 0% Until Feb 16, 2008! It will be paid off by then - just 7500 so that's not a huge amount compaired to where we were a few years ago :)

So no more credit cards for us for awhile.

:) YIPPIE on the way to being debt free-- just gonna keep plugging away!

[Dixiechick]

I have 6 major CC's with a line of about $60K. Have used all but one at some point in time. All have perks. I think I have about $300 on one payable this month. Never have a problem and never sweat over them. They work for me by earning me rebates or other goodies. I make money off them...

Dixiechick

[MaryMary]

I'm sorry. I think it's ridiculous to use credit cards for any reason at all, especially is you are carrying a balance of them. Get "The Total Money Makeover" book written by Dave Ramsey and you'll never look at cc's the same again. I can say "it's ridiculous" because I've been in cc debt before but never again. Using this "system" outlined in the book we have paid off $22k in a little over two years.

Before letting anyone drive the car people have to demonstrate certain skills and pass an exam on the basic knowledge of the road rules. Your DL is a proof you had passed that test. IMO, it should be a test if a person is ready to use CC. The questions should go something like this:
1.You charged $1000 on your card bearing interest 25%. How long would it take to pay it up, provided you will not charge anything else untill you are done and you will pay $50 per mo. ?
a. 12 month b. 20 mo. c. 27 mo.
2. How much in interest you'd pay by the end of the payment period?
a. $100 b.$200 c. $307.08
If you take only required min. payments instead of fixed $50, the numbers will change drastically.
Here, take a look. http://www.bankrate.com/brm/calc/minpayment.asp

3. You didn't receive the item you've ordered by mail. The company claimed they send it to you, but without confirmation. Which type of payment is likely to get your money back?
a. cash b. money order c. credit card.

4. While on vacation you just found out your wallet has been stolen. You remember having $100 in cash and 2 credit cards with $5000 limit ea. Which type of money you are likely to bid farewell forever?
a. cash b. 1 CC worth $5000, c. both CC worth $10000.



Test takers should be allowed to use any aids they want, the purpose is to deliver the info to them before they'll get themselves in trouble. DR "system" should not look like revelation to anyone who care to learn "pros" and "cons" of CC before staring to use it.

As many respondents of this topic I take care of balances in full by the end of every grace period. If the supermarkets banned the customer for taking advantage of their own policies (re: MA customer tread), CC companies cannot ban cardholders who use bank's money for almost a month and do not pay a penny for it, plus accumulating bonus points, miles, cash back, etc... :)

[airyn1]

The first step is admitting the problem, right ;)

9. All of them have balances and I'm so ready to have them paid off. That's part of the reason I'm here. All coupon and rebate savings are currently going toward this goal.

[cutenirish]

Can you transfer some to other's so you can have less bills to pay and maybe save on interest? That's what I was finally able to do after about 3 years now it's all on one card! You can do it -- it seems like it's hard to do but it's totally doable!!

[knucklemama]

For those of you that do have credit cards and are trying to get out of debt. And, it seems like there's never enough money to pay everything... I want to recommend a book that my DH and I read, Total Money Makeover, by Dave Ramsey. Since starting this "system" we have paid off over $24k of debt in 2 years. That may not sound like a lot to some, but to us it is. For those skeptics, this is not a get rich quick deal. All you do is buy the book which cost around $20 and follow it. It's so easy once you get the hang of doing your budget. It may take about 3 months to be totally comfortable but once you start you just can't stop. The book teaches you how to budget, how to save, how to establish your kids college funds, your retirement, etc...... It's such an informative book.

[hotcouponmama]

Just added mine up....we have 40 combined between DH and I - yikes!!! But only about 15K in balances.

[SammysMom]

I dont have one, never have. My DH has one and he is paying it off in March and cutting it up. Hardly uses it and doesnt see the point in keeping it.

[hotcouponmama]

I dont have one, never have. My DH has one and he is paying it off in March and cutting it up. Hardly uses it and doesnt see the point in keeping it.

It's one thing to cut it, but don't close it. The older your accounts are in good standing, the better your credit history is.

