Credit cards are for life, not just for Christmas

luckat

... as are the bills. Just a festive reminder not to let them become dread-it cards.

Pinkchick03

I agree!

It is soooo easy to get carried away with a credit card. I have a student one - limit is €500 so can't go too mental!

Please be careful

Flukey

The sensible way to use a Credit Card is to use a Pay Now, Buy Later policy instead of using the traditional Buy Now, Pay Later approach. In other words, pay for your Christmas presents in October or November, by putting a load of money into your Credit Card account and bringing it well into credit. That gives you much more flexibility and spending power, a smaller bill come January and less, if any, interest to pay. Try and pay for most of your presents with cash and only use the credit card for convenience not as a source of extra cash.

Remember everything you buy with the credit card has to be paid for, so if you can't afford it don't get it, not even with the credit card, especially as that may end up costing you even more in the long run. A credit card is a great thing, but use it sensibly and don't treat it like some sort of unlimited supply of money as some people do. January will be a lot easier financially if you use it with a bit of common sense.

ixoy

Am I the only one who has never once gone over his CC limit and always paid his bills precisely on time via direct debit? I am the last of the cautious spenders?

aidan_walsh

Nope, the same myself. If I do buy something online, or use the CC in a resturant or whatever, I generally make sure to pay it as soon as the listing is shown in my online banking records.

Flukey

By using the approach I've outlined, I've never paid a penny or cent of interest Ixoy. I've had my credit card for about 10 years. It is a very simple approach. If I know there is a particular expense on the horizon that I need my credit card to pay with, I'll put the money in first, or be sure that I am going to have it very shortly after making the purchase. It is also handy when going abroad. If you card is in credit you don't get the same charges when withdrawing cash from an ATM machine.

I only use the card when I have to. Obviously phone and internet purchases need the use of a credit card. If you are buying something very expensive and you don't want to be bringing a load of cash with you it is handy. If as I near the end of a day of Christmas shopping and I have not enough cash left to make those last few purchases, I'll use it then, in the full knowledge that I have the money to cover it that I can put into the account in the coming days.

So sometimes when you have a bit of spare cash, instead of putting it into the bank or just spending it on yourself, put it into your credit card account. Come Christmas or the Summer holiday or that big purchase you won't have as big an expense to incur, as some of it in effect is already paid for.

Pinkchick03

I used to be very good at paying off my credit card - getting very bad at it now. But bill isn't too high so I'm coping I used to use my credit card like a bank card putting money onto it and using it - now I'm not so organised!

woosaysdan

i dont have a credit card the idea of having it there would only get the better of me especially if out on the piss:)

bandraoi

isn't it true though that if you put money on your credit card and it gets stolen the credit card isn't liable for that portion of money spent.

ie they won't give you your money back.

Just set up a 100% direct debit on the card and you can use the credit card to cover you till you get paid without incurring any interest.

skywalker

ixoy wrote:

Am I the only one who has never once gone over his CC limit and always paid his bills precisely on time via direct debit? I am the last of the cautious spenders?

im the exact same. except i always manually transfer over the money. i really should get that changed to direct debit actually.

Sleepy

Nope, I'm one of the idiots with huge credit card bills!

Rabies

ixoy wrote:

Am I the only one who has never once gone over his CC limit and always paid his bills precisely on time via direct debit? I am the last of the cautious spenders?

I'm the same. Raely use it unless I know I can pay it off within the month. Only paid interest once in 3yrs
Although, I have used it a good bit in the past month. An expensive christmas this year for me. Could be next month before I have it all paid

Third_Echelon

Im in this category at the moment unfortunately...

I paid for my holiday last July in New Zealand on my CC and paid for stuff with my CC while in NZ... I've paid a good bit of it off, but there is always a base there thats hard to shift....

I'll be paying it all off in a few weeks with my nice big bonus... gonna try to keep it down after that!!! :eek:

Renegade_Archer

I treat mine like a debit card, it gets payed by direct debit at the end of the month - if I dont have the money to spend, I dont use the card. Never paid a cent interest in over 2 years.

Flukey

I don't pay mine by direct debit. I do it the manual way, usually well in advance of even when I spend it or very shortly after, but well in advance of the due date. I am glad to see that there are others that use the same sensible approach. We can try and spread the word! Our Januarys are always debt free. The rest of ye should try it!:)

luckat

This is an excellent idea - I'll definitely start doing it from now on. My main method of control is not to carry the accursed thing!

Flukey

Good, another convert! Your Credit card is not an accursed thing Luckat; it's the way you use it! But now you have seen the light. Come and join us and do not spend again, at least not until you have already paid for it !:)

bush

Arent you great flukey, mr sensible. Wouldnt it be better if everyone could be as great as you.

Flukey

I am only offering my advice bush. It works for me and others in this thread and beyond. No one likes being in debt. What we are suggesting at least reduces or even removes this problem. It beats paying those shower of bankers exorbitant interest rates on your bills, so you have that satisfaction too.

Wertz

One and only reason I ever had a CC is to avoid carrying large amounts of cash or for buying online. Like otehrs I treat it as a debit card; I was always wary about using a debit card online, since if the number got phished or whatever my account gets cleaned rather than the insured spend limit on CCs.

Morale of the story is (if at all possible) don't pay for with what you can't afford, or as some old codger would say "Eaten bread is soon forgotten"...

[edit] BTW if you are someone who needs credit, FFS go join a credit union and do it the easy way. Card companies charge well over twice the interest rate on loans compared to credit union borrowers and as the interest accumulates monthly instead of yearly, your little debt can grow big in a smaller period...

D!ve^Bomb!

well i have a large credit card bill.. but when its debited from my account in jan then i'll have enought to cover it.. and if i am overdrawn,, i'll be getting paid the day after so that will clear that up:)

Just make sure you time your spending.. once i've paid it off, then i'll be using it again to get quite a few things i need(want).. and i won't have to pay it till march.. in which time i'll have saved up to pay the bill..

its all gravy;)

therecklessone

For all the smug gits posting how they treat their credit cards as a debit card, the truly efficient way to utilise your CC is to:

1. only spend what you can afford to repay by the due date
2. make full use of your interest-free period

So there!