pjwife27 Posted November 13, 2004 Report Share Posted November 13, 2004 Well, after cleaning up my credit and being able to get credit cards now, I have no desire to fall back into old charge em' up and pay only the minimum behavior again. All my cards are in my filing cabinet in a plastic baggie. I only just recently whipped out my target card because I needed to buy some Christmas gifts that I don't want DH seeing and plan on using my new Chase card for the same purpose, so he won't see where I'm buying him stuff from.So do you all keep the majority in your wallet for day to day spending...emergencies, etc. or do you do like I do and keep them sockdrawered?For me, it was getting silly to have them in my wallet because I tend to whip out the plastic before my debit card and thats just plain dumb, so out of site out of mind for me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
credithelp Posted November 13, 2004 Report Share Posted November 13, 2004 I still carry mine around but dont use them as much as i used to. I now only have 1200 in credit card debt which feels good when i compare it to the thousands that i use to owe, so i never plan to charge that much again. I use them for smaller things and groceries. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wert Posted November 13, 2004 Report Share Posted November 13, 2004 After spending a couple of years of cleaning up my credit, I know have about 15 cards of varying kinds and CLs. I only carry two in my wallet (the two that give me airline miles). The rest I keep in one of those business card holders and filed away. Sometimes, maybe once a quarter, if I need to to go say Home Depot or Victoria's Secret, I'll pull out their card to get my purchase, pay it off when the bill comes-just to keep it active and reporting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xanathos Posted November 13, 2004 Report Share Posted November 13, 2004 I keep them all in my wallet, as I never know when I'm going to be somewhere that's going to give me a special for using one (for example, I was at Bon-Macy's yesterday, and they were knocking 25% off anything I bought when I used my Bon-Macy's card....that adds up in a real quick hurry when you're buying new sport coats, trousers, and shirts. I usually charge just about everything I buy in general anyhow, just because I got rewards on most of my cards...BUT...all of my cards have online bill pay, and I've made it a nightly ritual to hit the sites of whatever cards I've used to send in payment on them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ananias Posted November 13, 2004 Report Share Posted November 13, 2004 So do you all keep the majority in your wallet for day to day spending...emergencies, etc. or do you do like I do and keep them sockdrawered?Wallet. Most are rarely used, serving as backup's for when a card is declined due to some snafu or for a 0% balance transfer offer that's worth the bother. About every year or so I replace the least useful one with the most useful one that I can find available online (This year that's a card from Chase that rebates $1 to $2 for every $56 you spend if you use it optimally.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pjwife27 Posted November 14, 2004 Author Report Share Posted November 14, 2004 Well see, my problem is that I like to whip out the cc before the debit for some reason (need to change my thinking) although I'm very good to pay off the balance, but my limits are pretty low (from 300-2000) so thats not hard to do. I think I screwed myself picking the Toys R Us Chase card.... I'm gonna wait 30 days and apply for one with better rewards. Like my kids need more toys...duh! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cabledude Posted November 14, 2004 Report Share Posted November 14, 2004 In my case I carry all of my CC's and never use the debit card any more. Reason being is that the rewards of using CC's are simply better. The down side is that you need to keep control and not spend more than what you can pay off.I have made it a point to not carry a balance, but on a few select cards with really low interest or no interest. Last month my total interest charges were only $2.91. Two years ago I would have been lucky if my monthly interest charges would have been lower than $291.00!!!!!!!!!! You need to decide what is best for you. If the temptation to use credit beyond your monthly take home income is high than sticking to debit for most charges may be best. If it was me I would pick a limit monthly for each card that you can afford like so:AMEX $500Visa $200MC $200Keep an eye on the charges monthly on line to make sure you do not exceed the limit you set and use debit for the rest. This will help you keep a check on your spending. You definetly do not want to get back into the minimum payment game again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest jeeptravel Posted November 14, 2004 Report Share Posted November 14, 2004 My wallet only has 3 slots. For that reason, I keep my current CC I am spending on, plus my bank check VISA, plus my TARGET card.I keep the rest in my accordian file. It's great. I bought it years ago at RITE AID and it has files ordered ABC by "Finances," "Documents" etc. I have one that says "CREDIT and Financing." That's where my "dormant" CC's live (not that I have many . . .)jt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pjwife27 Posted November 15, 2004 Author Report Share Posted November 15, 2004 In my case I carry all of my CC's and never use the debit card any more. Reason being is that the rewards of using CC's are simply better. The down side is that you need to keep control and not spend more than what you can pay off.I have made it a point to not carry a balance, but on a few select cards with really low interest or no interest. Last month my total interest charges were only $2.91. Two years ago I would have been lucky if my monthly interest charges would have been lower than $291.00!!!!!!!!!! You need to decide what is best for you. If the temptation to use credit beyond your monthly take home income is high than sticking to debit for most charges may be best. If it was me I would pick a limit monthly for each card that you can afford like so:AMEX $500Visa $200MC $200Keep an eye on the charges monthly on line to make sure you do not exceed the limit you set and use debit for the rest. This will help you keep a check on your spending. You definetly do not want to get back into the minimum payment game again. Excellent advice. I DO NOT want to get back to only being able to afford the minimum payment again. That SUCKS. I like to go online and see all that available credit, but no have to use it because I have no money. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
consumercity Posted November 16, 2004 Report Share Posted November 16, 2004 I signed up for credit cards to build a credit history and to be able to get a rental car. Then, the holidays came along and I just HAD to buy gifts A few years ago, I decided to stop using credit cards. Now all the cards are stashed away in a box. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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