[niftyneon99]

I agree, don't close it. I had a capital one card that I closed when they ticked me off royally and it shortened my credit history 2 years and now they are saying that one of the negative factors on our report is that our longest account is only 7 years old?

I have a question: How long does your history have to be before it's not a negative factor?

[cutenirish]

I think negative things "fall off" after 7 years of being paid off or setteled (if a collection account) if its a credit account with a negative that is still open (a late payment or something) then I'm not sure

[MaryMary]

Just added mine up....we have 40 combined between DH and I - yikes!!! But only about 15K in balances.

40? you mean 40? :question1::shock1:

You even didn't know how many did you have up to this point? :shock3: Poor you, how did you keep up with all of them, paying in time, checking the balances...
I have only 4 major ones, but each has a limit just a bit less then our annual income.

[hotcouponmama]

40? you mean 40? :question1::shock1:

You even didn't know how many did you have up to this point? :shock3: Poor you, how did you keep up with all of them, paying in time, checking the balances...
I have only 4 major ones, but each has a limit just a bit less then our annual income.

Actually, I hae them all in a spread sheet, including their interest rates, balances, and credit limits, plus I have all the access info for them tracked as well.

And while I have 40 accounts, I don't have 40 cards with open balances. I think I have about 10 accounts that have any kind of balance on them, and the bulk of those are getting consolidated next week to a new 0% balance card. They all get paid on time - the due dates are in the spreadsheet so I just open it up once a week and look at what's coming due for that week, and then go online, so I really don't even look at the statements too much.

But I had never really counted them before, so I didn't know we'd hit the 40 mark.

[hotcouponmama]

I think negative things "fall off" after 7 years of being paid off or setteled (if a collection account) if its a credit account with a negative that is still open (a late payment or something) then I'm not sure

It's kind of a misnomer that things "fall off" on their own. They really don't and many times, you need to go back and ask them to take any negative information off your account. Be sure to check all three bureaus that it gets yanked from each one.

As to oldest accounts, Niftyneon, you could call Cap one and ask them to reinstate that account - it isn't likely just because of who they are, but some accounts will do that. I had closed my Macy's card (then meier and frank). I reopened it to get a 15% off deal cause I was buying ALOT and it was worth it (don't normally do that.) They gave me the old account number and reinstated the account from 1993!!!

Now I don't close any cards, which is why I have so many.

[hotcouponmama]

And I would say as a rule, avoid capitol 1 cards. They don't report your limit, so not showing the limit makes you look like you actually have bad credit.

Example - you have a cap 1 card with 5000K limit on it. You only spend $800 on it tops. It will only show on your bureau the high balance of $800 and never show that they gave you 5000K to spend.

You go to apply for another card, and to them, it looks like you can only handle 800 of credit properly, not the 5000K. So they either deny you or give you a card with a low balance and crappy terms.

I learned this the hard way early on, and now have cards that have actual high limits, not balances recorded. I still have cap one cards, but I try not to use them unless they have a special offer associated with them, cause unless I max them out, it doesn't accurately reflect my credit history.

[MaryMary]

And I would say as a rule, avoid capitol 1 cards. They don't report your limit, so not showing the limit makes you look like you actually have bad credit.

Example - you have a cap 1 card with 5000K limit on it. You only spend $800 on it tops. It will only show on your bureau the high balance of $800 and never show that they gave you 5000K to spend.

You go to apply for another card, and to them, it looks like you can only handle 800 of credit properly, not the 5000K. So they either deny you or give you a card with a low balance and crappy terms.

I learned this the hard way early on, and now have cards that have actual high limits, not balances recorded. I still have cap one cards, but I try not to use them unless they have a special offer associated with them, cause unless I max them out, it doesn't accurately reflect my credit history.

How do the bank knows you can handle $5K if your top spending is only $800, even if others have listed all limits? The actual reason of denial/low offer has to be different then what they told you. You wouldn't believe what "fairy tales" credit card reps might tell you...

