Comments on: We just got really close to carrying a balance

By: repossessiongirl

repossessiongirl — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 00:35:08 +0000

Hey there – I deal with clients every day that are facing repossession – not necassarily because they cant keep up their mortgage payments, but because they have in excess of £30,000 in credit card debt. I dont understand the psychology. They obviously just thought that this was money to spend. I didnt understand this at all until I got my first ( and last ) credit card and had maxed it out within a year ( £2000 ) . never again. i have a debit card, and that will do nicely…………..

By: Joe

Joe — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 04:19:43 +0000

I have two credit cards that I pay off each month, but I found this post out of a worry I have about the credit cards-I never carry a balance, but I never carry cash on me – Between rent and my credit card payments, I don’t have any cash. So the “Hey Joe, do you have five dollars?” is always a no. I have plenty of money in my bank account, but it was already spent last month on my credit cards. How do I reverse this, and have the money in my bank account BEFORE charging it to the credit card. I have a savings account, but I keep that separate and don’t want to use that money to pay off credit card bills…Should I use this savings to keep paying my bills on time, then building a future without a savings but with more cash available, or keep using my credit cards like this until I get a raise?

By: Bryan

Bryan — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 17:05:20 +0000

I also absolutely refuse to carry any balance on any credit card. If we can’t pay for it immediately on the next statement, I don’t even consider the purchase. The only occasions we carried a balance are the few times we missed the payment date (tricky bastards). I think we have been lucky though – I know a lot of people have been forced to carry a balance due to unforseen circumstances and not a lapse of responsibility.

I had a friend in college (econ-bus major, go figure) who used to take great pride in the number of credit cards he had and how many were maxed out. At one point he had 5 out of 6 maxed out – it was like a game to him. I don’t know how or if he paid them all off eventually.

By: Nicole

Nicole — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 14:48:03 +0000

I never carry a balance on my cc, but I have had to use overdraft protection a few times because money didn’t transfer from my savings to my checking account quickly enough to cover automatic payments. I am getting better at timing my transfers to avoid the problem.

By: Cassandra Parker

Cassandra Parker — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 04:40:49 +0000

Hi mbhunter,
I use a credit card. I like the term “plague”. I really believe in paying as soon as my credit card statement arrives (in worst case within 21 days).
@Rick
That’s the spirit Rick. I totally agree with you. It is always better to keep out of those wicked credit companies: http://personalfinancesolution.wordpress.com/2008/07/28/credit-card-secret-how-you-drain-your-money-yourself/

By: Retire at 40

Retire at 40 — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 19:37:44 +0000

@The Life Insurance Insider

That’s the whole point. A credit card shouldn’t ever be used for emergency situations – that’s just the start of the slippery slope.

Emergencies are what your Emergency Fund is for: http://retire-at-40.blogspot.com/2008/09/if-you-lost-your-job-would-you-be-okay.html

By: The Life Insurance Insider

The Life Insurance Insider — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 17:02:24 +0000

I have removed the temptation by not having a credit card anymore. I cannot think of an emergency situation where I would need a credit card to bail me out.

By: Darin

Darin — Sun, 28 Sep 2008 15:39:59 +0000

I haven’t carried a balance for quite some time, but I do remember being in a similar situation about 10 yrs ago where I knew it was going to take me two months to pay off a charge. I wouldn’t recommend this because it can be a slippery slope, but here’s what I ended up doing…

I paid half of the balance from my checking acct and I paid the other half of the balance with a balance transfer check to another card that I normally didn’t use (and didn’t have a balance). The original balance was paid, and I had a 25 day grace period on the half that I transferred, which was enough time for me to pay that it full the next month w/o incurring a finance charge.

Again, I wouldn’t recommend it as a regular practice, but it worked for me in this extreme case in the years before I had an emergency fund built up to handle these types of unexpected expenses.

By: Rick

Rick — Sun, 28 Sep 2008 14:35:39 +0000

I use a credit card all the time but have never carried a balance. Now that I am debt free it has been easier to build a cash surplus which means that carrying a balance is even more unlikely. If you think of debt as worse than the plague that gives you the motivation to get out of debt.

By: Erin

Erin — Sun, 28 Sep 2008 14:02:58 +0000

I refuse to let myself carry a balance. My parents instilled in me when I was very small that credit cards are only for what you can pay off every month. In fact, until part way through college, I never realized you could carry a balance on a credit card. I’m very grateful to my parents for that lesson, because it helps me avoid a lot of problems.

I do, however, have friends who carry balances. One of them has told me how hard it is to stop doing so. Every time he pays it off, he ends up putting a new balance on again. Since the world didn’t end the first time he carried a balance, he does it a second, third, fourth time. It sounds like it’s a really tough habit to break.