This might sound a little stupid, but I've never really given credit cards much thought until recently. Mainly due to the recession. Is it actually possible to live comfortably without credit cards? I mean at the moment I'm satisfied with an ordinary bank card-I buy things when I can afford them and prioritise if need be. That said, since I live with my parents I don't pay for utilities or food plus I'm a smelly jobless (atm) student so I'm likely to be biased. Are credit cards just a mark of the consumerist got-to-have-it-all-now society or are they crucial? I mean you have to pay interest, excess charges, dodgy bank fees and as far as I'm aware you get charged for having the audacity to own a credit card anyway. Yet people refuse to talk about these things for some reason...and I don't trust banks >.> Personally I'd rather not have credit cards, they seem too much like the local bike who's never been to a clinic.
I don't have one, and I live in a house that can hold 4 kids, with 2 cars. The only thing you should be paying on a monthly basis because you owe the bank is your house and insurance. That's just me though, I find it unnecessary to owe money to a credit card company for pity things that I could've just waited a couple months to buy and own.
Credit cards work a bit differently here, you pay the money right away but since they're tied into your bank account you can go into a negative balance (provided the bank hasn't barred that). Our debit cards don't allow going negative. And personally I could never live without my credit card, I don't go negative but I just really dislike carrying around cash, everything gets charged on the card.
just use a debit card it costs more to have a credit card The three types of money people Debit card = people who have spare money and want to use it online Credit card = people who usually go over the limit and buy to much Cash = people who dont have much money and dont go online
Well that's a horrible stereotype. I have a credit card and never go over my limit... And I just happen to know a really rich guy who prefers using cash over both credit and debit cards.
Wow, mars, how wrong you are. I prefer having cash more than my debit card, simply because I like having something physical rather than just a card with the money 'in' it.
Master Card debit card FTW! It has the same functions as a credit card (over seas useage, online, etc) but it uses the money I actually have. No fees except for the standard withdraw/eftpos usage. I rather be close to being broke than have to pay back an amount that I don't actually have since I do spend a bit much...but what I have is enough for a rather cheap crappy house-or 3 lancer evolutions! 1 If it's the new model
Credit cards can actually be pretty useful if you don't use them in a retarded manner. =/ Not sure how it is in other countries, but you can get some moderately nice benefits if you pay your bills on time and get your credit score up high enough. Someone with a good credit score can usually get nicer payments on cars for example. My parents were able to get their new car for a moderately low price per month because their credit score was really high. The key point is to make sure you don't get shit that you can't afford and for the love of xenu, don't just make minimum payments because those take forever to pay off and the interest can make whatever you purchased cost a lot more than what it originally was in the first place.
If you use your CC like Reider and Seph appear to do,then they are a good idea.But if you get carried away,then its hard digging yourself out of that black hole.You can have more come-back if you pay for something by CC and something goes wrong....