[BzyBee]

HCM...while DH and I have never been heavy credit users, we did have a lot of accounts open at one point. It hurt our credit score to have so much available credit that we were not using. We closed many of them, and it did not harm our credit...in fact our scores went up. Now, we did keep the long standing account open, but the rest are closed. There is no ONE rule that closing accounts will drop your FICO score. If you are looking at buying property soon you might want to see if so much available credit is bringing your score down at all.

[hotcouponmama]

How do the bank knows you can handle $5K if your top spending is only $800, even if others have listed all limits? The actual reason of denial/low offer has to be different then what they told you. You wouldn't believe what "fairy tales" credit card reps might tell you...

The capital one thing is fairly well discussed on many other finance boards. It doesn't look good to other lenders if they can't see how much you were extended by a different lender, and it works both ways. You could have a card that isn't reflecting the limit accurately, and a new lender wouldn't know how overextended you might be able to get with that card, so it throws up a red flag. Conversely, if it only ever looks like 800 was the max you could go with the card, you'd be seen as a credit risk.

So, then capital one waits a bit, and then offers you another card. You can't get a card from someone else because of this tactic with your bureau, so they offer you another.

Then they jack up interest rates along the way, so you open up another card with them for the new interest offer. But all the while, any new financial institution never gets an accurate assessment of your credit.

For that reason, there are many I've read who had similar circumstances, and cap1 is notoriously know as Crapital one. I've also read a few articles in money magazines (not directly about cap1) but just to the effect that you want your full credit potential to be displayed for other lenders to see.

And then having your limits known also helps define your utilization.

For example, spread over my cards is $15K, but I really have access to nearly $140K in credit overall. So my cards are at about 11% utilized. I know that. But since the cap one limits aren't known, my utilization is going to look higher to a lender cause they can't factor that it properly, or they will only use the high balance of 800 to assess that, not the limit of 5000. The higher the utilization spread over your credit, the worse off your look to a lender. And that's the real crux of the problem with lenders who don't report limits.

[MOM2SNOX]

Chase just tried to send me another one... and that's AFTER I called the "don't send" list! Got it down to four now.. thank goodness!

[hotcouponmama]

HCM...while DH and I have never been heavy credit users, we did have a lot of accounts open at one point. It hurt our credit score to have so much available credit that we were not using. We closed many of them, and it did not harm our credit...in fact our scores went up. Now, we did keep the long standing account open, but the rest are closed. There is no ONE rule that closing accounts will drop your FICO score. If you are looking at buying property soon you might want to see if so much available credit is bringing your score down at all.

I took a pretty good dip once when I closed a bunch at the same time, so I am a bit gun-shy about closing them again.

In general, our credit scores are pretty good. I would say we are moderate with credit usage overall, as compared to our income and ability to pay cards off. And we've always been more of major purchases and using 0% deals (like the washer and dryer I bought a few months ago), and then get the cards paid off. So 8K is major purchases from the last few months. Then there's some airline tixs and things we just bought, we don't do much of our day to day living on CCs, we use our debit card for that kind of stuff (unless of course, I lose it :wink:)

[MaryMary]

Lenders who work in new applications not suppose to know that trick by Capital 1? I have my doubts...
Then if you have $140K in available credit and able to manage it, + or - $5K doesn't really matter, that's only 2%.
I'd rather go with BzyBee that too much credit doesn't look good either, especially you do not use it at least 3/4 of capacity.
People who really think that cap 1 not reporting limits is a key problem in their new application should persue their lenders with documents proving their point. Total credit line is usually stated in all cap 1 statements sent home.

[BzyBee]

I took a pretty good dip once when I closed a bunch at the same time, so I am a bit gun-shy about closing them again.

