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'In Free Market America, banks own YOU!' would be more appropriate. But wrong. Or at least 'they own the unwary and dumb'. I bank with a credit union, got ri

by bdunbar 14y ago

'In Free Market America, banks own YOU!' would be more appropriate. But wrong. Or at least 'they own the unwary and dumb'. I bank with a credit union, got rid of my credit cards in favor of debit, and working real hard to pay down my debt. Already I've bought two vehicles for cash. Now, granted, they were not _great_ vehicles, but they run and they're paid for. Looking forward to paying _cash_ for a really _nice_ (but used) car in a decade.

FreakLegion 14y ago
Why get rid of your credit cards? As long as you pay the balances in full every month, a modest selection of credit cards can easily lower your expenses by 3%, if not more. You can also accumulate a fair bit of free spending by trading out old cards for new ones with signing bonuses. Think of it like a free, untaxed $3-4,000 bump in salary.
- lsc 14y ago
  untaxed? really? I thought you were supposed to report and pay taxes on all income.
  - roel_v 14y ago
    Discounts are not income.
    - lsc 14y ago
      hm. Interesting argument against the 'cash back' cards. The context I've heard of people getting in trouble with this is when they used the card for business purchases and then used the discounts for personal purchases.
- bdunbar 14y ago
  Why get rid of your credit cards? As long as you pay the balances in full every month, a modest selection of credit cards can easily lower your expenses by 3%, if not more. Why did I? Because it was too easy to use credit, not pay the balance in full. The debt built up. Things got out of hand. And because I really did not like dealing with the credit card folk, even when I was in their good graces. Too much complexity.