5 ms·

Society operates on credit and you're only hurting yourself by not engaging in the benefits of having a credit card. Use it like a debit card and you'll earn ca

Society operates on credit and you're only hurting yourself by not engaging in the benefits of having a credit card. Use it like a debit card and you'll earn cash back and you will build your credit.

orf 8y ago
Eh, maybe in the US. I've never owned one and likely never will. Live within your means.
- BillinghamJ 8y ago
  Putting exactly the same spend on a credit card rather than a debit one does not conflict with living within your means. Making use of credit facilities does not mean being in debt or doing anything wrong. It's the same in the UK - there's a world of benefit in showing that you're able to use credit products responsibly and there is no risk or any cost if you just treat a credit card like it's a debit card.
  - dazc 8y ago
    There is a risk that you can't pay the bill. Losing your job may still mean you can at least pay the minimum but it can sometimes be the start of a slippery slope. Anyone who says 'it can't happen to me' either has very rich parents or is a fool.
    - cheapsteak 8y ago
      Or they never carry a balance on their card Responsibly using CC isn't about "relying on future income to pay off present debt". If you have 5k in the bank, don't spend more than that, and pay it off at the end of the month (or if you're paranoid like I was right out of school, pay it off every week)
      - BillinghamJ 8y ago
        Yeah originally I paid mine off every few days, means there's essentially zero risk
    - BillinghamJ 8y ago
      If you can't trust yourself, sure. But most people do have the ability to simply not spend more than they have in their bank account and then pay off in full even before they receive a statement. Even if you lost your job, you'd still be fine.
- chrisseaton 8y ago
  > Live within your means. Most people don't use credit cards to borrow. The point of the credit is just to hold until the end of the next month and then pay off in one go. The point of doing that is to allow a period of time to resolve any disputes for example. Credit cards give you extra consumer power - actual extra laws backing you up (at least where I am). I can't understand people who don't like credit cards if they say it's not living within your means.
  - orf 8y ago
    Because a lot of people don't seem to follow that. You get paid X on the 1st, as long as you spend X-1 within the month you have no need for a credit card. Other than showing some opaque credit agency that your ok for more credit.
    - chrisseaton 8y ago
      What about the consumer protection aspects? You don't get that with a debit card. I suppose you don't need it in the same way you don't need lots of things, but it's ignoring legal protection you could have for free? Plus every single time you buy on credit you are subsidising my credit card rewards.
      - orf 8y ago
        > What about the consumer protection aspects? Which ones specifically? If they are truly for free then I don't need to pay for them by virtue of having a credit card.
        chrisseaton 8y ago
        > Which ones specifically? In the UK it's Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act, 1974. > Under Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act 1974, the credit card company is jointly and severally liable for any breach of contract or misrepresentation by the retailer or trader. > You don't have to reach a stalemate with the retailer or trader before you can contact your credit card provider - you can make a claim to both the retailer and credit card provider simultaneously, although you can't recover your losses from both. > This right is particularly useful if the retailer or trader has gone bust, or it doesn't respond to your letters or phone calls. > Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act also applies to foreign transactions as well as goods bought online, by telephone or mail order for delivery to the UK from overseas. https://www.which.co.uk/consumer-rights/regulation/section-75-of-the-consumer-credit-act https://www.which.co.uk/consumer-rights/regulation/section-7... > If they are truly for free then I don't need to pay for them by virtue of having a credit card. But law says you only get these protections if you buy on credit.
- pathseeker 8y ago
  >Live within your means. Using a credit card does not mean living outside of your means. I have used a credit card for 20ish years and have never carried a balance.
- ticmasta 8y ago
  Credit cards let me finance most of my purchases 20-30 days and the merchants cover the financing costs. That's not living beyond your means.
- fierro 8y ago
  all merchants who accept credit cards incur fees for doing so and pass that cost on to consumers. Not using credits cards is giving up the opportunity to recapture some of that cost in the form of rewards. There is not a good reason to not use a credit card as a debit card.