In general, our credit scores are pretty good. I would say we are moderate with credit usage overall, as compared to our income and ability to pay cards off. And we've always been more of major purchases and using 0% deals (like the washer and dryer I bought a few months ago), and then get the cards paid off. So 8K is major purchases from the last few months. Then there's some airline tixs and things we just bought, we don't do much of our day to day living on CCs, we use our debit card for that kind of stuff (unless of course, I lose it :wink:)

Then it may not be an issue for you to have so many open. Our lender said the issue for us was that we had so much credit available, that if we ever took advantage of it we would be in way over our heads so that our scores reflected a possible accident waiting to happen. Our risk was much lower when we lowered the amount of credit we had access too so that our score went up. Now, this makes little sense to me when I consider that the amount we qualified for with our last mortgage was considerably more than the amount of credit we had available from those open CC accounts. Perhaps they were afraid we would take the max on our mortgage and then start using the CC too!! :rolleyes:


According to this article, you don't want to be using more than 25-35% of your available credit...and less is better.
http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/Banking/YourCreditRating/PerfectCreditYouDontNeedIt.aspx?GT1=8994

[hotcouponmama]

I think other factors come into play with this. While you're income levels could change, I think that income levels in relation to credit limits have a huge amount to do with credit risk. Yes, DH could lose his job tomorrow (not likely since the Army is begging for people) but income and time on the job related to how much available credit you have is important. Or your capacity for being employable in your field.

As to the capital one thing, my comments weren't really about me - like I said, we learned that was a problem early on when we were young and building our credit history, so it was more as a word to the wise from someone who has been there and done that to not choose capital one as a lender because of that tactic.

[hotcouponmama]

I'd rather go with BzyBee that too much credit doesn't look good either, especially you do not use it at least 3/4 of capacity.


Yikes - I would not want to be utilized to 3/4 of $140K. I don't think a lender would want to see that either. Curious as to what your thought behind that is?

[pwetypweas]

Yikes - I would not want to be utilized to 3/4 of $140K. I don't think a lender would want to see that either. Curious as to what your thought behind that is?

Maybe she is including mortgage in that?

[hotcouponmama]

Maybe she is including mortgage in that?

Maybe, but the $140k is consumer credit - I would have to redo the numbers to include the mortgage, and it would be a lot higher, but then we would be closer to 3/4 utilized.

[MaryMary]

Your income level plays huge role, as well as your employment history. What should be added is your current assets, your liquidity. No one knows if your credit card bills raked on fancy restaurant visits or on valuable collectors items which will appreciate in time, for example.
I'm used to evaluating debt as an earning potential, too accustomed to operate definitions like net worth and current ratios.. They are not used in personal lending, but generally for business only. IMO, it should not be, but it is not for me to decide. :shrug2:

I cannot argue with the reason for under 25% credit utilization ratio recommended in the article. It just what scoring system expects, but not to the best consumer interest. They target an average consumer which has lots of credit and still apply for new cards/loans twice per year at least. The system do not care that even if the credit cards are used at 50% of the capacity, many people are still able to carry no balance. Scoring system designed to the lenders interest, suck the consumer into the debt to the point they wouldn't be able to pay it in full any more and start actually making money for the lender.
For our own needs I feel like we have too much credit on our 4 cards, way more then HCM has. It happened not because I kept applying for new cards, but because current lenders kept hiking the limits.

[nena21]

Interesting post. I wont count hubby since we only have ONE joint credit card and it will show below. I pay all my cards in full when due. I use my credit card for everything since i get cash back and rewards. However, they are paid in full when due. A trick I do is to use the main 2 cards at different times of the month. If a cards billing cycle ends on the 6th and another one on the 15th, I use the first on until the 6th and start the other one after the new cycle starts so it will give me a month to pay. Take it that the cards that should not be used are kept at home and I only carry the one "valid" for that period of time. Does it make sense? hehehe

Currently I have (AND Im sticking with these). I actually was going to have only two and close one that was going to start charging me $25 a year to use the rewards but when I called they changed me to another one with no year fee and better rewards, so I decided to keep it.


American Express (0 balance)
Master Card 1 (0 balance)
Master Card 2 (this month expenses, will be paid in full by due date)
Kohls Card (I just opened this for their promos, it wont be used otherwise)
Best Buy Card (used only with big purchases and 18 months interest free promos)
Home Depot - JOINT - (0 balance)


Last year I ended up using the 0% on 2 cards for a total of $2000 debt however, it has been paid off and Im starting the year debt free. My goal this year instead of saving is to pay off my moms debts and 2008 start saving for myself.

