Credit Cards
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- 23 Responses
- swollenelbow
Just getting my first one...i got rejected by a few but ended up getting a capital one card and an american express blue. Any advice on keeping great credit, horror stories?
and no i won't be charging lap dances on it.
thanks.
- GreedoLives0
yeah, cut em up right now.
unless your mind is steely and strong and doesn't want high-end electronic toys.
- Mimio0
Just use them to build credit. Buy stuff on them you have the cash for.
- swollenelbow0
hahah shit i'm in trouble, all of a sudden that huge predator statue at sharper image is looking very tempting!
- hotel0
now you can buy me tings 0:
- welded0
Pay your bloody bills on time. I got my first credit card a couple years ago with just a $500 limit, but a couple months ago they bumped me from $900 to $3600. The more you pay your bills, the better your credit will be, the more wiggle room you get for when you DO cave.
:)
- GreedoLives0
...and should a situation arise where you can't pay the bills on time, CALL THEM AND TELL THEM!
They'll be happy to work something out, after all, they want your money.
If you don't call, something might end up on your credit report.
- swollenelbow0
love the advice...they are sharks with money tied around them...i'll always give them back their money. the fithly creditors.
- jox0
You have to be pretty stupid to get bad credit. Seriously, how do you even do it?
- ********0
watch your step and don't spend when your drunken
- Bio0
my thoughts: buy everything you normally do with it, pay your bills with it and then pay it off COMPLETELY every month. it'll help build your credit and keep your bills itemized n shit.
so long as your running balance very low (or completely paid off) then you're good. once your balance starts creeping up, lock that piece of plastic in a vault protected by sharks with laser beams. . . once it's paid off again, then well. . . you know the rest.
- GreedoLives0
oh, and read those stupid little notices they'll send you all the time. They're constantly revising the card agreement, and sometimes they try to sneak a whopper in there (annual fees, etc).
- swollenelbow0
i will be on the caution...i think i'll be scared to make my first purchase...like, ummm "NO NO NO, just forget the tag hauer, really it's ok."
- miamimae0
Worry not, i'll help you spend it .. =)
- ********0
credit cards are satan
- heavyt0
Advice:
onl;y use them for things that you can pay off right away.
for the first 3 years or so that i had credit cards, i put my internet bill on them, which establishes that you regularly charge items, and pay off.
the only other thing that i billed to CC is plane tickets. mostly because i buy them online.-Remember- it is just like taking cash out of the bank when you use them, it isnt free money.
Horror Stories-
i have 2 different friends that got big credit cards and maxxed them out in a few months.
they end up paying 130-400 dollars per month as min payments, most of it being interest.
all for a bunch of stuff that they wouldnt have saved for, but figured that it wasnt going to cost anything, so they baought anyway.good credit is invaluble.
when you go to take out consumer loans in the future to buy a car or a house, you will end up saving tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars over your lifetime in reduced interest rates.TR1
- nicko0
DON'T do what I did. 10 yrs ago got 1st CC, modest limit, bought stuff but couldn't afford to clear it one month and it rolled and rolled and rolled... it's just like free money till you realise how long it will take to pay off. End up working like hell to build up a big enough bonus to get straight.
Cut up the credit cards. Apply for Amex charge card: can buy stuff off the net like flights etc, unlimited credit available but you must pay in full at the end of the month. Good discipline!
- D70
Buy a T-Shirt! Best way to test your new CC. ;)
- Bozilla0
all good advices...also keep this in mind since it's very important:
Never give out your credit card for subscriptions and stuff like that where periodic billing occurs. After a while you might forget about that, cancel your credit card (probably because you got a better APR or something with another bank) and 99% of creditors will reopen your credit account even if you closed it, in case someone charges your card. This is very tricky because you will think you closed that card but instead they ruin your credit.
- D70
"99% of creditors will reopen your credit account even if you closed it"
No one can reopen an account you closed. Impossible. Maybe you THOUGHT you closed yours...
- Bozilla0
yes they can..read your agreements. If you close your account with $0 and someone charges your account number even after you closed it, the credit has the right to reopen it because you made the charge. CapitalOne is one of the examples, but there's quite a few of others with the same practice.