Just tore up my last remaining credit card a month ago and feel great!

[Dover]

I've never had credit card problems or trouble with full and timely payments because I rarely spend more than I have. So it was mainly on principle that I've ridded myself of the card.

Last month I WAS late on a payment for the first time in a long time. Because this is rare, I've never cared much about interest or charges for late fees. I was amazed that not only was I paying a very high interest rate, but even when I paid the late fee (about three weeks after due), the daily late charges continued to accrue into the next month until the new payment period. Outrageous!

These practices shouldn't be legal. But of course what Congressperson will listen to poor little me over the huge benefits they can receive from these financial credit/banking companies? Bribery is also legal in our governmental system, unfortunately. Real representation is rare, indeed.
But I digress.

So my only form of protest is to get rid of the card.

The only card I have remaining is my debit card. That will keep my spending honest, eh? The rest I pay in real cash or with check. I don't even do payments online or have automatic withdrawals for monthly bill payment. The only problem I've run into is that I bought an item that was a bit pricey and then returned it. They had to refund me in cash, which was a LOT of cash. Don't know why debit card payments won't allow refunds to go automatically to your bank account to eliminate this problem. But it's a small problem.

Anyway, I'm liking this change so far.

[goclark]

1. I have no cards and I love it

If I can't pay for it, I don't get it.

It is a great feeling and I have learned to do with a lot less.

Don't really miss it either.

[panader0]

2. Usury is a sin. I'm not a christian but isn't that why Jesus turned

over the money lenders table? I admit, I have a credit card (the fools), and they gouge the hell out of you. I will tear mine uo too when the kids are grown............

[skids]

25. Actually it was for pofitting off religion...

...and the admonition against usury generally is taken to mean gouging -- there is a fair price for buying something for someone, and letting them pay you for it later, because in the meantime you haven't got that money to use for yourself. Credit card companies charge way beyond that fair price (and banks reward you less than that fair price -- it should probably be about double the CPI increase.)

[MercutioATC]

26. "Usury" is legally defined.

The CC companies aren't committing usury, regardless of how high the rates might seem.

[Anakin Skywalker]

3. Congrats! Stick it

to the corporate bigwigs.

[proud patriot]

4. I have no credit cards

I had to learn the hard way , but I learned :think:

Congrats on ridding yourself of the plastic

[Rainscents]

5. Good for you!

You'll see, they'll be begging you with mess pre-approve application in the mail. I hate these junk mails, I really hate it.

[shanti]

24. i haven't gotten

a pre-approved cc offer in years. what i DO get is pre-approved "equity lines of credit" because i am a homeowner. i get these weekly. they are shredded every time. the cc companies are going for homes.

capital one, stick it where the sun don't shine! :grr:

[Horse with no Name]

6. Well of course you won't find

LIEberman or BIDen listening to you.

[ThomWV]

7. Debit Card Only - 2 Years

Fuck credit cards.

And while we're at it, what happened to usury laws?

[CoffeeCat]

8. Kudos to you, smart person...

Congratulations on tearing up that last card.

You are no longer a slave to the credit-card companies. You are your own boss now.

The temptation to have these cards is so great. If you want something, you'll save for it and you won't be paying 20 percent interest on it. You'll feel so much better, and you'll have more money in the long run--because you'll be spending nothing on interest.

Congratulations on your financial freedom! :)

:bounce: :thumbsup:

[Auntie Bush]

9. I'd get rid of mine, but what if you need to rent a car? You need

a card to rent a car.

[Dover]

11. I'm a little fuzzy on this, but can't you use your debit card as a credit

card? My debit card is a Visa also, although there is no credit really. It automatically draws from your account.

[Rainscents]

13. No, you cannot.

I just rented a car from PA (vacation) and they told me, Bank card with Visa logo they do not accept. I really don't get this/Corporate whores gets you evey way. I had to use my major credit card. :mad:

[Cobalt Violet]

27. No, it must be a credit card.

You can pay with a debit card but they require a depostit to on a credit card.

[LeftyMom]

22. Some company used to take debit cards (Alamo?)

I don't know if they still do, but the cash deposit for renting a car last time I had to do it was only $300.

[Lisa]

10. Congratulations!

I didn't have one until a couple of years ago, and I'd managed to make it to age 36 with just a checkbook and debit card. If I have to buy stuff through the mail, I still use postal money orders or PayPal. My friends think I'm a freak -- and the bank manager almost fainted when she tried to look at my credit card record and couldn't find one! I only have mine for emergencies (like if I get stranded and have to charge taxi fare or a plane ticket), and I've made up my mind that if outfits like the video store down the street want me to use it as a form of ID, I will just take my business elsewhere. (And they don't need to look at my Social Security card either.)