[trasta209]

Hmm just ran across this post! I have No actual credit cards-had a problem with them in college. I do have a debit card tho, but my fiance has two and one card he charges everything and the other he charges what he cant charge on a discover card. I have told him he needs to live more oop than with the cc but he thinks it is worth it to charge on his discover since he gets cash back-but i don't think it is worth it. so need less to say he groans about how much he racks up everymonth on general items like gas, food excetra. He just needs to give the card up or us it for big purchases-not everyday purchases!

[Deb53092]

I have many but use only a few.I don't close because I have a very high credit score and it will lower it.BUT, I never pay a finance charge.Credit cards are just for the perks and to use some one else money for sometines 45 days!!

[mrsjschultz]

One :BigHand: which has a VERY small balance on it (to keep it up and running) but it's also lots away. We pay cash/check/debit for everything.

[rachel2007a]

2, Discover-we do not use it anymore
Visa - use it for some purchases, but not many.

[skw6559]

Three- Use for rewards and pay off the balance on a monthly basis. I love those free hundred dollar gift cards!

[angeladcc]

I have none, but my husband has one that we use everything for. We are working on getting me one, but this works for now!

[Ginya]

We have a very high credit score also, banker said the second highest he has ever seen, and we have always had a very moderate income. Have 2 CC now, pay in full every month. I close any card I don't want out there, and it has not hurt our score at all. Unless, it could have been over the top. Don't think they do that. I figure the only reason our score is not perfect, is our low income and no debt at all now. I think they like a little debt, I don't.

T hat said, always pay on time or early, never bounce a check NEVER, and live under your means. Very liberating.

[kmmmom]

None

I got in trouble with them in the past and now I know that I am in a much better place if I just don't have any in my possession. I am still paying for my mistakes with my poor credit score and paying down tons of debts. I am currently on a cash only basis. If I don't have the cash in the bank, I must not need it!

[jigglyjello]

I have way to many I think i have about 8 I need to get them paid off in January if possible....sigh...I hate having the debt hanging over my head....

[southernbird]

I have two and use them when I buy appliances etc, paid off in first month.

[eisor]

I have the following:

2 - Visas
1 - Discover
2 - Store credit cards

That's it. I use the 2 Visas regularly. I only use the Discover card at our local mall which is sponsored by Discover and I only use the store cards when shopping at that store. I pay them all off in full every month. I've never missed a payment or gone over my limit. So far so good.

DH has the following:
1 - Master
2 - Visa
1 - American Express
1 - Discover
1 - Store card

He only uses two of them. He has a small balance on another one. Other than that small balance, they all get paid off in full every month.

[amtrak23]

Roughly about 50. Don't worry they aren't for spending money, they are for floating 0% APR money in high interest accounts.

I only really use 2-3 for everyday purchases. Citi dividend, Citi dividend, and Amex. I max out each Citi cashback, then move to my Amex.

[livingalmostlarge]

10? I have no idea I have a ton from college and never closed.

[Zinnia]

I got my first credit card in High School and have never carried a balance. Mine are paid off in full every month.

I charge absolutely everything! With the rewards I get for each dollar I spend, I get $600/year cash back (the max cash you can get), plus have gotten a digital camera, airline tickets, Cuisinart food processor, Movado watch, tons of gift cards (Gap, Bloomingdales, Toys R Us, etc), a Weber gas grill and things I can't even remember.

[scottiegazelle]

None, nada, zilch, zero.

How will I establish credit? I will pay for my cars and other household items with cash. When I move, I will use manual underwiting. Right now, we are looking at having the house paid off in 10 years, so I may even be able to skip that step.

For those arguing the 'smart side' of credit cards: Dunn & Bradstreet did a study (oft cited yet so hard to find!) that shows your spending increases 12-18% when you pay with plastic instead of cash. This British study (http://www.dectech.org/Links/GBD4.pdf) gives you some other things to think about, as well. Since this is a credit card forum, I'll agree to disagree with those seeking to outfox the billion dollar credit industry.

