A financial inquiry

fmanly · 2019-05-31T23:29:05+00:00

Credit cards:

Are a significant convenience in everyday life.
Are often a necessity if you want to buy stuff online.
Can be a way to save a small amount of money, if you are disciplined and use cards that earn rewards.
Will completely and absolutely destroy your life if you don't use them wisely.

My experience with credit is great. The average American's experience with credit is terrible and they probably don't even realize it.

If at any point you aren't paying the entire balance of your card off at the end of every single month, you're doing something seriously wrong. There is absolutely no situation where carrying a balance on your credit card is good for you, and if anybody tells you otherwise they don't understand what they're talking about.

If you get into an emergency, you should have an emergency fund to cover it. If you've already messed up and not created an emergency fund, then carrying a small balance on a credit card may or may not be the lesser evil, depending on how bad the alternative is.

Honestly, though, the fact that you're even asking this question makes me hesitate to suggest that you go sign up for a credit card. You really need to understand how they work before you get one. Most people won't bother to do this, and this is why most people end up poor.

DuskGideon · 2019-05-31T23:29:19+00:00

A lot of things tie to "credit history". You basically need credit history to qualify for things like home or car loans.

You can set them to send you a text message when a transaction goes through, so if someone steals your card info you will know immediately and can call to cancel the transaction and get a new card with new number sent to you. Get one. Always pay it off. Set the auto notification. Get loans later at better rates.

ChensKitchen · 2019-05-31T23:29:32+00:00

You need a credit card in the USA in 2019. Just pay it off in full every month.

tw-1234a · 2019-06-01T00:25:48+00:00

Perhaps a good rule is pay off in full every month. If not, no new charges until it is paid off. Hopefully that will give enough flexibility when needed.

I've ran up big credit bills in the past and paying minimum payments can take a decade to pay off the balance. It's very easy to say its only $xxx.xx which is 5.00 a month, but those $5 add up.

I do use my card to pay the internet bill but I pay it off every month.

Good luck and be wiser than I was.

mgtow-man · 2019-06-01T02:02:13+00:00

Get a debit card. It uses the money you have in the linked account.

Removes risk of getting into cc debt

ChiTownBob · 2019-06-01T02:20:00+00:00

Yes, get a credit card.

I use a credit card that pays cash back rewards. I pay it off every month and am disciplined. Then I take the cash rewards and enjoy them as a little treat.

My favorite is Chase Freedom - they have two different great cash back cards.

The_other_account22 · 2019-06-01T03:29:54+00:00

If you're smart with your credit, companies will practically throw free money and free stuff at you. Just maintain one or two credit cards and pay off the your entire statement balance every month for a few years, and you will have all sorts of financial institutions constantly begging you to take their low-interest loans and credit cards with cash-back and rewards programs.

Of course, the key is to continue playing hard-to-get. One or two bad decisions can instantly ruin a great credit history that took years to build and will take many more years to rebuild. If you don't urgently need a loan, don't take one. Do your homework on the different rewards and benefits that different credit cards offer, pick two or three that best suit your lifestyle, and stick with them long term.

The most important thing to remember is don't be scared of the financial system. Yes, it involves some risk, but 99.9% of that risk can be avoided by simply not being stupid. It is surprisingly easy to set yourself up for success and a little common sense will pay HUGE dividends in the long run.

MnemesisX · 2019-06-01T05:22:34+00:00

Learn how credit scores work. Only get a credit card Olof it will help you increase your credit score. DO NOT fall into debt with it.

lordlivingston · 2019-06-01T09:28:41+00:00

If you live in Freedomistan, you probably have a credit score system in your bank.

Therefore it’s useful to have a credit card. You can use it to buy groceries, clothes and stuff and keep the debt paid off at the end of every month.

I would recommend having multiple credit cards for different purposes and using them where you’d normally use cash. It helps you build credit score quickly.

You could use this credit score to get larger loans from the bank if you deem it necessary

Impossible-asset · 2019-06-01T16:16:28+00:00

Yes. I would say you need to get a credit card.

A credit card is a tool. In this regard it is basically the same as a hammer.

You can build things with a hammer, or you can do a LOT of damage with a hammer.