Society operates on credit and you're only hurting yourself by not engaging in the benefits of having a credit card. Use it like a debit card and you'll earn cash back and you will build your credit.

orf 8y ago

Eh, maybe in the US. I've never owned one and likely never will. Live within your means.

BillinghamJ 8y ago
Putting exactly the same spend on a credit card rather than a debit one does not conflict with living within your means. Making use of credit facilities does not mean being in debt or doing anything wrong. It's the same in the UK - there's a world of benefit in showing that you're able to use credit products responsibly and there is no risk or any cost if you just treat a credit card like it's a debit card.
- dazc 8y ago
  There is a risk that you can't pay the bill. Losing your job may still mean you can at least pay the minimum but it can sometimes be the start of a slippery slope. Anyone who says 'it can't happen to me' either has very rich parents or is a fool.
  - cheapsteak 8y ago
    Or they never carry a balance on their card Responsibly using CC isn't about "relying on future income to pay off present debt". If you have 5k in the bank, don't spend more than that, and pay it off at the end of the month (or if you're paranoid like I was right out of school, pay it off every week)
    - BillinghamJ 8y ago
      Yeah originally I paid mine off every few days, means there's essentially zero risk
  - BillinghamJ 8y ago
    If you can't trust yourself, sure. But most people do have the ability to simply not spend more than they have in their bank account and then pay off in full even before they receive a statement. Even if you lost your job, you'd still be fine.
chrisseaton 8y ago
> Live within your means. Most people don't use credit cards to borrow. The point of the credit is just to hold until the end of the next month and then pay off in one go. The point of doing that is to allow a period of time to resolve any disputes for example. Credit cards give you extra consumer power - actual extra laws backing you up (at least where I am). I can't understand people who don't like credit cards if they say it's not living within your means.
- orf 8y ago
  Because a lot of people don't seem to follow that. You get paid X on the 1st, as long as you spend X-1 within the month you have no need for a credit card. Other than showing some opaque credit agency that your ok for more credit.
  - chrisseaton 8y ago
    What about the consumer protection aspects? You don't get that with a debit card. I suppose you don't need it in the same way you don't need lots of things, but it's ignoring legal protection you could have for free? Plus every single time you buy on credit you are subsidising my credit card rewards.
    - orf 8y ago
      > What about the consumer protection aspects? Which ones specifically? If they are truly for free then I don't need to pay for them by virtue of having a credit card.
      - chrisseaton 8y ago
        > Which ones specifically? In the UK it's Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act, 1974. > Under Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act 1974, the credit card company is jointly and severally liable for any breach of contract or misrepresentation by the retailer or trader. > You don't have to reach a stalemate with the retailer or trader before you can contact your credit card provider - you can make a claim to both the retailer and credit card provider simultaneously, although you can't recover your losses from both. > This right is particularly useful if the retailer or trader has gone bust, or it doesn't respond to your letters or phone calls. > Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act also applies to foreign transactions as well as goods bought online, by telephone or mail order for delivery to the UK from overseas. https://www.which.co.uk/consumer-rights/regulation/section-75-of-the-consumer-credit-act https://www.which.co.uk/consumer-rights/regulation/section-7... > If they are truly for free then I don't need to pay for them by virtue of having a credit card. But law says you only get these protections if you buy on credit.
pathseeker 8y ago
>Live within your means. Using a credit card does not mean living outside of your means. I have used a credit card for 20ish years and have never carried a balance.
ticmasta 8y ago
Credit cards let me finance most of my purchases 20-30 days and the merchants cover the financing costs. That's not living beyond your means.
fierro 8y ago
all merchants who accept credit cards incur fees for doing so and pass that cost on to consumers. Not using credits cards is giving up the opportunity to recapture some of that cost in the form of rewards. There is not a good reason to not use a credit card as a debit card.