My goal: a 0 Fico score. Since the house is in dh's name, I should achieve that in about 7 years! At that point, I may just have to make my own 0 Fico t-shirt and bumper sticker. <go go go!>

[amtrak23]

Interesting read scottie. I would have to agree most people just don't understand how to use them safely or for solely profiting purposes. 99.9% of the people in this country should be forced to only use cash at all times.

[luvmykitten]

If you BT do it to a new card and never use that card for a purchase. If the purchase APR is lower than the BT APR the BT (usually lower APR) gets paid first.

If you are using a card you always pay fill, wait until after you cycle closes to cash the BT check. That way the purchases will be paid and you will only have the BT balance to pay not a comination.

[Alice Chalmers]

We have one rarely used card and plan to keep it that way.

[Dealio]

I have 2 cards. I haven't charged anything on them since September 2006. There's about $3000 left to pay off.

[extechy]

I have 3. I have about $500 in cc debt. That's where part of my tax rebate is going to be put to good use!

[aquamarine54]

We have a VISA with $6,000 on it and a small Home Depot which will both be PAID OFF tomorrow!!! (Bonus day at dh's business!) I cannot wait to hit the send button on the computer tomorrow to pay them off!!. Then all we have is a jeep payoff of $10,000. We are working Dave Ramsey's plan and hope to scream "We're debt free" in the next six months. :BigHand:

Cindy

[Tomekayf]

I am all over the Dave Ramsey plan! Kudos to those out there that aim to be debt free! It is an awesome feeling. I put my tax return to good use as well and paid off my last debt in March! I am officially debt free except for my house! I have 3 credit cards that I didn't use at all until I started reading news articles about companies closing accounts that were inactive. So I started charging things that I would normally pay for like water bills, electric and gas and so forth and paying it off right away. I wasn't sure how it would affect my credit if the companies decided to close my accounts. I plan on buying another house at some point and until that occurs, I have to keep my stellar credit!
Keep up the good work out there!

I see debt people!:hysterical: I have this blurb on the bottom of my checks. Cracks me up. I love Dave Ramsey and HCW!!!

[smiles]

to many, we were doing so good at getting our debt paid down until my DH got a new job and we lost some of our income.

[Dengineer]

We cut up our last credit card in April 2000 (it was paid off) and we haven't used one since.

[Links2me]

I personally have 3, one of which has a small balance. I hate credit and debt. DH has a million, most of which are maxed out.

We've been married for 16 years and we've never done that his money, my money thing. But I'll be damned if I'm ever going to take responsibility for debt I did not incur or agree with. So..his debt/her debt. :biggrin:

[neelia]

I have 5, but I only use 3.

[lillyun]

We have 3 and they are all $0.00 balance!! I use them as debit cards and automatically deduct from checking account the amount that I use. This way I earn cash back. I am what the CC companies call "a deadbeat" cause I pay my bills!!

[superpup]

I currently have an AMEX that I use as my primary CC, but I am looking for a VISA/Mastercard that I can use in places that don't accept AMEX. This would mainly be some restaurants or smaller stores. I'm not interested in Discover, since I'm looking for a default can-use-it-most-anywhere card.

I pay my balance each month, I have good credit, and I'm just looking to get rewards for my normal spending.

I've been looking on several CC comparison sites, but I'm not seeing cards that jump out. Any recommendations?

[oceanbreeze]

We have two, down from four 2yrs ago. We paid 2 off and are working on the 2 that are left- we do not use them unless it is an absolute dire emergency, and that has only happened one time in the past 2yrs. I want to be out from under the thumb of these crummy credit card companies.

We live now in the "if you don't have cash for it, you don't buy it" mindframe.

[loladooder99]

I only have one with a 300 dollar balance that will be paid off by all my coupon savings. I'm hoping to get a lower interest one soon.

[reezz]

I have 2 for rewards/cash purposes and the security when we rent vehicles or make reservations. I absolutely will not use my debit card for things like that, I dont even have the Visa/Mastercard logo on mine.

[neelia]

3 and 2 lines of credit. Eek.

[klipin4deals]

I have 3 because that's what I got over 15 years ago. Still have the same cards (which is great for credit history) and ZERO balance on all the cards. I only use credit cards, because I get the rewards. But I always pay them off in full and have never been late. I have absolutely no interest in a debit card.