If you get a credit card, treat it as a tool and build things with it. What you will be building is your credit history and score. There are a couple things that will help you do this.

before you get your credit card, have an emergency fund built up. An emergency fund is 6 months of all your expenses. That's rent, car, internet, gas, food, everything. If life takes a dive, you can use that fund to help get you out. I mention this fund first because often people will fall into the trap of getting a credit card "just for emergencies". And it isnt long before "emergencies" start happening, more and more often, and then they are in $30,000 of 21% debt and totally fucked. So get your emergency fund off the ground.
now you can get your credit card. Here is how you use it:

Get one that has good rewards program and no annual fee. Those are the two biggest things.
Buy stuff with your card. Pay it almost off every month, but Carry a small balance every month. I mean less than $100 or even $50. This is important because what it does is show that you are using the credit, and paying it back, (and also making the credit cards some money on interrst). This will quickly raise your FICO credit score. Once you get that score into the 800's, you can just start paying off your full balance every month so you wont be paying interest on it anymore but will have have an excellent FICO score for when the auto dealership or h ok me loan people check your score. This will get you better interest rates and loan terms because they'll see that you are someone who pays their debt, but also might let them get some interest payments.
Use your rewards program. If you get triple points on groceries and end up racking up 82,000 points, dont forget to cash them in. I usually take mine and throw it into my CEF funds or buy a stock I think will do well (BYND thank you for the $109 this week). You make the rewards work for you. Remember, you PAID the credit cars companies interest in order to get that good credit score, so you want that rewards money to work at making you money when you get it.

Follow those rules and you'll have a credit score of 837 and be putting $30k a year into 7% interest bearing accounts and in 2l20 years you can retire early if you are also responsible in other areas of your life that you will find mgtow can help you with.

Trek13 · 2019-06-02T15:54:44+00:00

Having a credit card is a good idea, but only if you are responsible enough to use it wisely. Otherwise it can easily turn into a trap that will SCREW you. The irony here is that most people are unable to use a credit card responsibly and that is why guys like me get all sorts of free stuff, my credit cards PAY ME to use them.

I have two cards, and Amazon Prime VISA (issued thru Chase) and a PENFED credit union Visa. The PENFED card I use only for gas purchases and it pays me 5% back in cash. I've never found a better card than that. I do a LOT of amazon prime purchases and my Amazon card is very convenient and I can apply the cash back to purchases without having to wait for a certain amount to have built up. Love that card!!

I have these two Visa cards and I would recommend two cards because eventually you will run into fraud when someone gets ahold of your info and runs up charges. This has happened to me 4 times in my life and every time my credit card company has caught it. Never cost me a dime but it is inconvenient having to wait for my new card. This is one reason I have two, so that I am never out of action.

Sign up for Credit Karma. Its free and a good way to monitor your credit score and card usage. Also to learn about the factors involved in your credit score.

Factors that are important:

Length of credit history. Once you get your card(s) stick with them long term to build the length of your history. If you keep getting new cards because of their teaser up front deals you will keep shortening your history.
Usage and percent of total credit used. Try to keep your use percentage of credit limit as low as possible. There is a bill date and a due date. ALWAYS pay off the entire card before the due date. I've never paid a dime of interest in my life and my FICO is 820. If you can swing it pay down the balance BEFORE the bill date but dont pay the entire amount. The card companies only look at the bill date number to determine your usage percentage. Most people dont realize this. For instance say you have a $10K limit and you've racked up $3K in charges. Pay this down as much as you can BEFORE the bill date. Say I pay down $2K so that when the bill date comes up I owe $1K (always carry some over so that you are showing that you are using the card). Now my percentage usage is 10%, not 30% and this will help my FICO scores over time.

I love credit cards, if I could go completely cashless I would. As it stands I withdraw $100 per month cash and that is plenty for incidental purchases that have to be cash.

SUEDE2BLACK · 2019-06-02T22:43:42+00:00

Yes just pay it off every month.Its better than cash or debit usually.

Some places charge less if you use cash or don't charge fees and taxes.

Credit cards offer some nice rewards and perks that stack over time.

The sooner you get a credit card the sooner you start establishing credit.so get them soon and get several so your overall credit is high.I have about 11 cards totaling about a a million$$ in credit. Even if I use $20k my overall utilization is low.

Having great credit and maximizing the perks and rewards will open up acess to a whole new lifestyle.

I have one rule never buy what you don't have in the bank to cover.Use it for daily life expenses not a Jersey Shore lifestyle.

Tallsmarthandsome · 2019-06-04T04:58:59+00:00

YES! get a card, always pay statement balance in full every month...upgrade to cards with rewards after a few years - never pay annual fees.

Title	A financial inquiry
Author	369iLikeWineandDIne
Upvotes	4
Comments	15
Date	May 31, 2019 11:12 PM UTC (7 years ago)
Subreddit	Posted in /r/MGTOW2
Original Link	https://old.reddit.com/r/MGTOW2/comments/bve8uh/a_financial_inquiry/
Archive Link	https://theredarchive.com/r/MGTOW2/a-financial-inquiry.813284 https://theredarchive.com/post/813284

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