VISA sent me a letter implying that something was wrong with me, because I'd had my card for 6 months and hadn't charged anything on it. I wrote them back, saying that if I heard that tone from them again, I was going to switch to Mastercard. They haven't been snarky with me since! Apparently they really do not like customers who pay them regularly, so in addition to not running up charges, a bonus about paying the balance each time is that it annoys them.

A bit of credit card trivia -- if you read the original "Manchurian Candidate" novel (written in the late 1950s), the concept of credit cards is still so new that the author has to explain it! There are plenty of people walking around today who were born, not only before universal (as opposed to in-store) credit cards became widely available, but before their forerunner, the Diners Club card, even existed.

Dover -- you might enjoy the PBS program "Affluenza" -- they talk quite a bit about credit cards. And how the emphasis shifted from favoring "reliable" customers, to trying to hook people who might run up a debt.

[Dover]

15. Thanks for headsup on the Affluenza program. I would enjoy seeing it.

Yep, this is an addiction culture. The cigarette companies figured out how to do that long ago, and the credit card companies followed suit. Says alot about what one could expect out of corporate governance if we don't toss them and their influence out of the halls of government (both domestic and global).

But hey, I managed to lick the cigarette addiction, along with many in this country. After that, kicking credit cards has been a breeze!

[Lisa]

28. here are the PBS site links

The local stations still broadcast the show once in a while (it's a few years old, but unfortunately it's more relevant than ever ...)

And way to go on kicking the tobacco -- I was lucky not to start, but two of my friends spent years trying to stop smoking. When I used to live in Southern Ontario, on their behalf I would "salute" the cigarette factory on the edge of town, with a raised middle finger -- as the bus to work passed by.


Affluenza
http://www.pbs.org/kcts/affluenza/


And the sequel -- Escape from Affluenza
http://www.pbs.org/kcts/affluenza/escape/

[Cleita]

12. Just make sure the CC companies have taken you off their books.

I have recently been a victim of identity theft on a card I paid off and canceled in January. Last month thousands of dollars of charges were made on the card, which evidently had never been canceled. Well, I'm going on a big rigmarole with the company. They so far seem to agree that I didn't make the charges and won't charge me for them, but they issued me a new card. I am having a war with them about this. Like I don't want this to happen to me again. Insist on getting a letter from them stating that you are no longer a holder of their credit card.

[Dover]

16. I received a letter from the cc company verifying that I had closed my

account. So I would imagine that is legally binding should anything happen.

[EFerrari]

14. I have no credit cards and no car. It feels like I've broken out of jail

I had both the day I turned 16. Free at last!

:toast:

[Dover]

18. Curious how you get around......long distance, that is?

I have an older car (a '94), and have refused to buy a new one until they make them environmentally safe and fuel efficient.

I've considered buying a Prius, but am going to wait another year or two to see if something even better comes on the market. I do like to travel by car. That is one addiction that would be impossible to give up unless some other better solution came up. Mass transportation works really well to a point (particularly within the confines of a city), but it just doesn't work for alot of situations.
Hopefully we will design our neighborhoods (mixed use, etc.) and plan our cities better in the future to cut down on the need for local travel.

[EFerrari]

20. Long distance, I co-op with other people. In a pinch, I can

rent a car but so far haven't had to.

We have a good public system here inly SF. And again, in a pinch, we cab. It may seem expensive to pay $25 to get across town but it beats paying over a thousand dollars in car payment, insurance and fuel, no?

I know this doesn't work for a LOT of people. When I lived in suburban Silicon Valley, we had two buses that only went to the mall twice a day.

I was one of those hardcore sportscar people, lol. And, I feel like I've lost about 800 ugly pounds. :)

[Poiuyt]

17. On the other hand, it's good to keep an account open

I had closed all my credit card accounts and had paid off my mortgage. It's been about three years now. I decided to check my credit rating and discovered that I had none, or at least no FICO score, since I haven't had any credit usage in the last year.

I think it would be a good idea to keep a card with no annual fee and make a small purchase on it and pay it back once a year. You may not need to borrow, but your credit rating comes into play at other times as well, such as job applications and insurance.

[Dover]

19. A good point. I'll think about that.

Can't think right now what I'd need the credit rating for, but will consider it.

[Dover]

21. Just looked through my mail and owe ONE MORE PAYMENT

from last month.


My payment was about $3000 dollars that month (unusually high for me due to vacation).
It seems my 'final' check was due on the 15th of the month and arrived on the 16th.
That day cost me $87 in late fees and interest!!!!!

They are unbelievable!

[SoCalDem]

23. We did that last year and have not missed them one bit..

:)