[ca2003]

I have 3 standard cc's (visa/master cards) but I only use and carry one, my SR reward CC. I also have a Kohls cc and I think I have an Old Navy cc (I haven't used the Old Navy one in over a year and half I think). Currently I am carrying a balance on my SR rewards cc of around $600. My Kohls is $0 balance but I love that card because I get the special discounts of anywhere from 10%-30% during the year and I do great shopping there. On my Kohls whenever I get the bill it always has full balance, minimum payment, and "to avoid finance charge pay". I love that because the amount to avoid finance charge is usually about 25% of the balance so I don't have to pay it off all at once and I don't get charged APR.

My bf has 2 ccs (visa and master card) and the balances on his cards is about $2K. We are currently working on paying off all of our credit cards, once we get them paid off we plan to still use them monthly to earn our rewards but also pay them off monthly. We are starting to be in a better financial position now because my bf just got a job that pays decent and I should be getting a new job soon that will pay decent.

[roseyj]

none

[hburnette3]

Well... hmmm... Let's see
Mickey (visa - disney reward) $1200 balance
AAA (visa - Vet's card) NO JOKE My baby had an accident and I had to take out a CC for her!! $500 balance
CP $169 balance. only use it for the perks
TARGET $150 balance. only use it for the perks BUT it turned out not to be many!
BELK $0 balance. only use it for the perks
VS $0 balance. only use it for the perks
Then theres 2 check cards

So 6 CC's. I'm so glad you had me do that!! I wish I could close some of them but THAT goes against your credit. :shrug7:

[melodyjg]

1 - Mileage Card (Paid off every month)

[434Teresa]

none never have never will....

[ElisabethD]

My husband and I bought our first house in October before we got married in Jan. so we got the $7,500 tax rebate (interest free loan for 15 years) so we did have I think 5 CC's but we just paid them ALL off with that money which granted does have to be paid back but interest free and after 15 years!!!!! Yea!!!!! :smile:So now we're down to 1. Woo hoo!!!:wavehi:

[mrsv865]

My husband and I took Dave Ramsey's FPU and got rid of all our credit cards sans 1 which should be paid off in the next 3 months. It's a great feeling!!

[couponwitch]

0...... use to have them... but paid them off a few years ago and closed the accounts... much happier ...

[cantstopshopping]

Way too many.....I won't even comment on "how many" after reading so many with only 1-3, or zero, or no balances, etc!!! :sad:

We had a rough few years, but are now back on track and have made a little progress this past year (finally!). Now I'm headstrong on paying every dollar that I can on these to get them paid off.

[OsweetchildrenO]

I have 2 and DH has 3 or 4. All were prior to getting married last year.
My debt accumulated from our wedding and losing my job(some from having to buy "professional" clothes).
DH debt accumulated partly from our wedding, spending more than he was making(for a year) and we paid off his motorcycle with his AMEX to take advantage of the lower interest rate.

All in all, my debt is about 7k and his is 18k+.
I think actually i've got mine down to about 6 or so. I pay mine as much as I can since my hours are cut back at work its kind of hard. DH got a good hard lecture for his spending habits.

Credit Cards are the worst for procrastinators!! DH being one of them - "if I can't see it..it's not there". I knew what I was doing - and always kept that in mind. But now that DH and I are on the same page...things have a plan. Glad we got to this sooner rather than later.

ALSO I have cut our grocery bill down a third since couponing. If I get any issues from pesky cashiers...I just think..."this gets me closer to my dream house".

[wealthybarney]

None.

[ca2003]

I have 3 standard cc's (visa/master cards) but I only use and carry one, my SR reward CC. I also have a Kohls cc and I think I have an Old Navy cc (I haven't used the Old Navy one in over a year and half I think). Currently I am carrying a balance on my SR rewards cc of around $600.

My bf has 2 ccs (visa and master card) and the balances on his cards is about $2K.


I am looking back on this now and I am happy to say my cc is completely paid off :biggrin: and my b/f owes about 900 on his (his would be paid off but he insisted on buying me a mac book pro for my college graduation/new job present :smile:)

[joshmamabear]

Two - both Discover More and Discover Open Road.

no balance each month, automatic payment schedule via MMA so I don't miss a payment. have not paid interests nor fees for years now.

Discover categorizes my expenses so I can see at a glance where I spend my money. Cash back is an added welcome bonus.

[CW&M Mom]

We have 2 that have $$ on them. One at a very low interest and one we try to keep down to a minimum.

I would be very nervous having no fico score. When DH lost his job...the prospecitive employers would look up his score....so we made sure our credit never got hurt during the lay off.

[amblnc38]

8 between the two of us. Mostly mine and three are store cards which are all getting closed now that they are hiking my interest rates. I can drop the VS card (it's great at first but after those coupons wear off.........) express and limited and just use my Discover if I really need clothing at half the interest rate!

[cantstopshopping]

Way too many.....I won't even comment on "how many" after reading so many with only 1-3, or zero, or no balances, etc!!! :sad:

We had a rough few years, but are now back on track and have made a little progress this past year (finally!). Now I'm headstrong on paying every dollar that I can on these to get them paid off.

I am happy to say that in the 4 months that I stated the above, we have paid OFF 3 cards already!!! :smile:

Mind you, the 3 only totaled about 2K, but I am THRILLED to now see less bills to pay each month, and am hoping that "the snowball" will start rolling along now! :BigHand:

Also note, DH is retired, and I do not work outside the home, so extra money just doesn't really happen much, so it was much harder than you really know to pay these off.

[couponwitch]

0

[shoebottom]

What about closing accounts that charge a yearly fee? DH has a card that charge a yearly fee which is $75 and has 27%.

[lauramama2]

We have 5 currently, all have balances but 3 will be paid off before the month is over.

[Lori63]

None

[frugalstafar]

ZERO!!!

[uummm]

We have 3.
1. Kohls- I ONLY keep open so I can use the discounts I get for having it. I charge then the next transaction I pay it off.
2. Old Navy- again only charge it to get the money back after I charge X amount, and it is ALWAYS paid for (I don't shop there much anyway). I like to buy my kids shirts and jeans there on occassion. I set foot in the store maybe 4 times a year if that.
3. Discover-Has 0% finance charge on $10,000 we moved there 3 years ago. Have to make 2 charges a month to keep this 0%. Will pay this off once we have $20,000 in savings (we are up to $12K now). HATE HAVING THIS CARD. And I know when my husband goes to close it they will give him the HARDEST TIME about closing it. They did that to me last year when I went to close mine. Took 20 minutes of me saying "close my account" and her giving me the umpteen MILLION LAME reasons to keep it open. I was so angry in the end, glad I don't need to do that again.

[joshmamabear]

We still do not carry a balance every month on our CCs. We just have Discover and we have very good experience with them.

as of 2/22/10, the new CC CARD (http://www.federalreserve.gov/consumerinfo/wyntk_creditcardrules.htm) rules are in effect.

It is best to check with your CC if they are charging annual fees for their cards now. Those who do not carry a balance may be surprised if they have to start paying annual fees to use their CC. As always read FINE PRINT in CC terms where they are likely to hit us.

I think they have made it harder for those 21 and below to get their CCs UNLESS they have a co-signer OR they can prove their ability to pay. This may come out as a blessing to teach younger generations to live within their means.

[puakinikini]

I have 4, but only use 1. I recently had Discover cancel one of my cards due to lack of use.

[lauramama2]

I am happy to say that in the 4 months that I stated the above, we have paid OFF 3 cards already!!! :smile:

Mind you, the 3 only totaled about 2K, but I am THRILLED to now see less bills to pay each month, and am hoping that "the snowball" will start rolling along now! :BigHand:

Also note, DH is retired, and I do not work outside the home, so extra money just doesn't really happen much, so it was much harder than you really know to pay these off.


That is great!! It is so hard to get the darn things paid once you get a balance on there. I just recently paid off 3 of ours too, totaling around $3500 and it is thrilling!! Snowball away!